Monday, March 31, 2008
Four Victorian MPs cancelled their appearance at a show put on by a group persecuted in China, after being told they should do so by the Chinese government.
The performance of traditional Chinese dancing and music includes many performers who are exiles from China and followers of the persecuted Falun Gong religion.
China's Melbourne Consul-General Liang Shugen wrote to Victorian MPs advising them that "in view of the good relations between China and Victoria it's my sincere hope that you will not attend the performance and will also avoid any future contact with Falun Gong and its affiliates."
Organisers say that four MPs who had already accepted their invitation to attend cancelled without explanation after receiving the letter.
(Source: The Age)
The performance of traditional Chinese dancing and music includes many performers who are exiles from China and followers of the persecuted Falun Gong religion.
China's Melbourne Consul-General Liang Shugen wrote to Victorian MPs advising them that "in view of the good relations between China and Victoria it's my sincere hope that you will not attend the performance and will also avoid any future contact with Falun Gong and its affiliates."
Organisers say that four MPs who had already accepted their invitation to attend cancelled without explanation after receiving the letter.
(Source: The Age)
Nearly 1 in 10 New South Wales Corrective Services officers faced claims of professional misconduct last year.
554 staff faced hearings on allegations including erroneous release of inmates, Apprehended Violence Orders, firearms charges, sexual assault and failing drug tests.
A spreadsheet of all 471 cases heard by the Professional Conduct Management Committee in the 2006-07 financial year show there were 35 matters linked to police investigations against staff outside work.
The largest number of matters related to allegations of bullying or excessive use of force against prisoners.
(Source: news.com.au)
554 staff faced hearings on allegations including erroneous release of inmates, Apprehended Violence Orders, firearms charges, sexual assault and failing drug tests.
A spreadsheet of all 471 cases heard by the Professional Conduct Management Committee in the 2006-07 financial year show there were 35 matters linked to police investigations against staff outside work.
The largest number of matters related to allegations of bullying or excessive use of force against prisoners.
(Source: news.com.au)
The Commonwealth Bank has admitted giving unaffordable loans to people who had no English skills and little idea of what the loan entailed, including one case where the interpreter between the bank and the borrowers was the family's nine-year old daughter.
The bank gave African refugee Deng Gatluak a $20,000 car loan, even though he did not speak English, was unemployed, had seven children, had no idea of how the loan worked, and did not complete his application form. The guarantor was his wife, who also did not speak English and had no assets. The repayments left the family of nine with next to nothing to live on.
Lauren Walker from the Consumer Action Law Centre said that in another case a girl of nine acted as an interpreter for a family and the bank.
In a related story, former National Australia Bank employee Kim White has told the Four Corners program he was pressured to talk people into taking bigger loans than they wanted.
"I up-sold someone to $80,000 on more than one occasion when they only came in for a $20,000 or $30,000 loan" Mr White said.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
The bank gave African refugee Deng Gatluak a $20,000 car loan, even though he did not speak English, was unemployed, had seven children, had no idea of how the loan worked, and did not complete his application form. The guarantor was his wife, who also did not speak English and had no assets. The repayments left the family of nine with next to nothing to live on.
Lauren Walker from the Consumer Action Law Centre said that in another case a girl of nine acted as an interpreter for a family and the bank.
In a related story, former National Australia Bank employee Kim White has told the Four Corners program he was pressured to talk people into taking bigger loans than they wanted.
"I up-sold someone to $80,000 on more than one occasion when they only came in for a $20,000 or $30,000 loan" Mr White said.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
A major newspaper has run a story arguing that foreign-born Australians commit more crimes than those born in Australia - and quoted figures which show the opposite.
The Herald-Sun's article "Fears our crime being imported" stated that "People born overseas committed one in seven of crimes in Victoria...but the 2006 Census shows that 1.17 million people, or 26 percent of Victoria's population, were born overseas."
It added that "the revelations have sparked calls from crime victims for tougher deportation and screening of immigrants."
(Source: ABC website)
The Herald-Sun's article "Fears our crime being imported" stated that "People born overseas committed one in seven of crimes in Victoria...but the 2006 Census shows that 1.17 million people, or 26 percent of Victoria's population, were born overseas."
It added that "the revelations have sparked calls from crime victims for tougher deportation and screening of immigrants."
(Source: ABC website)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Nurses repeatedly tried to warn management about Graeme Reeves, the doctor accused of mutilating and sexually abusing hundreds of female patients, but were ignored.
A whistleblower says that worried staff at Pambula Hospital refused to work with the former gynaecologist and obstetrician, voiced concerns in a letter to management and sought advice from a nurses' organisation.
But management and doctors continued to employ Reeves.
As many as 500 of his female patients have come forward with complaints that Reeves sexually assaulted them or mutilated their genitals during operations performed when he was illegally practising as an obstetrician on the South Coast.
Iwona Taborek was reportedly awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation by the State Government after her twin babies died and she nearly bled to death during a delivery by Reeves in 1995.
A letter sent to local media and to Bega MP Andrew Constance said that "I think it should be put on the record that nurses at Pambula Hospital were very concerned about Graham (sic) Reeves' treatment of his patients and staff during his whole tenure at the hospital,''
"So much so, one of the theatre staff wrote to management, stating their concern.
"They refused to work in theatre with him due to his poor practice methods and treatment of patients and staff.
"It was hard to come to terms with the employment and support by management and doctors of such a surgeon, when he was so abhorrent to the rest of staff. This was a very bitter and horrible time at Pambula."
Reeves allegedly refused to see a patient who was in severe pain and had falling oxygen levels two days after her operation, despite concerns from nursing staff.
Another doctor was called and the patient was sent to Canberra, where it emerged she was seriously ill with a nicked bowel, the whistleblower said.
A sister in charge consulted the nurses registration board or nurses union after Reeves left a needle inside a patient, according to the letter.
At least three babies died under the care of the disgraced ex-doctor.
The bodies responsible for investigating complaints against doctors have also been accused of going soft on Reeves.
11 years ago the Professional Standards Committee was told Reeves' treatment of one patient led to her death, in another case a baby died and the life of another patient was endangered.
The Committee did not strike him off but banned him from being an obstetrician. When he was struck off in 2004 by the Medical Tribunal, it was still not for malpractice but for breaching orders he not work as an obstetrician.
Other cases where doctors have continued to practise include a doctor jailed for possessing child pornography, another jailed for having an arsenal of unregistered firearms and one who performed botched circumcisions on babies.
The Health Care Complaints Commission, which investigates complaints against doctors, revealed yesterday it had the power to refer doctors to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions but decided against it in the case of Reeves. "An assessment was made that it was appropriate a complaint be referred to the Medical Board for possible deregistration," HCCC executive officer Kim Swan said.
Medical Error Action Group founder Lorraine Long said that "it's incredibly difficult to get a decision that will get rid of the doctor," she said. "We advise victims not to go to the Medical Board. Go to us or go to the police. [The Medical Board] are more worried about their reputation than the patient."
(Source: Sunday Telegraph, news.com.au)
A whistleblower says that worried staff at Pambula Hospital refused to work with the former gynaecologist and obstetrician, voiced concerns in a letter to management and sought advice from a nurses' organisation.
But management and doctors continued to employ Reeves.
As many as 500 of his female patients have come forward with complaints that Reeves sexually assaulted them or mutilated their genitals during operations performed when he was illegally practising as an obstetrician on the South Coast.
Iwona Taborek was reportedly awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation by the State Government after her twin babies died and she nearly bled to death during a delivery by Reeves in 1995.
A letter sent to local media and to Bega MP Andrew Constance said that "I think it should be put on the record that nurses at Pambula Hospital were very concerned about Graham (sic) Reeves' treatment of his patients and staff during his whole tenure at the hospital,''
"So much so, one of the theatre staff wrote to management, stating their concern.
"They refused to work in theatre with him due to his poor practice methods and treatment of patients and staff.
"It was hard to come to terms with the employment and support by management and doctors of such a surgeon, when he was so abhorrent to the rest of staff. This was a very bitter and horrible time at Pambula."
Reeves allegedly refused to see a patient who was in severe pain and had falling oxygen levels two days after her operation, despite concerns from nursing staff.
Another doctor was called and the patient was sent to Canberra, where it emerged she was seriously ill with a nicked bowel, the whistleblower said.
A sister in charge consulted the nurses registration board or nurses union after Reeves left a needle inside a patient, according to the letter.
At least three babies died under the care of the disgraced ex-doctor.
The bodies responsible for investigating complaints against doctors have also been accused of going soft on Reeves.
11 years ago the Professional Standards Committee was told Reeves' treatment of one patient led to her death, in another case a baby died and the life of another patient was endangered.
The Committee did not strike him off but banned him from being an obstetrician. When he was struck off in 2004 by the Medical Tribunal, it was still not for malpractice but for breaching orders he not work as an obstetrician.
Other cases where doctors have continued to practise include a doctor jailed for possessing child pornography, another jailed for having an arsenal of unregistered firearms and one who performed botched circumcisions on babies.
The Health Care Complaints Commission, which investigates complaints against doctors, revealed yesterday it had the power to refer doctors to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions but decided against it in the case of Reeves. "An assessment was made that it was appropriate a complaint be referred to the Medical Board for possible deregistration," HCCC executive officer Kim Swan said.
Medical Error Action Group founder Lorraine Long said that "it's incredibly difficult to get a decision that will get rid of the doctor," she said. "We advise victims not to go to the Medical Board. Go to us or go to the police. [The Medical Board] are more worried about their reputation than the patient."
(Source: Sunday Telegraph, news.com.au)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has announced that he will privatise energy in the state, against the wishes of party delegates.
Mr Iemma said work had already begun on the legislative framework to allow for the privatisation.
"It's the right decision for the state,'' he said.
"The Cabinet and the Caucus have endorsed the Government's package.The package will be implemented.''
However many NSW MPs claim they were misled by the Premier.
"The reason Caucus endorsed it was that Morris made an argument that we were going to run out of energy supplies if we didn't do something about it,'' one MP said.
"What he didn't say was that this policy does not deliver one extra kilowatt of energy."All it does is set up the right conditions so that the private sector will be enticed to get involved and invest in new base load generation.
"But just because we bail out of the market, it does not mean the private sector will necessarily come on board and we could be left with the embarrassing situation of being forced to fund it ourselves on the eve of the next election.''
(Source: Sunday Telegraph)
Mr Iemma said work had already begun on the legislative framework to allow for the privatisation.
"It's the right decision for the state,'' he said.
"The Cabinet and the Caucus have endorsed the Government's package.The package will be implemented.''
However many NSW MPs claim they were misled by the Premier.
"The reason Caucus endorsed it was that Morris made an argument that we were going to run out of energy supplies if we didn't do something about it,'' one MP said.
"What he didn't say was that this policy does not deliver one extra kilowatt of energy."All it does is set up the right conditions so that the private sector will be enticed to get involved and invest in new base load generation.
"But just because we bail out of the market, it does not mean the private sector will necessarily come on board and we could be left with the embarrassing situation of being forced to fund it ourselves on the eve of the next election.''
(Source: Sunday Telegraph)
Police powers which were brought in 'temporarily' during Sydney's protests against APEC last year are likely to be made permanent.
A report was tabled in Parliament on March 10 by the police minister, David Campbell, and NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos. Its proposals include permanently giving police powers relating to locking-down areas, the right to 'stop and search', and being able to create "excluded persons" lists.
(Source: Green Left Weekly)
A report was tabled in Parliament on March 10 by the police minister, David Campbell, and NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos. Its proposals include permanently giving police powers relating to locking-down areas, the right to 'stop and search', and being able to create "excluded persons" lists.
(Source: Green Left Weekly)
Victoria's rooming and boarding houses have never been more dangerous, filthy and exploitative - nor more in demand, according to a report on homelessness.
Instead of being a step up from the street, boarding and rooming houses are often in such poor condition and marred with such violence that they "introduce and entrench people into homelessness", according to Stephen Nash, chief executive of not-for-profit homeless organisation HomeGround.
At a time when the housing affordability crisis is squeezing more families on to the street, a draft report by HomeGround has documented dozens of allegations of dirty living conditions, poor security, drugs and violence in rooming and boarding houses.
The Call This a Home report, based on a survey last year of people living in rooming houses, found 57% did not feel safe, half shared a bathroom with 10 or more others, half had no heating and almost one in 10 had no window in their room.
The survey also showed one in five had no power point in their room, 14% said they could not lock their room and 16% had no lights in the hall.
Comments made by respondents included that "many people are bashed all the time" and that it "makes me sick when I see syringes lying down."
One said they "could only lock the bedroom door if I paid an extra $25", while another said the residence "was the lowest place I have ever stayed in my life, which includes 10 years in jail."
One respondent said he "was assaulted by another resident and evicted for getting blood on the carpet."
The report highlighted the case of a man in his late-30s who was paying $160 a week for a single room with no heating or bedding. "I would rather be back in prison than live here any longer," the man said.
"The place stunk of urine and (the) mattress was bloodstained when I arrived. I saw three people beaten up in one night and nobody did a thing."
Mr Nash said the lack of crisis accommodation, high rooming-house rents and squalid conditions were the worst he had seen in the 18 years he had worked in the field.
"The problem is getting so bad it's really impacting on families - it's due to the broader housing crisis," Mr Nash said.
Crisis accommodation services met less than 5% of demand, he said. Those unable to access government-funded shelters often end up in rooming houses.
(Source: The Age)
Instead of being a step up from the street, boarding and rooming houses are often in such poor condition and marred with such violence that they "introduce and entrench people into homelessness", according to Stephen Nash, chief executive of not-for-profit homeless organisation HomeGround.
At a time when the housing affordability crisis is squeezing more families on to the street, a draft report by HomeGround has documented dozens of allegations of dirty living conditions, poor security, drugs and violence in rooming and boarding houses.
The Call This a Home report, based on a survey last year of people living in rooming houses, found 57% did not feel safe, half shared a bathroom with 10 or more others, half had no heating and almost one in 10 had no window in their room.
The survey also showed one in five had no power point in their room, 14% said they could not lock their room and 16% had no lights in the hall.
Comments made by respondents included that "many people are bashed all the time" and that it "makes me sick when I see syringes lying down."
One said they "could only lock the bedroom door if I paid an extra $25", while another said the residence "was the lowest place I have ever stayed in my life, which includes 10 years in jail."
One respondent said he "was assaulted by another resident and evicted for getting blood on the carpet."
The report highlighted the case of a man in his late-30s who was paying $160 a week for a single room with no heating or bedding. "I would rather be back in prison than live here any longer," the man said.
"The place stunk of urine and (the) mattress was bloodstained when I arrived. I saw three people beaten up in one night and nobody did a thing."
Mr Nash said the lack of crisis accommodation, high rooming-house rents and squalid conditions were the worst he had seen in the 18 years he had worked in the field.
"The problem is getting so bad it's really impacting on families - it's due to the broader housing crisis," Mr Nash said.
Crisis accommodation services met less than 5% of demand, he said. Those unable to access government-funded shelters often end up in rooming houses.
(Source: The Age)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The government of Canada has listed the United States as a place where prisoners were at risk of torture, only to remove them after pressure.
The training manual for Canadian diplomats lists U.S. 'interrogation techniques' such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners. The list also included Israel.
However Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said that the manual "contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten."
(Source: Reuters)
The training manual for Canadian diplomats lists U.S. 'interrogation techniques' such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners. The list also included Israel.
However Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said that the manual "contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten."
(Source: Reuters)
Guantanamo Bay may be used as a location to execute prisoners.
Conducting executions of convicted terrorists on US soil would allow the detainee's lawyers to use the American court system to appeal against their convictions.
However an execution chamber at Guantanamo Bay would be largely out of the reach of US courts.
Bruce Lloyd, spokesman for the Guantanamo Naval Station, said that a Muslim section of the cemetery at Guantanamo has been dedicated by an Islamic cultural adviser.
(Source: phillyburbs.com [US])
Conducting executions of convicted terrorists on US soil would allow the detainee's lawyers to use the American court system to appeal against their convictions.
However an execution chamber at Guantanamo Bay would be largely out of the reach of US courts.
Bruce Lloyd, spokesman for the Guantanamo Naval Station, said that a Muslim section of the cemetery at Guantanamo has been dedicated by an Islamic cultural adviser.
(Source: phillyburbs.com [US])
