Posted May 31, 2019 13:11:52
Photo: ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced the budget would be in surplus this year. (ABC News: Michael Black) The ACT's Chief Minister and Treasurer has set up next week's budget as a good news story for Canberra, confirming a surplus for this year but it masks a forecast deficit for the coming financial year. Key points:Andrew Barr says Canberra will have a $45 million surplus this financial yearA deficit is expected in the coming year, but it is not clear by how muchMr Barr says the timing of the federal election forced the Government to draft two different budgets The Government had previously projected surpluses for every year in the budget but in February it revised down the 2018-19 surplus to just $1.5 million, and projected a deficit of $28m for the following year. Today, Andrew Barr announced on ABC Radio Canberra an expected $45 million surplus for this financial year, but did not mention the forecast deficit. The Government has since refused to confirm by how much the ACT will go into the red next year. The announcement leaves next week's budget in a worse position than predicted 12 months ago. But Mr Barr said Canberra's financial coffers remained healthy. "Both the territory budget and the territory economy are pretty well-placed, but there are some pressures," Mr Barr said. Mr Barr had previously pitched the benefits of a "balanced budget" for the small ACT economy, saying there was little purpose in a small jurisdiction maintaining a large surplus. "Our fiscal strategy remains the same in some years that means surpluses, in others that means modest deficits, we're not fixated on a year-to-year proposition," Mr Barr said. Modest budget expected on Tuesday Photo: The Government had previously flagged surpluses for every year in the budget. (ABC News: Mark Moore) The Government is expected to hand down a modest budget this year, following the re-election of the federal Coalition Government. Mr Barr said it had been an "unusual" budget process, as the timing of the federal election had forced the Government to draft two quite different-looking budgets, with a more ambitious plan for Canberra under a Labor win. Mr Barr said the surprise Coalition win had refocused local spending around supporting the local economy. "It perhaps wasn't the result I was looking for, but it is what it is, and so we deliver a budget next week that responds to those circumstances," Mr Barr said. "In short that means we will be stepping up our effort in the local economy, particularly on the infrastructure side, because there isn't a large Commonwealth infrastructure program for the ACT." Reform agenda afoot for public service: Chief Minister Photo: The ACT Government expects Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make reforms in the public service sector. (ABC News: Marco Catalano) Mr Barr said he expected to see more changes to the Canberra economy under the re-elected Coalition Government. He told ABC Radio Canberra Prime Minister Scott Morrison's decision to take responsibility for the public service himself indicated a reform agenda was afoot. "I think the best we can we can hope for is a benign federal government, but my worry is around the National Party's agenda for decentralisation," Mr Barr said. Mr Barr said he believed the Prime Minister's close relationship with New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrotet would influence his thinking. "That will obviously see a continuation of things like staffing caps and wage caps," Mr Barr said. "But there will also undoubtedly be a focus on transition to digital service delivery, which if done well could be a good thing." The Chief Minister said the greatest risk to Canberra's economy was simply that the city might be "overlooked", but said he had worked cooperatively with Coalition governments for the entirety of his time in Government. Topics:government-and-politics,politics-and-government,governance,states-and-territories,local-government,budget,canberra-2600,act
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5/31/2019 0 Comments Flammable cladding still to be removed at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital buildingUpdated May 31, 2019 08:29:00
Photo: Potentially flammable cladding will be removed at the O'Brien Building at St Vincent's Hospital later this year. (AAP: Paul Miller) Hospital buildings where flammable cladding has posed major fire threats to the public in Sydney and across the state have been identified in NSW Health safety documents seen by the ABC. Key points:The ABC has obtained NSW Health's list of the main hospital buildings where flammable cladding posed a major fire threat to the public All of the cladding risks have been rectified except at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, where work is being carried out later this yearThe other sites were fast-tracked for repair because they are heavily used by patients and posed evacuation concerns The high-risk aluminium-based panels are similar to those which ignited during the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017. Five NSW hospitals targeted for flammable cladding rectification:Queanbeyan Hospital Main BuildingArmidale Hospital, Ambulatory Care BuildingJohn Hunter Hospital, Royal Newcastle Centre BuildingJohn Hunter Hospital Clinical Services BuildingSt Vincents Hospital, O'Brien Building The documents show an urgent cladding search was ordered and 120 medical buildings in New South Wales were identified where flammable cladding posed a concern. Public authorities quietly rolled out a multi-million dollar "urgent rectification" plan while the ABC waited for the documents to be released after a year-long Freedom of Information battle. Of the five sites listed as a top priority for action, only one, St Vincent's Hospital, is yet to have potentially combustible panels removed by work teams. Over nine months last year, removal work was carried out at Queanbeyan Hospital's Main Building, Armidale Hospital's Ambulatory Care Building and two buildings at John Hunter Hospital. These sites were fast-tracked because of their status as "principal referral buildings" heavily used by patients, and all posed evacuation concerns because of being three stories or more in height. St Vincent's centre at 'higher risk' The cladding removal on the O'Brien Building at St Vincent's Hospital will not occur until the second half of 2019, a spokesperson told the ABC. Work was delayed because a company awarded the rectification contract earlier this year went into administration, he confirmed. Photo: The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London was caused by high-risk aluminium-based cladding panels. (Wikimedia Commons: Natalie Oxford) As an interim safety step, the hospital has now trained additional fire wardens and removed combustible materials from the precinct. Experts have now examined cladding on more than 400 multi-storey residential and public buildings across the state including the O'Brien Building which are "higher risk", NSW Fire and Rescue Chief Superintendent, David Lewis, said. An elevated response would be needed if fires occur at these sites, he says. "Our normal response would be two fire engines would attend any call to a building fire," he said. "But buildings where we have undertaken an inspection and deemed that there is cladding and a potential for higher risk, we have elevated that response to anywhere between an additional four to up to 12 to 16 fire engines." A Grenfell-type fire is unlikely in Australia, because of better building standards, he said. But the papers show the costs of replacing cladding is significant. St Vincent's will spend almost $5 million to rebuild much of the six-storey O'Brien Building a state-of-the-art mental health and drug and alcohol centre. That is on top of a $42 million refurbishment of the historic site in 2012 (with $27 million in public funds) carried out to comply with updated Federal Government building codes. In addition to painstaking work to replace cladding, additional infrastructure such as upgraded alarms and sprinklers has also been introduced at many sites. Taxpayers have so far forked out close to $20 million dollars to complete the program on 120 buildings. Hunter/New England district worst affected The Hunter/ New England Health District is the worst hit so far with $9 million of work in various buildings across John Hunter Hospital, Armidale New England Hospital and Raymond Terrace Health Centre. On the Central Coast, Gosford Hospital received a $1 million repair bill for its main building, while $2.6 million was spent rectifying the main building of Queanbeyan District Hospital in the state's south. While the fire danger posed at many sites was critical, a 2017 briefing showed that an "initial assessment" of 4,620 buildings ordered by the Health Ministry, concluded that "no action was required" for 97.5 per cent of the state's hospital buildings. Labor's Better Regulation spokesperson, Yasmin Catley, says the State Government should do more to identify and advise the public on the hundreds of private buildings with a higher risk of fire from cladding, especially rental properties. "I know of quite a number of instances of people who are renting, who have not been told that the building they are renting is actually a fire trap," she said. "Now that is not good enough. It's the lack of transparency around this issue. The Government want it to go away, they know that from an insurance perspective for instance that it is a huge problem." she said. She says more transparency around dangerous locations is needed. "If there are hundreds and hundreds of buildings out there that have been identified by the Government as being at risk or indeed highly at risk, then why are they still standing there with this dangerous cladding on them?" she said. Do you know more? Please email [email protected]. Please use a private email to send us information if anonymity is required. Topics:health,disasters-and-accidents,fires,safety,sydney-2000,newcastle-2300,raymond-terrace-2324,queanbeyan-2620,armidale-2350 First posted May 31, 2019 06:12:08 5/29/2019 0 Comments 'Overwhelmed': Asylum seekers return valuable rings found in charity socks to elderly womanUpdated May 29, 2019 10:34:27
Photo: Sameer Alazraqi with two of his children, Maryam and Ahmed. (ABC News: Niki Burnside) Map: Canberra 2600 A woman who thought she had lost a number of valuable family rings has re-discovered them thanks to a charity clothing drive and the kindness of a family of asylum seekers. The woman, who asked not to be identified, had donated some socks forgetting her priceless heirlooms were hidden inside to a clothing drive for refugees and asylum seekers in Canberra. The event, organised by the volunteer organisation Canberra Refugee Support, was run to ensure those on limited means in the refugee community had enough warm clothing ahead of winter. Iraqi asylum seeker Inas Alkhazraji had taken the opportunity of the charity drive to pick up some brand new socks for her husband, Sameer Alazraqi. But, as he went to open the socks, Mr Alazraqi noticed something odd about the package, which was wrapped in cardboard. Photo: The socks used to hide 10 rings belonging to a Canberra woman. (ABC News: Niki Burnside) "It was heavy, so I just [turned] the socks upside-down and something small, a red pouch or sack falls out," he said. "When I opened it, I found some rings, there were gold and white gold and there were diamonds and beryls and crystals." The pair who fled Iraq in 2014 were shocked at the find, and rang a friend, a volunteer with the refugee support group, to let her know someone had lost some very valuable possessions. "It was a fortune, very expensive rings. Thousands of dollars," Mr Alazraqi said. "Later [our friend] told us they found initials there on the rings and a date, so it must be very important people memorialise some event in their lives with these rings. "If one puts themselves in the position of the people who lost them, they would be very sad, because it cost a lot of money and they don't belong to us." 'Overwhelmed': Woman who lost rings from war-torn Europe Photo: The rings found in a pair of socks gifted to an asylum seeker family. (Supplied) Canberra Refugee Support only holds clothing drives occasionally, when they perceive a need in the community. The group is small and entirely run by volunteers they help refugees and those new to Canberra find services, learn where they can get affordable food, and begin to learn English. "We characterise it as 'good neighbour support', because when they arrive they don't know anything or where to find things," volunteer support coordinator Jackie Wenner said. Despite the informal nature of the clothing drive, one of the organisers had kept detailed information on who had donated clothing that day. They tracked down the owner, who did not want to be identified, but who told them she was "overwhelmed" on learning about the mistake, and how close she came to losing her precious possessions forever. Her daughter, Michele, said her elderly mother had grown anxious after her home was robbed. Worried it would happen again, she had hidden some of her more valuable items in a pair of unopened socks, tucked away in a drawer. Over time, she had forgotten where they were, and spent about a year wondering what had become of them. Michele said the rings were priceless to her mother, and she was very grateful to the couple for returning them. Photo: Sameer Alazraqi holds the socks in which he found 10 rings belonging to a Canberra woman. (ABC News: Niki Burnside) "Her engagement ring, which had belonged to Dad's mother who died before Mum had a chance to meet her, and two rings of Mum's own mother had huge sentimental value for her," she said. Michele said her mother would have been unlikely to find the jewellery without the strange turn of events. "If she had just put those socks in any old charity bin they would never have been able to contact her," Michele said. "The jewellery was only insured for theft from the house. So a loss like this would have been irretrievable." Michele said her mother's fears of burglary, and her desire to keep her precious things hidden, came from her early experiences living through the war in Europe, and her own journey to Australia as a refugee more than 60 years ago. "It really is understandable she comes from a family that lost everything in the war, they came over to Australia to start a new life as well," she said. "It reaffirms our strong belief in how right it is to open our gates to such lovely people to be a part of our community." Mr Alazraqi said they were delighted the rings had found their way home, and they were still shocked by their bizarre find. "Even if we found anything in the street, in the mall, beside a tree, beside a car, we should announce it," he said. "We should say that 'we have found this', whether it is $1 million or it is a small toy for a kid, we should announce it." Topics:refugees,human-interest,charities,community-and-society,charities-and-community-organisations,immigration,canberra-2600,australia,act First posted May 29, 2019 06:13:38 5/28/2019 0 Comments The number of Indigenous people in Canberra's jail is growing — one program is trying to helpUpdated May 26, 2019 12:43:07
Photo: Program mentor Anthony Longbottom (left) with Canberra prisoner Albert Barker (right). (ABC News: Luke Stephenson) Ice and "a bit of heroin" controlled Jason Hawkins for nearly 20 years, as he was in and out of jail for burglaries and assaults. He said, while he now recognised what he was doing was wrong, he justified his behaviour by focusing on the fact that he had chosen businesses, rather than individuals, to rob, and that they would be insured. "But it might have been their first business they might have mortgaged their house to get a start for their children," he said. "When I started to think about that it really hit home and I was feeling bad about it." Photo: Jason Hawkins is now part of an employment training program. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson) Fellow prisoner Mark Brown* said drugs also led him to turn to crime. He was stuck on ice, stealing cars with his friends. "I was hanging out with them and they were doing stupid stuff and so was I," he said. But, after a year in jail at Canberra's Alexander Maconochie Centre, Mark said he was never going back. "I don't associate with them anymore, I've got new friends and mostly I hang out with family," he said. Both men hope they were now heading in the right direction thanks to a Federal Government pilot program. Staring down the statistics Photo: Mark Brown hopes to turn his life around through the Worldview program. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson) The Worldview program aims to help prisoners like Jason and Mark go from jail to employment training and eventually a job of their own. Indigenous Australians make up less than 1.6 per cent of Canberra's population but represent one in five inmates at the jail. Set up to address the staggering growth in the number of Indigenous people behind bars over the past decade, Worldview runs an E-waste facility, where former prisoners earn wages as they work towards a new life. The program focuses not just on employment, but also education, accommodation and mentoring. External Link:Chart showing ratio of Indigenous prisoners to non-Indigenous prisoners Participants are trained in how to lead a healthy lifestyle, to tackle generational disadvantage, with what is a holistic approach. Worldview senior mentor Anthony Longbottom said the program had already helped one graduate land a full-time job. However, he said changing the perceptions of employers was just as important as getting the participants ready for work. "A lot of employers sort of look and go 'oh Indigenous, oh detainee', but we should get rid of that myth," Mr Longbottom said. "There is value there. My aim is to give them the positive way to get across to the employer. "Say 'hey yes, I done something wrong, but that's in the past, I want a future'." Photo: Mentor Anthony Longbottom is helping Indigenous ex-prisoners find employment. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson) 'Never go back' Albert Barker was serving an eight-year sentence for aggravated robberies when he heard about Worldview. He has since gone on to become a mentor to others, acquired a licence and a car, and is aiming to get his truck licence by next year. "I'm enjoying the mentor role ... because we've all pretty much been there ourselves and we've all faced these things before," he said. "We can all help each other through it." About the Worldview program:The Worldview program assists Indigenous prisoners in finding work after jailThe number of Indigenous prisoners in Canberra's prison system has doubled in 10 yearsSenior mentor Anthony Longbottom said the program had already helped one graduate land a full-time jobHe said Worldview also hoped to shift employers' perceptions of workers with a criminal history He said he had come to understand the value of a "normal" existence. "What I see as a success is just being normal success is structure and routine, getting up every day, having a purpose like coming to work," he said. "A lot of these boys have come from pretty much nothing, and now they are going places. "I don't think I'll ever go back to jail." Rate of Indigenous incarceration in Canberra 'unacceptable' Photo: Shane Rattenbury said the ACT Government welcomed programs that made a difference. (ABC News: Jake Evans) Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in 2007, the percentage of Indigenous prisoners of the total number of detainees in the ACT was 10 per cent. Since then, that number has doubled to about 22 per cent, while the national figure grew only slightly to 27.6 per cent. During that same timeframe, imprisonment rates have also jumped to the point where Indigenous Canberrans are about 19.5 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous citizens, ABS data show. That ratio is far worse than it was in 2008, when the Alexander Maconochie Centre opened and Indigenous Canberrans were about 10 times more likely to be locked up than non-Indigenous people. External Link:Chart showing percentage of Indigenous prisoners in jail While the increases were in line with national trends, ACT Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury admitted the situation was "unacceptable". "It's something that's been building up for generations and it's not something we're going to fix overnight," Mr Rattenbury said. "But we now have a really clear sense of what the problem is we know that things we've been doing haven't been working, we have to embrace change, we have to be willing to do it differently, and ... need to make sure the Indigenous community are much more involved in both the design of these programs and also running them. "We need to look at the underlying factors, generations of trauma, disadvantage, low levels of education in some cases, children being taken away into custody. These sort of things are drivers that lead to adult incarceration and we can only address adult incarceration by going back to the beginning." Mr Rattenbury said the government was exploring alternatives to imprisonment and did not want to spend more money expanding the jail. "We want to spend money on the programs that make a difference," he said. "A great example is the Yarrabi Bamirr program, that actually seeks to work with not just individuals, but with the whole family. "These are the sorts of things that make a difference to people's life trajectories and maximise the chance of them not going into custody." *Name has been changed Topics:indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander,community-and-society,aboriginal,indigenous-culture,indigenous-other-peoples,indigenous-policy,law-crime-and-justice,prisons-and-punishment,australia,act,canberra-2600 First posted May 26, 2019 08:43:22 Updated May 28, 2019 18:16:08
The Australian climber recovering in a Kathmandu hospital after being rescued high up on the northern slopes of Mount Everest has been identified as Canberra man Gilian Lee. Tibetan climbers found Mr Lee unconscious at an altitude of 7,500 metres last Wednesday. The ABC understands Mr Lee was attempting to reach the summit without oxygen tanks. It is unclear whether he fell ill on the way to the summit, or when coming back down the mountain. The day before his rescue, Mr Lee complained on Twitter that he had a chest infection with a "killer sore throat". External Link:@GilianLee Rough night at C1 due to persistent chest infection The ABC understands he is recovering in Kathmandu'sGrande hospital. Mr Lee's Facebook page shows he was in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu in April, before travelling to the Chinese side of Mount Everest to begin his climb. Stuck at Chinese Base Camp (CBC) in the days before setting off on his summit attempt, Mr Lee took to social media to vent his frustrations as he waited for conditions to improve. "Plans getting worse by the day. Lot of wind at the summit from the south side direction," he wrote on Facebook on May 9. "[North] side windy as well. Chinese rope fixing team not at CBC so every day of delay is a nightmare." A 'last throw of the dice' on his fourth attempt to climb Everest Photo: Mr Lee posted this image of the Chinese Base Camp last month. (Facebook: Gilian Lee ) According to his blog, Mr Lee's goal is to climb 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres without supplemental oxygen or drugs. This was his fourth attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest after three unsuccessful attempts in 2015, 2017 and 2018. "I have put a lot of pressure onto myself. I am running out of [money] to keep chasing this dream," he wrote on his blog about his latest climbing expedition. "This will be the last throw of the dice." Eleven die during tumultuous season on Everest Photo: Climbers wait in line to summit Mount Everest on the Nepalese side of the mountain. (Nirmal Purja/ @nimsdai) A record number of climbers have died or gone missing on Mount Everest since the beginning of the season. American climber Christopher John Kulish died on the descent from the summit earlier this week. That takes the number of people who have perished on the mountain this year to 11. Most of the deaths on Everest have been blamed on exhaustion, exacerbated by the crowded route to and from the summit on the Nepalese side. A photograph posted online by former Gurkha Nirmal Purja revealed that climbers were spending hours waiting for their turn to reach the top. The last time 10 or more people died on Everest was in 2015, when they were hit by an avalanche. Topics:disasters-and-accidents,accidents---other,nepal,canberra-2600,act First posted May 28, 2019 16:27:47 Updated May 27, 2019 12:19:30
Photo: Reconciliation Place in Canberra encourages people to come face to face with a difficult past. (ABC Canberra: Michael Black) Last year, the ACT became the first state or territory to mark National Reconciliation Day with a public holiday. The Government said the purpose behind the day was to create "a time for all Canberrans to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia." But two years into the holiday, has that been achieved? Photo: Young people in Canberra marched for National Sorry Day. (ABC News: Kate Midena) Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Canberra Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng said she welcomed the discussion created by the day. "I've never really been supportive of the policy of reconciliation, knowing how it started, but it's become a very community-based thing now so I can see the good it has done," Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng said. "Reconciliation Day is a celebration of the First Nations people in this area; their diversity, their capabilities, their services. "But it's also about raising awareness. "We've got this dark underbelly of poverty and homelessness and elder abuse and other things that do need to be addressed. We should not be having deaths in custody. There's a lot of mental health issues. Those things need to be addressed in the mainstream." Photo: Teacher Chaydin Reid sees value in Reconciliation Day for his students. Chaydin Reid is a high school teacher, and saw Reconciliation Day as the perfect opportunity to teach his students about "the true history of Australia". He said this was important so that "history is not repeated". "A lot of my students do see purpose in Reconciliation Day, and they see purpose in the whole week," Mr Reid said. "My dad is part of the Stolen Generation. A lot of people who go through those traumatising experiences turn to drugs and alcohol to hide that hurt. But if you connect to community and you connect to culture, that can change a person's life. "What I'm a strong believer of, and what I teach my young students is, when you know who you are and where you come from you have a sense of direction in life. "Reconciliation Day is a good stepping stone in that healing process, but there's still a lot more to do and a lot further to go for us to get to where we want to be." A chance for reflection Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Rachel Stephen-Smith said Reconciliation Day was "more than symbolic". "Reconciliation Day is a good opportunity for all Canberrans to reflect on the impact of past policies and practices, and the ongoing effect of intergenerational trauma on our community," she said. "It's not until we understand the impact of intergenerational trauma and the impact of institutional racism, that we're really going to make a real difference in addressing the intergenerational trauma that our community is experiencing." Photo: Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Rachel Stephen-Smith at a Reconciliation Day event. (ABC News: Kate Midena) Alongside activities organised on Reconciliation Day to foster community and understanding, Ms Stephen-Smith cited several projects the ACT Government had been working on as examples of how this intergenerational trauma was being addressed. "The ACT Government has been working very hard with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community through the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tenure agreement signed in February this year, and through being the first jurisdiction to sign up to a new process for Closing the Gap nationally," she said. "Locally, we have a fully self-determined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-controlled review into the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system and their experiences. That review has already delivered three sets of recommendations. "We're investing in building communities not prisons, acknowledging the significant overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system. "We're not going to fix those things in one year, but we are absolutely committed to working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community." Photo: Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng said Reconciliation Day was about raising awareness. (ABC News: Kate Midena) Ms Stephen-Smith said Canberrans could be "really proud" to be the only jurisdiction with a public holiday to mark Reconciliation Day. "I think the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community would welcome the rest of the country following suit," she said. Ms Goreng Goreng agreed, and said that, despite there being a lot more work to do particularly in the areas of intergenerational trauma and recognising sovereignty, the ACT Government was "progressive" in many ways. "There are a lot of holidays now for Aboriginal things which is great, it's a huge difference from my childhood where my mother couldn't even vote. So you've got to see the positive value that something like this [day] brings," she said. "If the rest of Australia wants to do the same, let them." Topics:indigenous-policy,indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander,indigenous-culture,community-and-society,canberra-2600,act First posted May 27, 2019 07:30:35 5/25/2019 0 Comments Thief swears at police as he is sentenced for setting his dog on a female officerPosted May 24, 2019 17:07:41
A Canberra man whose dog viciously attacked a police officer, causing horrific injuries, yelled and swore at police packing the court's public gallery as he was sentenced to more than four years in jail. Key points:The officer who was attacked by Matthew Millard's dog suffered serious injuries and PTSD as a resultJustice John Burns called Millard a "thoroughly dishonest person"He was sentenced to a total of four years and nine months in jail Matthew Millard, 36, referred to the officers as "f***ing dogs" as he was led from the ACT Supreme Court today. Millard was being sentenced for seriously injuring the female police officer and stealing a mobility scooter. The attack happened when the officer went to Millard's house to retrieve the scooter. The court previously heard that Millard's pit bull terrier got out of the house, and only stopped attacking the woman when a neighbour pulled it off. In an earlier hearing the officer told the court she feared she would die as the dog tore at her leg to pull her down, and then how her hand had been skinned as she tried to pull it from the dog's mouth. The injuries to her calf left her bone exposed. 'You are a thoroughly dishonest person' The incident was captured in an audio recording by a fellow police officer in which the officer can be heard screaming. Police also asserted Millard could be heard urging the dog on saying "go, go, go." Millard denied that, saying he was actually trying to stop the dog and was saying "no, no, no." But today Justice John Burns said he was satisfied the dog had been released deliberately and encouraged in the attack. "I have listened very carefully to the recording," he said. "It is more probable than not that you said 'go'." Justice Burns said this was supported by other evidence, including a recorded conversation about the events that Millard had with his girlfriend after he was in jail. Justice Burns also noted that when the dog was being pepper sprayed and a shot was fired, Millard was not worried about the officer who had been attacked. "You called on police not to hurt the dog," he told Millard. The court heard Millard had a motive to scare off the police, to buy time to remove the stolen mobility scooter from his house. "Your motive for taking the scooter was greed," Justice Burns said. "You intended to sell it and keep the money." Justice Burns dismissed a letter of apology to the court saying Millard had tried to minimise his responsibility, and had shown no remorse. "Your criminal history suggests you are a thoroughly dishonest person," he said. Millard has been sentenced to a total of four years and nine months in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months. Topics:law-crime-and-justice,crime,police,animal-attacks,canberra-2600,australia,act http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-24/canberra-man-who-set-pitbull-on-female-police-officer-jailed/11148174 5/24/2019 0 Comments 'They don't want to be known as Dr Pot': Why doctors aren't prescribing medicinal cannabisUpdated May 23, 2019 11:14:42
Kerrie-Ann Trembath Forster has lived with agonising chronic pain for the best part of a decade, and despite medicinal cannabis being legal in Canberra, she sometimes has to turn to street drugs to relieve her suffering. Key points:AMA says GPs lack training in medicinal cannabis prescriptionCanberra grandmother reports unwillingness amongst doctors to prescribeChronic Pain Australia bemoans "lack of appetite" from doctors The grandmother has spent many days in bed wishing her pain would disappear and never return a feeling she finds difficult to describe. "I call it a 'throbbing' going through my body. It just goes and spreads out everywhere," she said. "It feels like my body is killing me. Pain going down my legs. Sharp pains in my back." Practicing meditation and yoga once a week has helped her to cope. And while she hates smoking cannabis and loathes the sensation of being "stoned", Ms Trembath Forster said she sometimes had no choice but to use cannabis purchased on the street, because it was such an effective remedy. Photo: Medicinal cannabis was legalised in Canberra in 2016. (ABC News: Meghna Bali) "None of us want to be stoned. We just want to be a part of life," she said. She would prefer to be benefitting from a medicinal cannabis scheme introduced in the ACT in 2016 but, like many others in her situation, she has not been able to find a doctor willing to prescribe the treatment. "I just realised how many doctors are ignorant and arrogant," she said. "They are willing to put you on all sorts of drugs and then they have a thing about cannabis." She said her regular GP was supportive of the treatment but told her she had to go to Sydney to get on the scheme a difficult request for a person who is often bedridden. "That's where I'm going to be doing it there's nowhere in Canberra," she said. Doctors need more time for training: AMA Australian Medical Association (AMA) ACT President Antonio Di Dio said he was disappointed the scheme had failed to take off in Canberra. He said many Canberra doctors wanted to be part of the trial but had difficulty finding time to partake in training and accreditation. "Anecdotally, we've identified a lot of GPs who are interested in doing it. But unfortunately, in relation to training, most GPs are very busy people," he said. "Predominantly the barrier is education and training for the GPs to prescribe." Dr Di Dio said as more patients demanded treatment, more doctors would prioritise training. Chronic Pain Australia's executive director Benjamin Graham echoed concerns about a lack of Canberra doctors able to prescribe medicinal cannabis. He said many patients in need, like Ms Trembath Forster, were missing out. "They hit a brick wall when they see their GP," he said. "The GP either doesn't know too much about it, they really aren't comfortable about it, or they say there's no research or evidence to support medical cannabis." He said his organisation held Canberra-based information sessions on medicinal cannabis, but the sessions for medical practitioners had to be cancelled because only one doctor registered. "There doesn't seem to be any sort of appetite to want to engage with us or to hear what the needs of the local community are," he said. He said many doctors grappled with negative stigma attached to cannabis, and feared being known as "Dr Pot". "Medical cannabis is very different to street cannabis as well, so this notion that everyone's just going to get high is actually quite wrong," he said. "The THC element of street cannabis is taken out of [medicinal] cannabis." Ms Trembath Forster said she hoped she would soon be able to replace her cannabis joints with safe and legal medicinal cannabis oil. But said she would not be replacing her mindfulness classes, which in lieu of other treatment options, have helped to give her a better quality of life. "Mindfulness is a way of escaping your body when you can't escape your body. And we can't. People in chronic pain cannot," she said. Topics:health,cannabis,drug-use,canberra-2600,act,australia First posted May 23, 2019 08:13:03 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-23/canberra-medicinal-cannabis-scheme-failing/11140836 5/23/2019 0 Comments The Canberra tree threatening to thwart a multi-million dollar hotel developmentUpdated May 22, 2019 23:54:45
A lone tree is threatening to take down a multi-million dollar hotel development by a prominent Canberra family, who have lashed out at the "hateful" decision to protect it. Key points:Sotiria Liangis planned to remove the tree to make way for an $11 million hotelThe request to remove the tree was rejected because of its "important role"Mrs Liangis slammed the decision, calling the tree a "weed" The Liangis family said the London plane tree on the commercial block of land in the prestigious suburb of Manuka was a "weed" and that its protection by the ACT Government was a "scam". The tree has been at the centre of a long-running dispute between the family and the Government, after Sotiria Liangis lodged an application to build an $11 million six-storey hotel on a corner block in Manuka near the Capitol Theatre. The application requested the removal of the tree's protective status to make way for the development. ACT Conservator of Flora and Fauna, Ian Walker, on Wednesday rejected the request, saying trees "play an important role and provide many benefits". Mrs Liangis said she would not spend any more money on the site, which currently houses a vacant building, until the tree was gone. "It's a weed for heaven's sake," she said. "All that block of land is full of roots. "The tree cannot possibly stay inside my property." But Mr Walker said a number of factors were considered in his decision to protect the tree, including public submissions, information from the developer and advice from the ACT's Chief Planner and independent tree advisory panel. Photo: The tree in Manuka has stymied a multi-million dollar hotel development. (ABC News: Greg Nelson) "It is important that developments are innovative in how they incorporate and benefit from existing trees," he said. "I hope that by maintaining the tree's protective status, it will continue its long life and people will further appreciate it as a natural focal point of the Manuka landscape." The decision does not prevent development on the site, just the removal of the tree. Tree breaks Government's own rules: developer Photo: The ACT Conservator rejected a request to remove the tree near the Capitol Theatre. (ABC News: Greg Nelson) The tree was placed on the ACT Tree Register in 2012 in "recognition of its contribution to the landscape and aesthetic value". But Mrs Liangis said the tree's protection status was against the Government's own rules. "The tree should not be within 12 metres of a building," she said. "It's one metre away. "It's destroyed two blocks of land." Mrs Liangis said the roots had also blocked a sewer on the property. And she believed the motivation for the tree's nomination for the ACT Tree Register almost a decade ago was done out of "sheer hate". "I love trees more than anybody put together," she said. She said she offered to plant 30 other trees on the property in exchange for removing the large London plane. The hotel is intended to be the first stage of a larger development, which would incorporate a bigger area and vacate the Capitol Cinemas in Manuka. Earlier this year, the tree protection unit reportedly found a drill hole in the base of the tree. Topics:environment,environmental-impact,community-and-society,states-and-territories,history,urban-development-and-planning,canberra-2600,australia,act First posted May 22, 2019 16:31:13 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-22/canberra-tree-threatening-multi-million-dollar-manuka-hotel/11139268 Updated May 21, 2019 11:09:16
Photo: Judith Zhu thought she had some legal rights to stay in her share house then she was evicted. (ABC News: Niki Burnside) From hiding their belongings to avoid a landlord's detection, to the anxiety of handing over a bond they might never get back, many renters have to navigate the market while also waiving their rights to legally occupy the home. Advocates for renters say more needs to be done to inform and protect those on the lowest rung of the rental market. And, with a chronic shortage of rental properties being reported across the country, there are calls to change the legislation to give subtenants legal rights for the first time in the ACT. Eviction and financial strain: The reality of renting Judith Zhu had lived in Canberra for more than three years when she placed an advertisement on a local share housing website seeking a new place to live. "I really needed to get out of my current situation at the time because I was with a really messy housemate," she said. The 22-year-old was contacted by two other students who had just applied for a new home in Canberra's north. She said it was clear from the start that she would not be immediately able to go on the lease, but, as she was contributing to the rent, she believed she had some legal rights to occupancy. She also hoped to be added to the lease before long, and waited for her new housemates to arrange it. Photo: Advocates say subtenants often find they have no choice but to live illegally. (Unsplash: Johanna Dahlberg) It was a mistake she later regretted. "As two students they had a lot of difficulty securing a lease and they needed someone with a full-time job," she said. One of the students had their mother, who did not live at the property, co-sign the lease to get them over the line with the real estate agent. Ms Zhu was expected to stay as an undocumented subtenant. "So whenever we had inspections they'd try to hide the fact that I was actually living there," she said. Then, after just two months of paying rent, Ms Zhu was told to leave due to "personality issues" and was given only two weeks to find a new home. Stranded, just months after paying to move into the residence, she had to move again on her low income. "The fact that I had to find a new place during the worst time of the year for searching, really made me upset," she said. "At that time I was not doing emotionally well." As head tenants benefit, subtenants face uncertainty Photo: People line up to view an apartment for lease in Canberra. (ABC News: Jordan Hayne) Maude*, 28, had just moved to Canberra when she was accepted into a share house in the city's inner north. Relieved to have a roof over her head, she did not immediately learn the her subtenancy was unlawful. The head tenant laid down rules, but she soon realised they had no right to do so. "It turned out the old tenants were still on the lease, and my new housemate was a subletter," she said. "But, when I asked to be added to the lease, he didn't want to include me, as he was concerned that an entirely new set of tenants might be rejected." Uneasy with that arrangement, Maude left, but was forced to pay double rent for weeks. "I didn't have any security over the bond I paid my housemate," she said. "The experience was stressful mainly because of the uncertainty. "I spent five weeks being uncertain about my address and permanent location, which was disruptive to the rest of my life." But Maude said she was aware she was one of the lucky ones. "I'm pretty well off in that I have a good education and friends I can fall back on," she said. "It concerns me that many others wouldn't, and I can absolutely see how huge amounts of stress and possibly homelessness come on well-intentioned people if their income or family situation is insecure." Low-income earners, migrants more likely to be caught out Photo: Share house life can be great, but it can also be a nightmare when things turn sour. (Unsplash: Kaleidico) Canberra's median rental price in the first quarter of 2019 was $550 per week, rising 3.6 per cent over the previous 12 months. That amount was also more than $100 higher than the national average. Better Renting founder Joel Dignam said the current rental market was putting vulnerable people at risk. "The fewer houses there are for people to rent, the more desperate people get to find a place and the more they're willing to compromise," Mr Dignam said. "There are a lot of people in Canberra who might be sleeping at their friends' houses or sleeping in their car while they're looking for a place to rent. They don't have their own home, and for these people they need somewhere to stay. "And that's pushing people to these sorts of marginal forms of housing." This week, Anglicare published data showing there was a chronic shortage of affordable, secure rentals across the country. "That's causing record levels of rental stress and even homelessness," Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers said. Subtenants should be able to demand rent back, union says The territory's legislation around tenancy is different to New South Wales in that it does not include a provision that protects subtenants. Photo: Anglicare reported affordable rentals had become critically low in number across Australia. (ABC News: Kathleen Dyett) ACT Tenants' Union principal solicitor Charlie Faulder said it was difficult to know just how many unlawful subtenants there were in Canberra, because many did not know they were not allowed to live there, and those that did were often too scared of eviction to speak up. "But I would say there's probably almost as many subtenants as there are rentals," he said. He said the law needed to be rewritten to acknowledge those who, for various reasons, were unable to get written consent to live in the residence, or were not aware it was needed. "There's no way of them verifying whether what the head tenant says is true," Mr Faulder said. He said it was common to be contacted by a person who had been evicted with little notice, and usually there was nothing they could do to help that person prolong or avoid their eviction. Mr Faulder said the union wanted the laws to be changed to come more into line with NSW legislation, to make it easier for subtenants. "Really, legislative reform is one of the biggest and probably the most influential changes that can happen," he said. "Our view is also that the head tenant, in circumstances where the head tenant has not obtained written consent, they have no right to take rent. "The tenant should then be able to claim against the head tenant ... and to say, 'I want my rent back'." *Name has been changed to protect the person's identity. Topics:housing,states-and-territories,community-and-society,law-crime-and-justice,canberra-2600,australia,act First posted May 21, 2019 06:16:24 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-21/canberra-subtenants-exploited-in-a-tight-rental-market/11060310 |
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