We are well aware of a housing scam that targets both overseas students and those from country areas who are seeking qualifications from our universities. Very ordinary homes and apartments are fitted out with false walls to create many cubicles containing just a bed and these are let at astronomical prices. Councils are alarmed that there is a high fire danger when many people are crammed into limited spaces with no clear line of exit and most of these illegal boarding houses simply refuse access to council inspectors.
Usually councils are tipped off by neighbours concerned at the high traffic flow in and out of such dwellings and the proliferation of cars swamping kerbside parking in adjacent streets, but the council needs proof to take the matter to court and these illegal tenants are sworn to silence.
Now what was seen as a city problem has reappeared in the town of Tamworth in country New South Wales. The areas biggest employer is a meat processing factory that processes lamb and mutton for supermarket chains Woolworths, Coles and Aldi and fast food franchise McDonalds.
Its workforce seems mainly drawn from recently arrived migrants, despite the New England region having a 19.6% youth unemployment rate, and it seems that it is former migrants who have achieved home ownership who are now providing these illegal boarding houses and enriching themselves by providing sub standard accommodation.
The council has been successful in closing down one illegal boarding house but has another eight under scrutiny. Its inspectors are facing a very effective " wall of silence ". Approached tenants refuse to comment and the direct approach to such dwellings usually results in a door knock going unanswered. It is proving almost impossible to gather the evidence necessary to pursue the matter in court.
It is also apparent that the main origin of this Tamworth work force is migrants from either Taiwan or Korea and that the proprietors of this illegal accommodation have a similar background. New employees of the meat factory who arrive without trade skills start at the entrance rate of $ 17.58 an hour which is part of an agreement signed in September 2015.
It is expected that they will progress to higher remuneration levels as their skills increase but many feel trapped when their accommodation needs dilutes their income and many leave after just six months. The problem is that should the council succeed in closing these illegal boarding houses there is no apparent alternative readily available.
It seems that the onus is now changing and the owners of property are given just thirty days to provide proof that their property is not being used for an illegal purpose. There is an expectation that this may bring a work force disruption in the area and obviously no one wants the economics of the town to be damaged.
It seems that these job opportunities are not attractive to the areas unemployed young people and the meat processor is a valuable starting point for many migrants to be absorbed into the Australian life style. Now we need to solve the accommodation problem !
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
A Crime Scene in the Sky !
Our troubles here on planet Earth seem puny in comparison with what is happening in the sky above our heads. The galaxies are at war with one another and it seems that size matters. When a big galaxy approaches a smaller constellation of stars its gigantic gravity imbalance starts to suck hydrogen - and hydrogen is the building block of star life.
Its simply a big stage production of the old earth habit of conquering other lands to create an empire. As the hydrogen is extracted the old galaxy winks out and dies, and the new expanded galaxy has the added hydrogen to allow it to compress this gas to create new stars.
Science points out that this is happening in an area of the sky we can monitor without the need for a telescope. The Small Magellenic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. It consists of several hundred million stars, a small fry compared with the hundreds of billions that its near neighbour controls.
All this is about 200,000 light years away but we can see the Small Magellenic Cloud as a fuzzy patch in space with the naked eye. It is being steadily eaten by two bigger approaching galaxies - and one day it will be entirely gone.
Now we will be able to follow this form of evolution - or view the crime scene as some would prefer - through the CSIRO's new Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope. We can actually watch the restructure of the universe as it is happening in real time and this will allow science to accurately predict what will happen to our modest little solar system sometime in the distant future.
What worries some scientists is our assumption that other life forms in the universe will be not only technically far advanced - but also friendly. When Marconi invented radio back at the start of the twentieth century we have been blasting recognition of our presence here with endless radio signals followed by television that depicts our lifestyle away from this planet at the speed of light. By now it might be driving denizens of other planets crazy if it intrudes into their communication systems.
We would do well to remember what happened when we discovered the way to cross oceans using the wind to power sailing ships. We arrived as conquerors of new lands and when we planted our flag we imposed our laws and customs on those we regarded as inferiors. That was also the era of the slave trade. We shipped people against their will to where they would labour in chains to make us wealthy.
Perhaps the biggest danger to the human race would be the discovery of alien life form from anther planet - that had exactly the same mental process and style of thinking - as us ! If they had developed the means of space travel they would probably have a life style far advanced on our development. It is unlikely they would greet us as equals.
Perhaps watching what is happening to the Small Magellenic Cloud illustrates that the universe is not the friendly place of our imagination !
Its simply a big stage production of the old earth habit of conquering other lands to create an empire. As the hydrogen is extracted the old galaxy winks out and dies, and the new expanded galaxy has the added hydrogen to allow it to compress this gas to create new stars.
Science points out that this is happening in an area of the sky we can monitor without the need for a telescope. The Small Magellenic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. It consists of several hundred million stars, a small fry compared with the hundreds of billions that its near neighbour controls.
All this is about 200,000 light years away but we can see the Small Magellenic Cloud as a fuzzy patch in space with the naked eye. It is being steadily eaten by two bigger approaching galaxies - and one day it will be entirely gone.
Now we will be able to follow this form of evolution - or view the crime scene as some would prefer - through the CSIRO's new Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope. We can actually watch the restructure of the universe as it is happening in real time and this will allow science to accurately predict what will happen to our modest little solar system sometime in the distant future.
What worries some scientists is our assumption that other life forms in the universe will be not only technically far advanced - but also friendly. When Marconi invented radio back at the start of the twentieth century we have been blasting recognition of our presence here with endless radio signals followed by television that depicts our lifestyle away from this planet at the speed of light. By now it might be driving denizens of other planets crazy if it intrudes into their communication systems.
We would do well to remember what happened when we discovered the way to cross oceans using the wind to power sailing ships. We arrived as conquerors of new lands and when we planted our flag we imposed our laws and customs on those we regarded as inferiors. That was also the era of the slave trade. We shipped people against their will to where they would labour in chains to make us wealthy.
Perhaps the biggest danger to the human race would be the discovery of alien life form from anther planet - that had exactly the same mental process and style of thinking - as us ! If they had developed the means of space travel they would probably have a life style far advanced on our development. It is unlikely they would greet us as equals.
Perhaps watching what is happening to the Small Magellenic Cloud illustrates that the universe is not the friendly place of our imagination !
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Citrus Industry Booms !
Just a few years back the Australian Citrus industry was facing ruin. Bumper crops were being allowed to fall off the trees and rot on the ground. A high Australian dollar was making exports unsustainable and the local market was simply flooded with excess fruit that retailers could not shift. In many growing areas citrus trees were being ripped out of the ground and replaced with grape vines.
How times have changed. Now some of those grape vines are being ripped up and replaced with new citrus trees. A weaker Australian dollar has turned around the prospects for the export of this Australian product and we are now struggling to meet demand. One of the reasons that citrus growers are smiling is because the growing middle class in China has discovered the joy of a glass of orange juice with their morning breakfast - and that is an ever expanding market.
The figures speak for themselves. Citrus exports for the 2017 season to the end of September were valued at $ 377 million, a 31 % jump on the same period last year, and well ahead of the figure for the 2016 full years $ 328 m.
There simply was no China market six or seven years ago. Now we are looking down the barrel of sending 80,000 tonnes there this season, and it is not just oranges. Mandarin sales have also taken off and are growing at a rate of between ten and fifteen percent each year.
There is the expectation that the Chinese cosmopolitan phenomenon of middle class growth still has a way to go and the growing world population augers well for the southern hemisphere. We are the warmer part of the world and this allows both a summer and winter crop season. The vast agricultural areas of Australia, South America and Africa seem destined to become the worlds breadbasket.
We need to have the mechanism in place to handle this opportunity and that includes ensuring that picking the crops do not encounter obstacles. Traditionally, our main workforce consists of backpackers who finance their Australian holiday by following the picking rotation as they move around the country. It is essential that both the tax regime that applies to their earnings and the availability of visas to enter this country do not deter this valuable aid to our export industry.
Our citrus industry is very aware of the need to keep pace with world tastes by consistently upgrading the varieties that we grow. The tarocco orange is a blood orange with Italian ancestry and both its looks, taste and amount of orange juice seem promising. This variety was not grown in this country but experimental acreage is attracting market enthusiasm.
It seems that citrus is returning as a growth industry. Every year there are many more mouths to feed as the world population grows. It is essential that no obstacles be allowed to prevent the Australian agricultural industry from meeting this challenge - and adding to our national prosperity !
How times have changed. Now some of those grape vines are being ripped up and replaced with new citrus trees. A weaker Australian dollar has turned around the prospects for the export of this Australian product and we are now struggling to meet demand. One of the reasons that citrus growers are smiling is because the growing middle class in China has discovered the joy of a glass of orange juice with their morning breakfast - and that is an ever expanding market.
The figures speak for themselves. Citrus exports for the 2017 season to the end of September were valued at $ 377 million, a 31 % jump on the same period last year, and well ahead of the figure for the 2016 full years $ 328 m.
There simply was no China market six or seven years ago. Now we are looking down the barrel of sending 80,000 tonnes there this season, and it is not just oranges. Mandarin sales have also taken off and are growing at a rate of between ten and fifteen percent each year.
There is the expectation that the Chinese cosmopolitan phenomenon of middle class growth still has a way to go and the growing world population augers well for the southern hemisphere. We are the warmer part of the world and this allows both a summer and winter crop season. The vast agricultural areas of Australia, South America and Africa seem destined to become the worlds breadbasket.
We need to have the mechanism in place to handle this opportunity and that includes ensuring that picking the crops do not encounter obstacles. Traditionally, our main workforce consists of backpackers who finance their Australian holiday by following the picking rotation as they move around the country. It is essential that both the tax regime that applies to their earnings and the availability of visas to enter this country do not deter this valuable aid to our export industry.
Our citrus industry is very aware of the need to keep pace with world tastes by consistently upgrading the varieties that we grow. The tarocco orange is a blood orange with Italian ancestry and both its looks, taste and amount of orange juice seem promising. This variety was not grown in this country but experimental acreage is attracting market enthusiasm.
It seems that citrus is returning as a growth industry. Every year there are many more mouths to feed as the world population grows. It is essential that no obstacles be allowed to prevent the Australian agricultural industry from meeting this challenge - and adding to our national prosperity !
Monday, 27 November 2017
New Life in " Green " Politics !
It has long been felt that the far left political inclinations of Senator Lee Rhiannon have stopped many moderates from casting a Green vote. This battle between the " left " and the " right " within the Greens political movement has previously resulted in Senator Rhiannon heading the party's Senate ticket, but she has now been displaced.
This was probably the outcome of a dispute earlier this year which saw Senator Rhiannon ejected from the party room. She had authorised a pamphlet from left leaning groups that opposed the stance taken by Greens party leader Senator Richard Di Natale in negotiating the Gonski 2.0 school funding package with the government.
That was a direct challenge to the party leadership and many Greens thought it was totally unacceptable. Senator Rhiannon has long held the derisory soubriquet of being a " Watermelon ". Green on the outside, and very red in the centre. Her extreme left wing views have been a positive disincentive for many moderate voters to change their vote to the Greens.
In fact, this has been a stunning defeat. Her challenger was New South Wales Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi who received 1301 votes compared to Senator Rhiannon's 843, a 60.7 percent victory after the distribution of preferences. Dr Faruqi is expected to deliver a more moderate stance to Greens policy.
This division between the left and the right have resulted in many bitter preselection contests in New South Wales that have left many potential Greens voters wondering just where the party is heading. The media have been enthusiastic in giving Senator Rhiannon's views plenty of publicity and as a consequence many people think that her extreme left wing views are actually what the Greens are seeking to achieve.
There is a possibility that Senator Rhiannon may take her left wing fringe and start an entirely new party and that would rid the Greens of this discordant element. They started life as a voice drawing attention to the harm being done to the environment and that was what attracted initial support. It was this left wing element that turned the party in new directions and took up causes that do not gain mainstream support. It is possible that the Greens may now return to their roots.
What is evident is that the party faithful are fully aware that the Greens will remain a fringe political party as long as they allow a chaotic element to distract from official party policy. They have taken steps to shut down that raucous left wing element and its demands for social transformation. They will not gain public support at a level that will thrust them into government unless they quell the mutiny in their ranks and present a clear policy that gains a degree of support from ordinary people.
Perhaps that is a basic political requirement that the ruling party holding office would do well to understand. That old maxim that " disunity is death " holds relevance !
This was probably the outcome of a dispute earlier this year which saw Senator Rhiannon ejected from the party room. She had authorised a pamphlet from left leaning groups that opposed the stance taken by Greens party leader Senator Richard Di Natale in negotiating the Gonski 2.0 school funding package with the government.
That was a direct challenge to the party leadership and many Greens thought it was totally unacceptable. Senator Rhiannon has long held the derisory soubriquet of being a " Watermelon ". Green on the outside, and very red in the centre. Her extreme left wing views have been a positive disincentive for many moderate voters to change their vote to the Greens.
In fact, this has been a stunning defeat. Her challenger was New South Wales Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi who received 1301 votes compared to Senator Rhiannon's 843, a 60.7 percent victory after the distribution of preferences. Dr Faruqi is expected to deliver a more moderate stance to Greens policy.
This division between the left and the right have resulted in many bitter preselection contests in New South Wales that have left many potential Greens voters wondering just where the party is heading. The media have been enthusiastic in giving Senator Rhiannon's views plenty of publicity and as a consequence many people think that her extreme left wing views are actually what the Greens are seeking to achieve.
There is a possibility that Senator Rhiannon may take her left wing fringe and start an entirely new party and that would rid the Greens of this discordant element. They started life as a voice drawing attention to the harm being done to the environment and that was what attracted initial support. It was this left wing element that turned the party in new directions and took up causes that do not gain mainstream support. It is possible that the Greens may now return to their roots.
What is evident is that the party faithful are fully aware that the Greens will remain a fringe political party as long as they allow a chaotic element to distract from official party policy. They have taken steps to shut down that raucous left wing element and its demands for social transformation. They will not gain public support at a level that will thrust them into government unless they quell the mutiny in their ranks and present a clear policy that gains a degree of support from ordinary people.
Perhaps that is a basic political requirement that the ruling party holding office would do well to understand. That old maxim that " disunity is death " holds relevance !
Sunday, 26 November 2017
New Asbestos Risk !
Back in 1990 Australia banned Asbestos use in its many forms to try and stem the spread of deadly diseases that are caused by inhaling its tiny fibres which break free whenever an asbestos product is cut, sawed or in any way broken apart.
That caused a massive dislocation of industry. In particular, the building product industry was a big user of asbestos and many products had to be reformulated, and existing homes built before 1990 seemed the main risk the public faced. There was a massive public advertising campaign to warn renovators of the need to check if asbestos was present before commencing even basic home repairs. Simply drilling a hole in a sheet of material containing asbestos was sufficient to be the cause of a lingering later death,
All building materials now manufactured in Australia are free of asbestos but all the homes built before 1990 are simply riddled with the stuff. Despite the warnings, many people fail to recognise materials that pose a danger and we are likely to see asbestos related diseases taking lives well into the next century.
Fortunately, the rising price of homes in Australia is increasing the ratio of " demolish and rebuild " over " repair and renovate ". Demolition laws ensure that this work is carried out by licensed contractors who safely remove all forms of asbestos and dispose of it at a regulated landfill, where it is immediately buried. Health and safety are plagued by rogue waste disposal operators who dump this hazardous waste on public land - and sometimes in quiet suburban streets. This crime now attracts massive fines and prison terms for repeated offences.
It would be reasonable to expect that the new use of asbestos is Australia has ceased and the only remaining hazard is the stock of homes built before 1990, but our ban on this product was not replicated in many other countries. In particular, asbestos is still mined and remains a perfectly legal product in China, India and Russia and we are now finding that it is contained in products imported from those countries. In most cases, there is no mention of asbestos in any of the product information or advertising material that relates to these products.
Our laws specifically ban the import of any form of asbestos but the problem is that it is both cheap and very useful as a component in product manufacturing. We are now probably encountering asbestos in many household goods and in car replacement parts coming into this country from places where it is still a common base material. In such form, it would not be apparent to our customs inspectors.
Until now, warnings to the public about how to safely handle asbestos products has been in the hands of the Asbestos Eradication and Safety Agency ( AESA ) which is an independent organization sustained by a government grant. That grant is now at risk and this may revert to simply a desk function with the Department of Employment. It is highly likely that both the volume and intensity of such health warnings would diminish.
Logic dictates that if this asbestos risk is to be contained we need enhanced customs procedures to stop inward shipments passing over our wharves and we need the safe handling of existing asbestos warnings to be maintained to alert the public to the risk still lurking in pre 1990 housing.
Unless we take precautions, asbestos deaths will be a reality stalking Australians long into the future.
That caused a massive dislocation of industry. In particular, the building product industry was a big user of asbestos and many products had to be reformulated, and existing homes built before 1990 seemed the main risk the public faced. There was a massive public advertising campaign to warn renovators of the need to check if asbestos was present before commencing even basic home repairs. Simply drilling a hole in a sheet of material containing asbestos was sufficient to be the cause of a lingering later death,
All building materials now manufactured in Australia are free of asbestos but all the homes built before 1990 are simply riddled with the stuff. Despite the warnings, many people fail to recognise materials that pose a danger and we are likely to see asbestos related diseases taking lives well into the next century.
Fortunately, the rising price of homes in Australia is increasing the ratio of " demolish and rebuild " over " repair and renovate ". Demolition laws ensure that this work is carried out by licensed contractors who safely remove all forms of asbestos and dispose of it at a regulated landfill, where it is immediately buried. Health and safety are plagued by rogue waste disposal operators who dump this hazardous waste on public land - and sometimes in quiet suburban streets. This crime now attracts massive fines and prison terms for repeated offences.
It would be reasonable to expect that the new use of asbestos is Australia has ceased and the only remaining hazard is the stock of homes built before 1990, but our ban on this product was not replicated in many other countries. In particular, asbestos is still mined and remains a perfectly legal product in China, India and Russia and we are now finding that it is contained in products imported from those countries. In most cases, there is no mention of asbestos in any of the product information or advertising material that relates to these products.
Our laws specifically ban the import of any form of asbestos but the problem is that it is both cheap and very useful as a component in product manufacturing. We are now probably encountering asbestos in many household goods and in car replacement parts coming into this country from places where it is still a common base material. In such form, it would not be apparent to our customs inspectors.
Until now, warnings to the public about how to safely handle asbestos products has been in the hands of the Asbestos Eradication and Safety Agency ( AESA ) which is an independent organization sustained by a government grant. That grant is now at risk and this may revert to simply a desk function with the Department of Employment. It is highly likely that both the volume and intensity of such health warnings would diminish.
Logic dictates that if this asbestos risk is to be contained we need enhanced customs procedures to stop inward shipments passing over our wharves and we need the safe handling of existing asbestos warnings to be maintained to alert the public to the risk still lurking in pre 1990 housing.
Unless we take precautions, asbestos deaths will be a reality stalking Australians long into the future.
Friday, 24 November 2017
Legally " Defenceless " !
In the very long history of Rugby League football just eight players have been elevated to the rank of being called " Immortal ". One of those is Graham Langlands. He played 45 Tests for Australia, fifteen as captain. He played two hundred games for the Dragons during 1963 and 1976 when St George had an eleven year winning streak.
Life after retirement was anything but placid. He managed hotels in Taree and later in the Philippines and was featured in two biographies. Old injuries came back to haunt him and he finally ended up in a Sutherland nursing home, suffering from Dementia. It is thought that mind altering disease is linked to the many head clashes he suffered playing the sport he loved.
Now a legal matter has emerged in the Brisbane Magistrates court. Graham Langlands has been accused of indecently dealing with a child under sixteen on the Gold Coast between March 25 and June 30 of 1982. The Langland family report that this will be defended.
That opens an interesting area of conjecture in legal circles. A person whose mind has been destroyed by Dementia is not capable of instructing lawyers or giving evidence in his own defence. Yet this is a serious charge and the Department of Public Prosecutions will certainly attract criticism if they do not proceed with the case.
Then there is the issue of penalties. Should this case result in a guilty verdict it is improbable that a man suffering Dementia would be sentenced to serve time in the general prison population. He would need to be defended against the victimization that exists in such institutions and the only option would be incarceration in the prison hospital.
It also raises the question of what would be the gain. The twin aims of a prison sentence is to deliver punishment and achieve rehabilitation to prevent future criminal acts. A person with Dementia who has no memory of why he is in prison is totally incapable of any form of rehabilitation.
This charge also poses a problem for the grandees of Rugby League. Had this charge arisen before his elevation to " Immortal " status it is unlikely that this distinction would have been approved. There was a degree of doubt when another player was so nominated because he had been involved in suspected drug use and Immortals required a squeaky clean image. There is a possibility that a guilty verdict may see this honour withdrawn.
We are all living longer - and Dementia is a fast increasing disease in the general population. It seems likely that defence lawyers will seek to have this disability allowed as a legal defence against any form of prosecution. Of course, Dementia comes in many degrees and usually advances over time, but in its extreme form most memory is totally extinguished.
It may take the case of such a public figure to get a determination of whether Dementia is a valid defence against prosecution.
Life after retirement was anything but placid. He managed hotels in Taree and later in the Philippines and was featured in two biographies. Old injuries came back to haunt him and he finally ended up in a Sutherland nursing home, suffering from Dementia. It is thought that mind altering disease is linked to the many head clashes he suffered playing the sport he loved.
Now a legal matter has emerged in the Brisbane Magistrates court. Graham Langlands has been accused of indecently dealing with a child under sixteen on the Gold Coast between March 25 and June 30 of 1982. The Langland family report that this will be defended.
That opens an interesting area of conjecture in legal circles. A person whose mind has been destroyed by Dementia is not capable of instructing lawyers or giving evidence in his own defence. Yet this is a serious charge and the Department of Public Prosecutions will certainly attract criticism if they do not proceed with the case.
Then there is the issue of penalties. Should this case result in a guilty verdict it is improbable that a man suffering Dementia would be sentenced to serve time in the general prison population. He would need to be defended against the victimization that exists in such institutions and the only option would be incarceration in the prison hospital.
It also raises the question of what would be the gain. The twin aims of a prison sentence is to deliver punishment and achieve rehabilitation to prevent future criminal acts. A person with Dementia who has no memory of why he is in prison is totally incapable of any form of rehabilitation.
This charge also poses a problem for the grandees of Rugby League. Had this charge arisen before his elevation to " Immortal " status it is unlikely that this distinction would have been approved. There was a degree of doubt when another player was so nominated because he had been involved in suspected drug use and Immortals required a squeaky clean image. There is a possibility that a guilty verdict may see this honour withdrawn.
We are all living longer - and Dementia is a fast increasing disease in the general population. It seems likely that defence lawyers will seek to have this disability allowed as a legal defence against any form of prosecution. Of course, Dementia comes in many degrees and usually advances over time, but in its extreme form most memory is totally extinguished.
It may take the case of such a public figure to get a determination of whether Dementia is a valid defence against prosecution.
Sex - And the Power Balance !
The Australian Council of Graduate Research has sounded a warning that we need a professional standard to apply to govern the relationship between students and their lecturers, tutors and supervisors. These high ethical standards certainly apply with research activities but they are lacking in the general University mode.
It is suggested that a code similar to that which is standard in the medical profession needs to be applied. The Medical Board of Australia prohibits doctors from having a sexual relationship with a patient, even when consent is provided.
A landmark Australian Human Rights Commission survey has revealed that ten percent of post-graduate students reported being sexually harassed and said that it involved their tutor or lecturer. This compared to six percent of under-graduate students.
Universities discourage relationships between staff and students but no hard and fast rules exist and there is an obvious power imbalance. The people who attend university are legally adult and far beyond the age of consent, and yet attainment of that all important qualification rests in the hands of the very people who may be seeking their submission.
Such a professional standard regime would also protect staff from the reverse situation where a student initiates a sexual relationship with the intent of attaining a better marking standard. It is important that universities ensure that staff do not mark the work of students which they have a relationship with but in most cases this is not publicly evident.
The code that applies within the medical profession is both strict and unwavering. Even a relationship that commences years after that person ceased to be a patient would be viewed very unfavourably and could result in license cancellation. If adopted in the university scene it would absolutely prohibit a sexual relationship between staff and a student where a direct teaching relationship exists.
Strict laws apply in the school system where pupils are of younger age and a teacher entering into a relationship with a student not only puts their job at risk but also stands a chance of serving time in a prison. The age of consent law is no immunity in such circumstances.
We are moving into an age where sexual harassment in the workplace is getting ever closer scrutiny and it seems that until now the universities have been exempt. Perhaps it has been reasoned that university students who very loudly voice their opinion on community matters would initiate their own action if they believed they were victims. That simply dismisses the power vacuum that exists between lecturer and student when it comes to the granting of a qualification.
Holding teaching tenure at a University is a well paid job. It is about time that reasonable standards of social conduct applied to its continuity !
It is suggested that a code similar to that which is standard in the medical profession needs to be applied. The Medical Board of Australia prohibits doctors from having a sexual relationship with a patient, even when consent is provided.
A landmark Australian Human Rights Commission survey has revealed that ten percent of post-graduate students reported being sexually harassed and said that it involved their tutor or lecturer. This compared to six percent of under-graduate students.
Universities discourage relationships between staff and students but no hard and fast rules exist and there is an obvious power imbalance. The people who attend university are legally adult and far beyond the age of consent, and yet attainment of that all important qualification rests in the hands of the very people who may be seeking their submission.
Such a professional standard regime would also protect staff from the reverse situation where a student initiates a sexual relationship with the intent of attaining a better marking standard. It is important that universities ensure that staff do not mark the work of students which they have a relationship with but in most cases this is not publicly evident.
The code that applies within the medical profession is both strict and unwavering. Even a relationship that commences years after that person ceased to be a patient would be viewed very unfavourably and could result in license cancellation. If adopted in the university scene it would absolutely prohibit a sexual relationship between staff and a student where a direct teaching relationship exists.
Strict laws apply in the school system where pupils are of younger age and a teacher entering into a relationship with a student not only puts their job at risk but also stands a chance of serving time in a prison. The age of consent law is no immunity in such circumstances.
We are moving into an age where sexual harassment in the workplace is getting ever closer scrutiny and it seems that until now the universities have been exempt. Perhaps it has been reasoned that university students who very loudly voice their opinion on community matters would initiate their own action if they believed they were victims. That simply dismisses the power vacuum that exists between lecturer and student when it comes to the granting of a qualification.
Holding teaching tenure at a University is a well paid job. It is about time that reasonable standards of social conduct applied to its continuity !
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