" Bail Laws " eased !

Bail laws are always contentious and New South Wales has eased the criteria that applies to the granting of bail.  From July those charged with an offence will " automatically qualify for bail if a magistrate believes that they pose no risk ".

A test case is waiting in the wings and the outcome will be eagerly watched by both the police and the legal profession.   It concerns a man charged with the alleged  murder of his wife seventeen years ago - and who has been held in a remand prison for the past year.  No doubt the magistrate will be warned that this man might be a flight risk and that there is concern that he may approach witnesses.   His defence lawyer will certainly claim that he has lived lawfully in the community for seventeen years and has the full support of his children and family.

Options exist and are in a magistrate's hands.   He can demand that the accused surrender his or her passport and report to police at regular intervals.  The age of the accused would certainly be a consideration.  It is also likely that the outlook of individual magistrates will be a factor in making bail applications because their record in granting bail will depict them as either " hard " or " soft ".

There is no doubt that a dangerous person who is likely to reoffend needs to be confined for the protection of the public, but remand has long been a police tactic to wear down a supposed offender and try and obtain a confession.   Often, such a prisoner is put in a cell with a gaol informant in the hope of obtaining further information - and delays in bringing the case to court can be little more than an extra judicial sentence.  The person on remand is " innocent until proven guilty ", but actually serving a sentence similar to a convicted felon.

Another reason for this law change - is the cost factor.   Our prison system weighs heavily on the public purse and few convicted of crimes are given the maximum sentence.   Usually, whatever sentence is handed down carries a non parole period and hence the actual time served is usually miniscule.   Parole is the easy option, freeing up prison space and making the convicted person responsible for his or her own living costs.

There is another option that should go hand in hand with these new bail laws.    We need a defined limit on the time a person can be held on remand before their case goes before a court.   As things stand, the prosecution can apply for extended delays that sometimes result in the accused  being behind bars for years - with jobs, family obligations and personal property allowed to disintegrate.   A vindictive prosecutor can actually replace the role of judge and jury - and impose a penalty far beyond the jurisdiction of a court.

No doubt this law change will bring contention.  It is almost inevitable that some people will be granted bail and tragically re-offend, causing a public outcry and much finger pointing.      It is also likely that compassion will bring rewards that result in less broken families and destitution caused by long spells on remand - that ended with acquittal in court.

This easing will certainly increase the load on magistrates called upon to make bail decisions.  Each decision will have it's supporters - and it's detractors.   The ones that they get right will pass virtually unnoticed - but those that go spectacularly wrong will be long remembered !

The " Sink Hole " phenomenon !

A homeowner at Swansea Heads, near Newcastle got an unpleasant schock this week when a gaping great hole opened up beneath his home.    Part of the foundations were left hanging over what was called a " sink hole " that was fifteen metres wide - and twenty-five metres deep.  He quickly learned that houses in his street were over a coal mine that was closed over sixty years ago - and that most owners were unaware of it's presence when homes were built in 1996.

Repair crews rushed to fill the hole with concrete and now another sink hole has opened nearby. The entire street may be at risk but at least the damage is the responsibility of the Mine Subsidence Board.  Mining in this state is levied with a tax to fund repairs to home damaged by subsidence caused by mining.   What is unclear is how this discovery will affect home prices.    This street contains million dollar homes with marvellous water views - and even a hint of land instability can send values crashing.

Usually, council regulations are very strict where mining activity has occurred.  The type of homes permitted are designed to spread the weight load and usually this is by way of a concrete slab foundation, and the building materials permitted are carefully selected to be repairable in the event of any land movement.

Unfortunately, there is another cause of sink holes that is not covered by the Mine Subsidence Board.  In areas where the underlying strata is of a porous nature - such as limestone - water penetration can dissolve the rock and lead to vast underground caverns forming - and eventually this can lead to a cave-in.   It is a world wide phenomenon and in some cases the area is huge - and devours an entire shopping centre.

We are warned that global warming may exacerbate these incidents.   Extreme rainfall tends to increase water penetration underground - and speed up the rock disintegration.   This is not a risk covered by home insurance and usually any claim is rejected on " Act of God " grounds.

It seems that land stability is a new worry for homeowners to ponder.   When it comes to buying a building block or negotiating the sale of an existing home, we usually make no enquiry about the underlying structure of the land involved.   Perhaps future property searches may be more diligent in ascertaining that the area is entirely mine free - and that the  nature of the rock structure below is composed of the type of rock not subject to water erosion.

Land stability is a new worry for twenty-first century home owners !

Work for the Dole !

From July 1 those aged from eighteen to thirty who have received either Youth Allowance or Newstart for twelve months will be required to " Work for Welfare " to keep receiving their payments.  This will involve fifteen hours a week of compulsory attendance at whatever task they are rostered - and in the event of a " no show " - their allowance will be docked by one tenth for each missed day.

This " Work for the Dole " commitment will apply at eighteen centres across the state, selected because each contains a heavy concentration of those out of work.  Tasks will be in the hands of councils, State and Federal government agencies and welfare and not-for-profit organizations.   The vaguely stated aim is a mix of clawing back government money and bringing the benefit of acquiring some sort of work skill to the unemployed.

Hopefully, we have learned something from the last time this scheme was implemented.  At that time the beneficiary was mainly local councils and the tasks selected were either " make work " oriented - or the unemployed were eagerly accepted as " free labourers " to save money by completing tasks that would otherwise be done with paid help.

By coincidental timing, this last scheme meshed with plans for the refurbishment of the mall in Wollongong and this involved laying pavers throughout the CBD.   This task was alotted to the new labour force reporting for work - and it was a disaster that still haunts council finances.    Laying pavers is a skilled job - and the work for the dole crews simply did not have that skill  Shortly after completion the faults began to appear, resulting in falls and women with snapped shoe heels.   Compensation claims jumped sharply - and eventually - whole sections of the CBD had to be torn up and professionally re-laid. 

Putting this scheme in place opens an opportunity to get work done that is financially out of reach because of budget restraints.   It will surely fail if the " make work " objective is the sole criteria - and we have people painting rocks white to give the appearance that something is being done - but to no worthwhile end.

What we need is people with vision to carefully plan a logical outcome that will bring both a benefit and at the same time deliver a sense of achievement to those who worked in it's creation.   We can not expect those forced to work for the dole to be enthusiastic at what many will consider " forced labour " , but it would be possible to generate a degree of " pride " at a successful and widely praised outcome.

Job planning will be the crux of success - and that will take the selection of planners who think outside the nine dots.   Who will have that task is not clear.    So many initiatives that have very good intentions fail because there is no follow through to get the implementation right.

It is said that those who fail to learn from history - are destined to repeat those same mistakes.   Let us hope that what happened to the pavers in the Wollongong mall is not a portend of things to come !

What a tangled web we weave !

Even the most blase citizens must be alarmed at the crime events unfolding across the news media in Sydney this week.   It started when a twenty year old Asian student at the NSW University of Technology was declared " missing " - and there were fears for his safety.    The next day fishermen at sea off Cronulla spotted what looked like a body in the water, wrapped in a tarpaulin and bound with ropes.

Events moved swiftly from there.   For reasons that are yet to be explained it seems that video surveillance caught a very senior retired police detective and another senior officer who was sacked from the force in disgrace in contact with the missing student - and this mystery revolves around a small black bag, said to contain two million dollars worth of the drug " Ice ".

One of the ex police officers was immediately arrested and held in "protective custody ".  Police feared an " A J Simpson " cavalcade when the other ex officer offered to come in for an arranged surrender - and launched a spectacular media event arrest  - and there is every expectation that this is the tip of an iceberg when it comes to drug distribution in this state.

We are well aware that the huge profits that can be made from distributing illegal drugs is the main income impetus behind the rise of bikie gangs and the various ethnic crime groups who dominate certain suburbs.It stands to reason that the police are the very people with the inside knowledge to profit from drugs - if they choose to cross the line and engage on the other side of the law.

In particular, it must be frustrating to police who have finally retired with a police pension to know that the " respectable " major players who control the top of the drug chains are literally millionaires who are feted by society and live a life of privilege.   By " looking the other way " as a serving officer, or using their specialised knowledge as a retiree - they can cream off a dividend that allows them to also enjoy " the good life ".

It seems that in this case, murder was committed without compunction and people who knew better made a complete mess of disposing of the body.   Surely they teach people in detective school that dead bodies float unless heavy weights are used to keep them submerged ?

Once again the involvement of police - retired or still functioning in the police force - will draw the spotlight on the connections between police and crime.   It is inevitable that a degree of criminality exists within any group tasked with administering the law.    The big question is - how deep does it run in the people in blue uniforms who guard our safety ?

The real problem is that the huge profits from illegal drugs are an almost irresistible temptation to any otherwise honest citizen !

A Timely Warning !

Another multiple gun death tragedy in the United States - and it seems that the killer was a young man who " had it all " !   Elliott Roger (22) was the son of a successful Hollywood movie director.   He had a new black BMW and access to that city's A list and red carpet social activities - but festering below the surface was a black rage because he was " unsuccessful " with women.

Sadly, several people were alarmed and reported that he was " dangerous " to the police.  He was interviewed - and presented a sunny disposition that caused professionals to deem him " harmless " - and then in a ten minute spree he shot six people dead, knifed three men to death and wounded a further thirteen - and then killed himself with his own gun.

Hindsight always has 20-20 vision.   Roger must have had a personality disorder that made him repulsive to women.   He was still a " virgin " at 22 and it is claimed that he had never even held a girl's hand, let alone shared a kiss.   The sight of normal relationships between couples of a similar age both enraged and embittered him - and eventually he " snapped " and took revenge on the society he was convinced had wronged him.

There are lessons to be learned - both here and in the United States - from this incident, but the American gun culture is unlikely to change.   The American constitution guarantees the right to bear arms and there are actually more hand guns in the United States than people, hence many must have multiple guns.    The powerful National Rifle Association intends to keep it that way.

Here in Australia we have a much stricter gun control.   After the Port Arthur massacre tightened rules saw a sharp decline in the number of long arms in the hands of the public - and hand guns were a rareity until very recent times.  Gun smuggling is now a profitable crime and we are seeing evidence of the proliferation of hand guns on an almost daily basis.   A gun culture has emerged that sees homes being shot up to deliver warnings and new criminal elements now protect their home turf with a hail of bullets.

It seems inevitable that the Australian crime scene will continue to deteriorate and hand guns become more prevalent - unless we crack down nationally and make illegal possession of a hand gun a crime that ensures a long stint in prison.   It will take a significant " fear factor " to persuade the crime gangs that getting caught with a hand gun is too extreme a risk - to even contemplate.    Just having a gun should invoke a more severe punishment that most other forms of crime - and that will impose a sharp rise in prison costs, but it is the price we have to pay if we want to eradicate gun crime in this country.

The other basic need is better training of both the police and the medical profession to deal with the psychopaths lurking in our society.  In too many cases the warnings have been there for a long time before tragedy strikes - and an adequate early response is a better option  than an enquiry chaired by the coroner.

The " P " Plate money trap !

Every day of the week about two hundred P plate drivers are stripped of their driving licenses for breaking road rules or failing to pay traffic fines.   There are 450,600 road users in New South Wales who drive under the provisions of either P1 or P2 provisional driving licenses - and they make up sixteen percent of all drivers in the 17 - 25 age group.   Unfortunately, they also represent twenty-six percent of those who cause or suffer injuries in road accidents.

The law is very strict on P1 license holders because they are in their first year of driving and it takes time to become proficient and gain good driving skills.  A driver caught speeding in this category automatically has his or her license suspended for three months to drive home the  safety message.

P2 drivers are allowed a little more leniency.  They lose their license if they accrue seven demerit points, as opposed to the thirteen demerit points allowed fully licensed drivers, and with double demerit points applying over holiday periods,  carrying passengers with unbuckled seat belts or a small speeding lapse can have major consequences by way of license loss.

As a consequence, we are seeing a steady increase in the number of drivers who are behind the wheel unlicensed - and in the number of cars on our roads lacking both green slip insurance cover and valid registration.   It seems to be a combination of bravado, lack of an alternative way of getting to work and the aftermath of the recession that leaves most people short of money.

It seems that few seem to fully understand the financial risk they take when they drive a car without holding a valid license, or when that vehicle is lacking registration and green slip cover.   Lack of either - or both - negates the protection covered by general insurance and the cover by specific insurance policies.

The fact that the driver is driving a worthless " bomb " has no impact on the liability that may bring him or her financial ruin.   It seems inevitable that political pressure will  result in the penalty for unlicensed and unregistered driving to become more severe - and the steady increase in technology is making detection inevitable.   Police patrol cars now have devices that can scan multiple lanes of traffic, read number plates and in cyber time - check the registration and insurance status of each vehicle.  This same technology is capable of matching the vehicle plate with the name of the owner - and checking this against driving license status.   The " law of probability " is now not in the offenders favour.

The age of the automobile brought with it the freedom of movement that made if a " must have " in this modern world.   It also delivers the risk of inflicting a financial blight on the rest of our lives, if we ignore the responsibilities and legal obligations that go with it's use - and that is a risk that we take each time we travel on the road and share it with others.      Both the innocent victim and those driving unlicensed and uninsured face peril in equal measure !

Child safety enigma !

This past week was officially " Walk to School " week, an initiative to both promote child safety and attack the obesity epidemic caused by lack of exercise.  Sadly, five young children were hit by cars in the 40 kph school zones, causing the media spotlight to focus on speeding motorists.

It seems that we have a safety problem despite laws that impose a 40 kph speed limit outside school entrances before the start and after the finish of the school day.   Speed checks reveal that many motorists fail to slow down and at one check point 57 vehicles were caught exceeding the limit in one thirty minute period.     This is an offence that delivers a hefty fine - and loss of demerit points.

One practical remedy was the installation of flashing lights to alert motorists when speed reduction zones are in operation, but the roll out has been painfully slow.   It will be at least well into the next decade before all schools in this state have this form of warning lights, but it could be achieved in a single year - if the government would accept the donation of these lights from commercial interests - and grant them the the right to a modest advertising sign to acknowledge that gift.     All such past offers have been firmly rejected.

It seems that the preferred option is to install more speed checking cameras and reap a fine bonanza, but this does nothing to actually increase safety in child crossing zones.   Even if we actually manage to get the traffic to slow to 40 kph - a car travelling at that speed is still lethal if it hits a little kid that runs into it's path.

What seems to be the forgotten aspect of keeping kids safe is adult supervision whenever they need to cross a busy road.   A huge number of children are driven to school by parents and picked up again after classes.  This results in chaos as an excess of cars fight for space at limited drop off points and the actual road crossing safety is left in the hands of the " Lollypop Lady".

This week's range of accidents during Walk to School week showed several kids were aged three and one was aged eight.   In one instance, Dad had crossed the road and Mum was preparing the pusher when their three year old impulsively ran after Dad - and got hit by a car.    It is a fact of life that small kids can not be relied upon to use adult judgement in decision making - and their actions are entirely unpredictable.

Half a century ago it was common practice to have such kids restrained by a child harness.  It was a safety measure that allowed the parent to maintain movement control while performing tasks such as erecting a fold down pram or putting groceries in the car.   Such restraints seem to have entirely disappeared from the street scene.

There is absolutely no reason why such child restraints should not make a reappearance when children under five are under parental control.   Probably, the main objections would come from the children - who would not consider wearing a child harness with a lead to be " cool ".

Perhaps we need to tackle the child safety enigma from both ends.   Certainly we need to tame the traffic to keep car speed under control, but an improvement in parental control is a " must " if we are to curb the contributing factor of " child impulse " in traffic accidents !