8 year old boy raped while in state care Fwd: Successive West Australian Govt inaction on declared places causing untold damage: Greens

Successive Government inaction on declared places causing untold damage: Greens

17 August 2011

Years of failure to establish ‘declared places’ for mentally impaired adults and juveniles who are alleged to have engaged in criminal conduct is having painful and distressing consequences for innocent people, according to Greens MLC Alison Xamon.

Ms Xamon’s comments were made after it was revealed a 15-year-old boy already facing child rape allegations was accused of raping an 8-year-old child while under the care of the Department for Child Protection.

“It’s bad enough that WA doesn’t have declared places for adults, but this is a new low. The 8-year-old who was allegedly raped was also in the care of the DCP. He wasn’t being protected properly because the government has been too slow setting up declared places for accused juveniles with mental impairment issues,” Ms Xamon, Greens WA Spokesperson on Mental Health, Disabilities and Child Protection said today.

“There were questions about the mental capacity of this particular accused juvenile and whether he was fit to stand trial. If that’s the case, why was he placed with young children? Presumably because there was nowhere else to send him with jail being the only other option which is really no place to be sending our disabled. So really he is a victim of the system too.”

Under the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act 1996, people considered unfit to plead can be sent to a ‘declared place’ to receive appropriate care and treatment. However, 15 years later, a declared place has still not been created.

“This government, and successive state governments, are culpable in this tragedy because they have failed to set up appropriate forensic mental health facilities for both adults and juveniles.

“This obviously needs to happen as a matter of utmost urgency so we don’t see a repeat of this tragedy.

“Again and again I plead with this government to address problems that occur when mental impairment issues collide with our criminal justice system. Now that this Government has such tragic evidence that innocent children are being affected by this government’s inaction, I hope that excuses will be put aside and urgent moves to establish declared places for adults and juveniles begin,” Ms Xamon concluded.

For additional comment contact Alison

Hon Alison Xamon MLC

Member for the East Metropolitan Region

Office: 62 Eighth Ave Maylands WA 6051

Postal Address: PO Box 104 Maylands WA 6931

Phone: (08) 9272 1718

Fax: (08) 9272 1719

Portfolios: Water, Urban Bushland, Mental Health, Education, Training, Industrial Relations, Employment, Occupational Health & Safety, Disabilities, Women, Children & Youth, Public Service, Community Services,Electoral Affairs, Consumer Protection, Vet Affairs, Volunteering

West Australians need affordable housing, not high-risk debt

West Australians need affordable housing, not high-risk debt

Media Release: Senator Scott Ludlam, Lynn MacLaren MLC, Wednesday August 17th, 2011

Western Australian Senator Scott Ludlam warned today that a new loan deal enabling first home buyers to borrow with only a three per cent deposit, rather than the usual 20 per cent, would exacerbate debt problems and do little to solve the affordable housing crisis.

Senator Ludlam, the Australian Greens housing spokesperson, said Western Australians need more affordable housing, not risky debt.

“Bankwest is proposing home loans for 97 per cent of the property value. While they claim this will reduce the average saving time for first homebuyers from four years to six months, it will also see a significant increase in the size of mortgages.

“WA Housing Minister Troy Buswell describes this as a ‘new weapon in the housing affordability battle’ – I have to say this weapon is way off target.

“There are many measures that would increase the amount of affordable housing available to people – expanding the National Rental Affordability Scheme, reforming the tax system, introducing the Greens’ Convert To Rent program, and building more public housing. Allowing people to take on bigger debts, after apparently saving for only six months, is not the answer – We can and must do better than this.”

Lynn MacLaren MLC, Greens WA spokesperson for housing, said Minister Buswell was misguided in comparing the proposed loans to the State Government’s Keystart program.

“The Keystart Home Loan scheme is a much more responsible way to help lower income earners. It requires a minimum four per cent deposit and has a strict maximum loan and property value limit. It also has a relatively small default rate compared to traditional loans.

“The Keystart Shared Equity scheme is even better – the State Government basically shares the loan and equity with the borrower, with the borrower only taking on 70 per cent of the debt, and the government retaining 30 per cent of the equity.

“In the case of the proposed Bankwest loans, the debt – 97 per cent of the property’s price – will be on the head of the borrower alone.”

Media Contact: Giovanni Torre – 0417 174 302

change.org on greed – Fwd: #Verizon strike

Tell Verizon: With record profits, don’t demand $1 billion in cuts from your workers Dear tony, Verizon made billions in profits in just the last four years — but right now, the telecom giant is demanding $1 billion from its own workers in pay and benefit cuts. Worse, rather than negotiate fairly with their employees, Verizon representatives cut off all negotiations and are refusing to talk. So more than 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike demanding that Verizon stop its attack on the middle class. If Verizon sees the public and its customers behind the striking workers, the company can be forced back into good faith negotiations. Sign the Change.org petition by the Communications Workers of America asking Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam to restart negotiations and stop Verizon’s attack on the middle class. If $1 billion in cuts is hard to grasp, consider this: Verizon is demanding each of its employees forfeit $20,000 in wages and benefits every year. Verizon’s executives aren’t forced into outrageous cuts with their workers. In the last four years, Verizon’s top five executives were paid more than a quarter-billion dollars. While Verizon makes record profits, its workers shouldn’t be made to suffer. Let Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam know you stand with workers against the company’s refusal to bargain. Click here to add your name to the workers’ petition on Change.org: Thanks for being a change-maker, - Jess and the Change.org team