The following extracts
are from selected emails I’ve written over the years to a former member of my home
state’s Parliament (the Legislative Assembly) when I lived in her electorate. Her
passing, two years ago this week, was early and untimely.
I’ve corrected some of
the typos.
(Also, please note that I have written many other emails on these matters,
but to other Members of Parliament.)
My main personal reason
for this post is a sense of mourning; however, it may help to show others that there
is a point to engaging – politely and constructively (which can be difficult when you're frustrated, but does lead to better outcomes) - with your elected representatives. My correspondence was not the only, or even of any particular significance, on these issues, but there were changes on some of these matters - not always as timely or as far as I wished, but enough to show me the value of being engaged - and that engagement has, partly as a result of other positive experiences with politicians, led to me joining a political party, albeit more to the left than this particular MLA.
Some of our correspondence
was hard copy, which allowed us to, for instance, share a love of walking barefoot
(with a reply having my typed name crossed
out and replaced with “fellow barefoot advocate”, for instance).
She wasn’t family, our
relationship was too narrowly focused, official and limited to be a friendship, and her politics were more to the right of mine but she accomplished a great deal (especially on domestic violence), was a good elected representative, and I miss her.
Blessed be, Fiona Richardson.
Housing, including renting
and homelessness
13th November,
2009
re: Housing
Original email:
With respect, I consider
that the current approaches to increasing the affordability of housing are fundamentally
flawed, and these efforts should be redirected into making rental a socially honourable,
more viable, long term option.
I have lived, as a result
of a new relationship, in Thornbury for almost two years now. Of late, we have seen,
nearby, at least one three bedroom house sold for over a million dollars - I have
even seen a rather ordinary TWO bedroom house sold for over $700,000! Now, even
if I had 20% of this sort of sales price available as a deposit, there is simply
no way I would be allowed to borrow the rest of the sales price, as it well and
truly exceeds the three times annual gross income rule that reputable financial
institutions often limit borrowings to.
For housing in this area
to become affordable to me and my family, prices would have to probably halve -
and the highest projection of price falls I have come across is 30%, with most being
substantially less than that.
Please keep in mind that
my day job is as an engineer, so I’m paid more than the average wage. I shudder
to think how prices like this affect people on lower incomes.
Maybe we could move out
to an outer suburb - prices are slightly lower there, but that involves real problems:
- we are a one driver, one car family,
and the public transport in outer areas does not compare favourably with our current
access (access to health services is important - which I will come back to in this
email)
- my partner’s children are studying,
and it would be disruptive to their development for such a major relocation (to
reach a region of affordable housing, the move would be a major distance), and this
is particularly an issue as one child experienced major problems as a result of
extreme bullying, and we have now finally found a good, supportive school.
There are other issues
as well, such as loss of long established social networks - which give many people’s
lives meaning. It is not just a case of move and find new friends: existing, established
social networks often involve being part of not for profit movements that give a
sense of purpose and meaning to life.
I consider there are also
social justice and equity issues about pushing people out of areas, but I will leave
those for some other occasion.
We are basically in a
situation where our only viable option is to rent. That in itself is bad enough,
given the high rents in this area (having moved here from Frankston North, I actually
consider the rents horrendous).
Apart from high rents,
however, the main problem with renting is the basic situation itself.
I am not a child, and
the owner/agent is not my parent, yet I have to ask permission to do something as
simple as put in a water tank, or a vegie patch, or get a pet fish, bird or cat.
In fact, our current owner
is particularly poor: apart from maintenance not being done (my partner spent two
years without heating, our oven door is broken and has not been fixed - and we have
given up bothering to report things like door handles that fall to pieces), the
owner had the trees and bushes in the front yard which gave us privacy and shade
cut down at the start of last year’s summer. This idiotic act has increased the
temperature of our house by 5-10degrees C - and, as my partner has a heart complaint,
I consider this action has directly put her health and wellbeing at risk. (My attitude
to this was not helped by hearing the real estate agent compliment the owner on
“tidying” the place up - and an implication that suggested the owner personally
came and mowed our lawns!)
There are relatively low
cost things which could be done to make the house more liveable: I could have external
blinds/awnings installed over the windows, for instance, but that involves:
- me having to beg for permission to make
an improvement;
- the risk of the owner increasing rent;
and
- a loss of return on my expenditure if
the owner decides to boot us out.
So the end result is,
we all lose out. The owner misses out on a potential improvement to her house, my
partner’s health remains at elevated risk, and we have to put up with living in
a stinking sweat box (the current prolonged heat wave has, perhaps not surprisingly,
led to me finally deciding to write this email).
I also have to point out
that the heat in this house (we cannot even open windows at night to let the cool
air in because of lack of maintenance making the windows immovable and/or lack of
screens) has impaired my sleep, and hence my productivity. I suspect that happens
to many workers who are stuck with restrictive rental situations.
In my opinion, the fundamental
attitude to rental needs to change.
Renters are NOT all people
who want to rip the owner off, damage property, or people who are just doing this
temporarily before they get a mortgage. Issues such as the lack of realistic affordability
of housing has made rental a life long style of accommodation for MANY people. In
my opinion, we as a society need to rethink the laws accordingly, and also change
attitudes.
My understanding is (from
a recent ABC Radio National programme) that European approaches to rent allow people
who are renting to have the dignity of having the right to make small changes to
their home. Perhaps, in Europe, I would be able to install the external blinds,
or put in the vegie patch, and know I would have some right to tenure as a result.
Given our current water
crisis, my desire to put in a water tank at my cost (which also requires changes
to plumbing, and hence owner permission - which I consider unlikely to come, given
their past attitudes), would surely be of some merit.
I would, with a water
tank, propose to take the tank with me, and return the plumbing to its original
state, should we leave. Something I would also consider is contributing towards
the cost of insulation, but I would want some way that our expenditure could be
shifted to our next rented house (perhaps by me making the payment into a fund,
which then helped owners make environmentally and occupier friendly changes?). Surely
that, given our current concerns around climate change, is also of some merit?
Major changes, such as
extensions/demolitions/renovation are obviously (to me, at any rate) not part of
this.
The issue of having some
fundamental respect for renters is, however, a key part of this.
I am aware that there
are legal options available to force the owner to undertake repairs. A major concern
for us there, however, is the very real prospect of vengefulness on the part of
the owner. More fundamentally, I don’t want to have to be forced into an adversarial
situation as a way of resolving problems: I would rather a cooperative, mutually
respectful approach, where our inherent value and worth as people, and our values
and desires for a reasonable lifestyle, despite being renters, are respected.
As a final point, I would
like to draw your attention to a different health issue: the general prohibition
on pets. The health benefits of having pets, particularly for older or isolated
people, are fairly widely known. In my opinion, if we had been able to get a pet,
that would have helped my partner’s daughter when she was struggling with the bullying
and isolation at home. I am aware that some pets can cause problems (one house I
moved in to had a flea infestation from previous renters that was so severe one
of my grandchildren cried from the bites when she went into a room we hadn’t cleared
of fleas yet), but maybe things like bonds need to be enforced for actual damage
in such cases (rather than being occasionally used to get renters to do cleaning).
More fundamentally, the owner’s house is supposed to be our home, and pets are often
an important part of managing stress, loneliness and quality of life. There may
be some cultural clashes on the issue of pets between owners and renters, but there
can be no argument about the health costs of preventing access to pets for some
people.
What are the costs to
the economy of loss of productivity and health problems arising from current restrictive,
outmoded attitudes to renting? What are the costs to the environment, including
attempts to use water more responsibly, of the same restrictive, outmoded attitudes
to renting?
(Although I couldn’t find a
specific reply, this email was the first in a long series of emails – now superceded
by me joining a political party and working towards getting on to the relevant
policy committee on these matters.)
9th
February, 2010
Re: Homelessness
Original email:
A couple of hours ago,
while my partner and I were returning from a fundraising event, we stopped to have
a late meal in High Street. While walking from our car to the shop, we noticed an
elderly man, looking somewhat unkempt, with a shopping bag. He wasn’t going anywhere,
or doing anything in particular, just sitting, maybe watching the crowd go by -
a crowd who, other than the two of us, seemed completely and utterly oblivious to
this man. In fact, at one stage, he evidently heard some people talking about sitting
on a bench, and since his was the only one in the area, he stood up before they
approached to leave the seat vacant. Fairly clearly he was innocuous, and seemed
most probably homeless. We slipped him some money - unasked for: he wasn’t begging,
and he seemed quite pleased to receive it, but as we drove home, it seemed such
a small thing to do, and we felt it would be nice to do more.
I have only lived in this
area for a couple of years, and still have not learned of all the resources which
may be available here. I knew of some of the resources in Frankston - some formal,
others not. For example, a friend of mine in Frankston used to search the streets
late at night to find homeless people, and would find somewhere to house them overnight
(one of those homeless people actually later married a friend of mine).
Are there any resources
which are available in the Northcote area that I can refer homeless people to -
particularly late at night?
I would appreciate your
advice - including any contacts you may care to suggest I communicate with.
Post script to original email:
As a late post script,
I wish to make it clear that this is NOT a request for measures such as police patrols
to move homeless people on. We are interested in solving this problem constructively
and realistically.
One interesting comment
my partner made this morning is that this person’s situation is a stark contrast
to reports in the local paper about million dollar housing sales.
I look forward to your
reply.
Reply from MLA:
It is my pleasure to assist
humanitarians like yourself and your partner.
I suggest you contact
North East Housing in Preston (ph:9479 0700) or HomeGround in Collingwood (ph 9417
2500) for further information. They are part of the newly established Northern Metro
Homeless Network which is a 24 hour service to assist the homeless (ph 1800 825
955) in and around Northcote and Thornbury.
All the best.
1st
September, 2014
Re: A Fairer Deal for Renters
Original email:
I, along with a sizeable
portion of the voting population of Victoria, am a renter, and, short of winning
Tattslotto (which will be difficult, given that I rarely buy any tickets), will
be a renter for the rest of my life. Owing to my age and a few other factors I have
had to contend with in my life, I am not - and have never been - in the position
of being able to buy a house, and no matter how effective any measures are to make
housing ‘more affordable’, my age - and some health problems - mean I don’t have
enough working life left for any sort of mortgage.
I am, therefore, particularly
interested in the current situation of renting being made fairer to renters.
I am properly informed
as to the current laws in this regard, and am aware of the various tribunals etc,
and I am also aware of the real world aspects of all this. Please do not send me
more information on this, which is the galling response some inattentive people
I have written to in the past on this topic have made. What I would like is the
opportunity to bring some real life perspectives to your consideration of the situation.
As an example, the owner
of the house (note that I will not refer to it as a home) I currently rent has,
on several occasions, cut down shade trees. As a result, the house is substantially
hotter, and that places my partner, who has a heart condition, at increased risk
of severe problems during one of Melbourne’s hot spells. (Which is somewhat ironic,
given the two year period that the owner refused to replace the heating - and we
have never had the money to do that ourselves and deduct the money from rent, apart
from not wanting to to install a system that the owner possibly didn’t want on a
long term basis.)
As another example, I
know of a family whose teenage daughter had mental health problems. To cope with
these, they took a gamble and bought the daughter a dog. They didn’t approach the
owner for permission, because of the owner’s past behaviour on a range of issues.
Their strategy worked: the daughter did not commit suicide, and has now moved out
(with her dog) to a rental accommodation where a more enlightened owner allowed
pets.
If they had asked for
permission to have a pet and been refused, the consequences could have been severe
- and moving is not easy for people to do, particularly under such circumstances.
I suspect this is also an issue for people with limited social connection (e.g.
due to limited mobility) - getting a pet can potentially be quite beneficial to
mental heath, but asking has risks and fears around future retribution, or may come
with costs that are unaffordable (particularly if one is on a pension), which is
counter to mental health.
I also personally find
house inspections undignified, offensive and an invasion of my privacy - and particularly
so when the real estate agents seem to focus on housework or the renter is choosing
to live their life, rather than the condition of the structure. I also know other
women who have endured problems such as real estate agents rifling through their
underwear drawers (allegedly in search of drugs) during such inspections.
I have also had personal
property stolen when a house I was renting was opened for inspection prior to a
sale. I know of other renters who have found strangers wandering - unescorted -
through their house or flat during such periods, those people having been given
access by the real estate agent without prior notice to the renter.
All in all, renting a
house under current conditions is not conducive of good health nor enjoyment of
life.
I would therefore like
to suggest that some consideration be given to improving this situation.
I am aware that some renters
do appalling things to rental property, but not all of us are like that. Maybe the
solution rests in allocating some sort of risk scale to renters, akin to the ratings
assigned to car insurance: those who have been problematic or have not proven themselves
are subject to greater restrictions, whereas those who have a history of good treatment
of rental property are allocated a reduced risk and thus greater entitlement to
do small things like put in a vegetable garden, or get pets.
I suspect much of the
problem around rental is that the laws were prepared with the view that it would
be only young people who rented, for a few years, and then everyone would move into
a purchased house. That clearly is not the real situation (and I note recent reports
- see here - that the RBA has stated people are better off financially renting,
so rental is not likely to change), and I have to ask, does a sixty year old with
a lifetime’s history of looking after rental properties well and who wants a quiet
retirement, really have to be subjected to the same restrictions and scrutiny as
an 18 year old who has just moved out of home and wants to party?
As a final point, I would
like to say that I know some owners and real estate agents are good, decent people
with an interest in the welfare of their renters. As an example, the current real
estate agent our (flawed) owner uses has a policy for smoke alarms to be inspected
annually: we’ve just had our first such inspection, and the person doing this (a)
was polite and pleasant (not all are), and (b) moved our smoke alarm to comply with
current requirements. I’ve heard of other owners even doing things like offering
small gifts for payment of rent on time for a year.
If only they were all
like that. I know there have been attempts to identify such owners in the past (or,
more accurately, to identify problem owners such as the one I currently endure)
which have not been continued. Maybe there is a need for some way for recording
of problems against owners, so that people who rent have some sort of chance of
avoiding the bad ones until those owners lift their game.
I look forward to hearing
of a solution which is of interest to the renting voters of Victoria at the next
election. Europe has a fairer situation: why can’t we?
Reply:
Thank you for contacting
me about tenancy and private rental issues. I apologise for my delay in responding.
Your email raises many
issues, but it also assists in providing meaningful insights into the practical
issues renters face on a daily basis.
Labor believes that the
provision of more secure, affordable and appropriate housing in the private rental
market is essential. The 2014 Victorian Labor Party Platform outlines a number of
key areas that we as a Party are committed to. For your information, I have reproduced
the provisions of our Platform dealing with tenancy and private rental below:
Labor will:
- Review and strengthen the Residential Tenancy
Act and Residential Tenancies Regulations to ensure effective consumer protection
and improved housing standards
- Ensure that a review of the Residential Tenancy
Act and Residential Tenancies Regulations examines reforms to specifically: Mandate
a standard tenure of leases to be offered in the market environment under normal
circumstances
- Encourage greater length and security of tenure
- Ensure access to transparent and independent
mechanisms for reviewing rental increases
- Strengthen maintenance regimes for rental properties
- Reform minimum standards for rental properties
to improve water and energy efficiency standards
- Outlaw the practice of rental bidding or rental
auctions
- Work with all levels of Government to encourage
greater investment in affordable rental housing, increasing the supply of homes
available for private rental across a diverse range of sizes and locations
- Review and strengthen the regulation for tenure
in relocatable housing and caravan parks
- Ensure that public housing tenants are not discouraged
from social and economic participation by the prospect of immediate rent rises when
their income increases
Rest assured, as a Party,
Labor is committed to a fairer deal for renters.
Thanks again for raising
these issues with me.
Kind regards
3rd June,
2015
Re: Privacy for Renters
Original email
Re: Request for respect
of privacy (including religious privacy) of tenants
The proposal to allow
landlords to enter rented properties without permission for the sake of taking photographs
is utterly appalling, and continues the denigration of renters that is too common
in society.
Apart from the threats
to safety which has already resulted from such actions, I have had thefts whilst
places I have been renting have been inspected for sale.
Furthermore, as a Pagan,
I have a home altar. This is a sacred place: to have others taking photos or possibly
meddling with it is unacceptable.
If this appalling proposal
gets up, my only recourse would be to keep all my possessions under lock and key
in what is supposed to be my own home!!!
I would also have to install
a home camera system.
If this proposal is passed,
given the correspondence I have had with the Member, I would be appalled.
Reply
Thank you for your email.
Everyone, whether they be tenants or homeowners, should be entitled to privacy in
their own home. I will forward your email through to the Victorian Minister for
Housing for a response. Hopefully we can both get the response we are seeking.
8th March,
2017
Re: Congratulations on Initiatives on Affordable Housing
It is my opinion that
the current era is, other than times of war and the Great Depression, one of the
hardest times to be in public office - largely owing to the massive societal changes
as a result of technology, environmental issues, and violent extremism. Given that,
it is particularly pleasing to see that you have been courageous and principled
enough to take such strong, committed and widespread action towards more affordable
- and better - housing.
I will continue to advocate
for Victorians who are not homeless to also have the option of building smaller,
more affordable, less environmentally impactful homes, but I also wish to make a
point of acknowledging the tremendous advances that you have made for all current
and future Victorians.
Thank you.
Initiatives:
21st
February, 2017
Re: WA has beaten us
As I have written in prior
communications, tiny homes:
- immediately reduce price, and thus improve
affordability;
- reduce environmental impacts, both in
the form of embedded GHGs and by having a smaller space to heat or cool;
- enable better adaptation to smaller
household sizes, whilst still allowing people access to some (personal) green space
(I avoid parks unless they are empty for safety reasons - i.e., to avoid the sort
of comments etc that stopped me running or walking around Albert Park Lake, which
is near my workplace, many years ago); and
- are able to be built nicely (as per
the architect designed example I included in a prior email).
Furthermore, as the sandgropers
have shown, the obstacles can be overcome.
This does not suit everyone
- which I know from the time I spent living on a 24’ yacht in the 1990s, just as
I know it DOES suit some of us, and it would be a wonderful thing if those of us
who it does suit were able to contribute to lowering house prices and environmental
impacts by doing so.
Trans and Gender Diverse
matters
17th
March, 2009
Re: Implementation of HREOC recommendations regarding documents of identity
I note that the HREOC’s
recently released recommendations on gender diversity (see
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/genderdiversity/sex_files2009.html)
include a Recommendation 7 to the effect that “Documents of identity and processes
required for the legal recognition of sex should not reveal personal information
about a person’s past identity in relation to sex”.
Although HREOC is a Commonwealth
body, I would like to bring this recommendation in particular to your attention,
as I consider the policy of the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriage Registry with
respect to name changes are not consistent with the Equal Opportunity Act (specifically,
provisions regarding prohibition of discrimination on the basis of the protected
attribute of gender identity), and I had intended to raise this at a later date,
on the basis of using the Victorian Human Rights Charter to initiate a discussion,
but may as well do so now.
The concern I have is
the requirement for all previous names used since 1986 (the year may not be this
year exactly) listed on the change of name documentation. This means that any person
who had transitioned since that year, and wished to undertake the process known
as “name harmonisation” (something which is almost a necessity, since the imposition
of strict security regimes following “9/11”) can NOT do so without exposing themselves
to the risks that being identified as trans may incur (because names inconsistent
with the current gender would also be listed). Apart from anything else, such requirements
may force trans people into discussing past, personal medical history which is irrelevant,
with current employers (who may not have been employers at the time of transition).
Whilst I accept that there
may be valid reasons for generally requiring past names to be divulged (eg, working
with children checks), I consider that there are ways of dealing with potential
concerns, and that such concerns do not outweigh the potential other problems being
caused to trans people.
I request your thoughts
on how this matter may best be initiated with the Victorian Government’s Registrar
of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
19th July,
2009
Re: Review of exemptions to EO Act
Re: Review of exemptions to EO Act
I commend the proposed
review of exemptions to the Equal Opportunity Act, as reported in today’s edition
of The Age (URL provided after my signature block).
Although I (obviously)
have strong religious beliefs, I consider it particularly important that all Victorians
have fair and equal access to services provided by the State. That, in my opinion,
includes:
- all Victorian children having the right to make
their owns decisions about their religious beliefs or lack thereof
- all Victorian children having the right to be
raised without being inculcated with utterly unjustifiable biases against minority
groups, whether those be other religions, LGBTI people or women
- all Victorians seeking assistance when in distress
have the right to be able to seek that help without having to consider “will this
group be critical of me because I am ...?”
It will be interesting
to see how the review considers the issues of men clubs and women only clubs. In
my view, the former are problematic in that they exclude - or potentially
exclude women from decision making processes. On the other hand, women only clubs
are a chance to give women a reprieve against discrimination and harassment.
I look forward to the
review hearings, and hope that all Victorians with an interest in equal opportunity
that this chance to make their voices heard, not only “concerned Christians”.
27th
September, 2009
Re: Proposed changes to EO exemptions
Re: Proposed changes to the Equal Opportunity Act exemptions
I note that a number of
changes are proposed to the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act exemptions. Whilst the
removal of exemptions on the basis of race, disability, age, physical features,
political beliefs or activity, or breastfeeding is good, the allowance of continued
discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexuality, marital and parental status and
gender identity is disappointing - in fact, it is concerning, and raises
questions as to how the government will ensure that government services
in the areas of schools, hospitals and welfare services will be made available to
same sex attracted, bisexual, single and trans people.
It would seem to me that,
at the very least, the government would need to undertake an audit of the
services made available by such religious bodies, and make sure that, in every area
of Victoria, services are realistically available to same sex attracted, bisexual,
single and trans people.
Although you are no doubt
aware of the article, for convenience the details follow:
“Government bows to religious
right”, by Melissa Fyfe, 27th September, 2009
I look forward to your
advice as to how the government will ensure all Victorians have adequate access
to government services.
Reply
Thank you for your email
regarding the proposed changes to the Equal Opportunity Act.
The Brumby Labor Government
would not fund organisations to provide services if they were not going to deliver
the services as required (e.g. if an organisation contracted to deliver housing
services was only providing housing to heterosexual couple it could not expect
to have its contract renewed).
As you would be aware,
religious organisations have a strong tradition of providing services to the disadvantaged
and vulnerable in the community and the Brumby Government acknowledges the significant
contribution made by religious organisations in the welfare sector. The government
does not unlawfully discriminate and would expect that those acting on its behalf
would also not discriminate. The Brumby Labor Government would take any complaint
of discrimination very seriously.
The main issue for religious
organisations providing services is around the “types” of services (e.g. abortion)
rather than providing it to types of people. This is not a discrimination issue.
Thank you for raising
this important issue with me. Rest assured I will bring forward your concerns to
the Attorney General.
Older workers
18th
November, 2009
Re: Failure of WorkCover to cover workers aged over 65
Original email
I noticed in an article
on today’s online edition of The Age that WorkCover does not cover workers who are
aged 65 or over. This is quite concerning to me on a number of grounds:
(1) it would seem to me
to constitute age discrimination, and possibly a restraint of trade (under the trade
Practices Act)
(2) for the reasons outlined
in the article, this is a major obstacle to employers keeping workers on, which
- according to the article - will be essential for managing our aging population
and, in my opinion, will assist with information transfer to, and mentoring of,
younger workers (3) on a personal note, I know I will have to keep working into
my 70s for financial reasons, but, if I cannot get WorkCover coverage, how do I
do that?
The details of the article
are:
“World population growth
slowing”, by Tim Colebatch and David Rood November 18, 2009
I look forward to your
response and actions.
Reply
Thanks for your email.
I will follow up the issues you have raised and get back to you ASAP.
Racism
8th
January, 2014
Re: Racism in Australia
Second email
I wrote to you some time
ago regarding the issue of racist attitudes in Victoria, and these have been somewhat
to the fore of late, given the terrible knife attacks on Indian students and others.
I have listed the URLs of some recent media articles after my signature block.
I am aware, from your
reply to my earlier email, that the Victorian Government had initiated some actions
with regard to this issue, and I would appreciate an update as to what is happening
on that front. in particular, will those plans be revised in light of the recent
attacks?
I have to say that, unfortunately,
I am aware from personal experience that racism is a problem in Australia: <deleted to protect the guilty>, racism,
and I have long regretted every time I heard an activist minimise the extent of
such problems - particularly amongst people with less education, which does seem
to be an indicator of risk of being racist (it certainly does act as such an indicator
in my personal experience). I also cringe when when I read of people, including
Indians, trying to deflect attention away from this problem (particularly when trying
to make an argument that is, in my opinion, irrelevant regarding risks in another
culture: the Indian students are in Australian society, and the risks need to be
evaluated with regards to normal risks applying in Australian society, not India.)
We do indeed have MANY people in Victoria (and Australia) who are NOT racist, but
we also do have people who are. It is arguable whether they are a minority or not,
but their existence does, need, in my opinion, to be acknowledged, and the problem
dealt with openly, rather than being glossed over.
URLs for some recent,
relevant media articles:
(I have not tried to list
all articles)
Reply to second email
Thank you for your email
and it was definitely an unfortunate incident that you witnessed.
Addressing binge drinking
and alcohol-related violence is a high priority for the Brumby Government.
As you may be aware, the
government is currently trialling a 2 am lockout, which is aimed at reducing the
number of people moving between venues late at night and thereby reducing incidents
of alcohol fuelled violence and disorder. The VAAP builds on earlier initiatives,
including the Government’s 2007 reforms to the Liquor Control Reform Act giving
the police the power to ban troublemakers from declared entertainment precincts
for 24 hours.
The Labor government is
creating community awareness through education to promote respect for Victoria’s
diverse communities. Please see the Attorney General’s media release below.
Tuesday, 15th July 2008
The Springvale Monash Legal Service has been given a $100,000 grant to develop
a plan for combating racism in their community.
Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls today visited the service
as part of the Brumby Government’s Community Cabinet. He said the grant, which has
been made by the Legal Services Board, will be used for research into the development
of education tools to teach local youth about human rights and racism issues.
“Our Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities sets out a vision for
the way we in Victoria wish to live and be treated,” Mr Hulls said.
“In order to combat racism in the community, we must realise our obligation
to teach young people about their human rights and responsibilities, and the effects
of racism.
“Education is an important way of promoting respect for Victoria’s diverse
communities and ensuring we have a tolerant society.”
The funding will enable the Springvale Monash Legal Service to develop ideas
for the ‘Combating Racism, Building Communities’ project over the next year.
The Springvale Monash Legal Service will collaborate with the Western Suburbs
Legal Service and the Fitzroy Legal Service as well as community partners.
Together, they will develop a human rights and anti-racism education program
for schools in the western, south eastern and inner northern suburbs of Melbourne.
The Legal Service will also develop strategies to counter negative stereotyping
of people from different cultural backgrounds and to raise awareness of the challenges
they face.
This is the first year the Legal Services Board has run its major grants
program for law-related services and projects.
If there is any other
matter I can assist you on please do not hesitate to contact me.
Original email
In today’s online edition
of “The Age” were two stories concerning bigotry and prejudice in Australia: one
about four men who based a Sudanese man, the other about a survey showing concern
with respect to the number of refugees in Australia. (The links to these articles
are after my signature block.)
These articles reflect
an incident I recently witnessed, upon which I have been pondering, trying to determine
what to do. The incident happened on Saturday 27th July, 2008, at around
3pm. I and my partner were driving south along Smith St (I understand Mr Wynne’s
electorate office is in Smith St), and as we approached Johnston St (Melway Map
2C, ref D7) I observed a Caucasian male, probably early 30s, shaved head, and wearing
a bulky brown “bomber” style jacket, walking round two young Asian men apparently
waiting for a bus. The Caucasian was obviously talking to the young men, and spent
around a minute or so leaning over them. After this they arose, and moved.
It seemed that the Caucasian
male was being abusive. he followed this by smashing a stubby he was drinking from
forcefully into the footpath - one young woman around five meters away had either
spray or glass fragments hit her leg and turned round, but evidently decided not
to risk saying anything. I found somewhere safe to park in Johnston St., and then
returned to see the male was still present, in which case I planned to call the
police, but he was out of sight.
This incident highlighted
two problem areas for me:
(1) racism, further illustrated
by the articles in today’s Age, and
(2) public violence fuelled
by alcohol.
I appreciate that it is
possibly difficult to decide what can be done about such problems, but I consider
it vital that we do so. As a suggestion, I can see that, as a long term solution,
education of the public with respect to refugees and the effects of alcohol would
probably be a good idea. I suspect that educating people is best if it includes
other issues which may contribute to problems - for instance, was the Caucasian
unemployed and having difficulty finding a job, or drinking to excess because of
personal problems? Education at schools on relationships and lifestyle issues may
be of help here (I know some education on these topics is provided, but I do not
know how comprehensive it is, nor how effectively it is carried out).
The main issue is that
the behaviour I witnessed, and the attitudes and behaviour reported in The Age are
utterly unacceptable, and consideration needs to be given to addressing the issues
behind them.
I look forward to your
responses.
Most think refugee level
is too high
August 5, 2008 - 12:00AM
Four admit to bashing
Sudanese teen
August 5, 2008 - 12:00AM
Institutional memory
25th
February, 2016
re: Institutional Memory
Original email:
I recently came across
an “essay” (at more than 10,000 words, it is a bit long for me to readily consider
it an essay) by Laura Tingle, titled “How We Forgot How To Govern”, about the loss
of institutional memory.
The essay is based on
experiences with Commonwealth government, which I have little experience of, and
I would be interested in your thoughts as to whether such problems exist - or have
existed - in State governments.
To give some personal
context to that, as an engineer in the water industry, I saw a massive loss of experience
and technical capabilities in some water Authorities as a result of the changes
made by Jeff Kennett and, to some extent, I do not consider that the water industry
has fully recovered.
On the other hand, I was
part of the lobbying (I suppose I should say “community activism”) which led to
reforms for the LGBT community 15 years ago (the Human Rights Commission recently
published a video on that; unfortunately, for work reasons I wasn’t able to take
part in that), and was generally impressed by the capability of the people I worked
with during that time (including working on two Ministerial Advisory Committees).
I look forward to your
comments, if you care to make any in due course. This is a LOW priority request.
Reply
Thanks for your email
and for giving the government credit for its ethics programme in schools! I think
it is a step in the right direction that represents our tolerant and secular values.
In terms of thinking regarding
“institutional memory” I would have to say that I agree with you. Though I am certain
that there are a lot of excellent people who put their best foot forward within
our public service, I am sure that the cutbacks of the Kennett years did a lot to
degrade the institutional and technical knowledge within the arms of government.
It is my hope that we are slowly reversing this brain drain but it will certainly
take time to regain a lot of that lost knowledge.
Farewell when move to
a different electorate
12th
July, 2016
Re: farewell
Original email
Dear Member for Northcote,
We have now moved to the
electorate of [X] (to a house which doesn’t have cracks that let the winter winds
whistle through the walls), but I wanted to drop a final note to you thanking you
for your replies to my correspondence over the years: I have appreciated having
my concerns given genuine consideration.
Thank you, and I wish
you well in your ongoing service to the electorate.
Reply
Thank you for all your
considered correspondence over the years. I hope you are settling in nicely to your
new home.
All the best