Glyn and Kathleen Hardy have been in a long-running dispute with a neighbour over her fence. Lawyers, an engineer and a consultant are among those being sucked into a six-year battle in a Christchurch retirement village. At the centre of the maelstrom is a wooden board and trellis fence. Retirees Glyn and Kathleen Hardy live on the opposite side of a shared driveway from neighbour Patsy Clegg in the Sanctuary Villas retirement subdivision in Christchurch. Clegg has a fence around her property bordering the driveway, and the Hardys wanted it pushed back to its original location when they moved in. The Hardys said they found it difficult to manouevre in and out of their garage, or down the shared driveway, without bumping into the fence or oncoming traffic. Glyn Hardy said the fence, which breaks body corporate rules because it encloses village land, was causing him stress. “This is the worst thing in my life coming in here. When I bought here there was nothing on that bend [of the driveway] at all.” Kathleen Hardy said the situation was having a detrimental effect on her husband’s health. “It’s killing him.” The couple, who have been petitioning the Sanctuary Villas body corporate since 2011, said they did not understand why the body corporate had not asked Clegg to push the fence back. “We’ve spent $1000 ourselves [on a consultant] and they said the fence has to come down,” Kathleen Hardy said. Body corporate chairman Paul Lyons said while Clegg had technically broken the rules, the situation was legally complicated. “It’s not a simple yes or no answer. When she bought the property there was a fence in position put in by the previous owner without body corporate consent. “She did break the rules under an honest impression she had rights.” Lyons said the issue involved several laws about privacy, resource consent and titles. Patsy Clegg said the ongoing fracas upset her and she felt she was being bullied by the Hardys. “They’re actually constantly putting in complaints all the time. It goes quiet, then they put in another complaint. “At the moment I’m working with the body corporate committee. There have been changes made to the fence already. “I’ve got no privacy front or back. It’s also a safety issue.” The body corporate did not indicate when the issue would be resolved because there were still several legal issues to conclude.
April 7, 2017
A s.185 (Enterprise agreement) application by Yooralla for its Yooralla Allied Services Agreement 2016 has been approved by Commissioner Roe in Melbourne on 5 April 2017.
April 7, 2017
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – misconduct – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for relief from unfair dismissal – applicant employed with respondent since 11 September 2007 – respondent claimed applicant engaged in serious breaches of Code of Conduct and Charter of Rights and Responsibilities – alleged she had spoken to resident in a rude and derogative tone – allegation recorded and tape recording provided to respondent by resident – applicant stood down from duty with pay whilst allegation was investigated – applicant drafted letter to respondent in response to allegations – Commission found discrepancies between applicant’s letter and true nature of exchange on tape recording were substantial – applicant bound by respondent’s Code of Conduct – Commission agreed with respondent that applicant was not honest in course of investigation and that evidence suggested direct lies, not confusion or lack of recollection – tape recording was clear evidence that applicant behaved in an unprofessional manner – conduct in clear breach of the Code – applicant did not provide reasonable explanation for her behaviour – Commission held that misconduct amounted to valid reason for dismissal – held dismissal not harsh, unjust or unreasonable – application dismissed. Moody v TriCare Ltd t/a TriCare
April 7, 2017
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – application to dismiss by employer – deed of settlement – ss.394, 587 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for relief from unfair dismissal – settlement reached at conciliation – Commission advised applicant of three day cooling off period for settlement – terms of settlement document provided to parties by respondent representative – applicant phoned Commission two days later and advised she needed more time to review draft terms – Commission advised parties matter could only be held for two more days before it would be referred to arbitration – two days later applicant advised Commission she would not sign terms of settlement – arbitration set down by Commission – respondent representative contacted applicant advising settlement was not recanted within three day cooling off period and thus was binding – advised if applicant did not advise she would honour agreement by 12 December 2016 respondent would file objection to application – applicant appointed representative who advised cooling off period extended by Commission and settlement therefore not binding – respondent challenged arbitration on grounds that settlement reached – Commission not satisfied cooling off period extended – Commission not persuaded that agreement reached was only an in-principle agreement and subject to parties reaching agreement on terms of a deed of release – satisfied parties reached agreement by way of binding settlement at conciliation on 25 November 2016 – application dismissed on basis that it had no reasonable prospects of success. Naicker v Genevieve Toop t/a Epworth Freemason
April 7, 2017
St John of God Subiaco and Murdoch hospitals have appointed chief executives. Professor Shirley Bowen will begin at SJOG Subiaco in June. Professor Bowen is currently dean of the school of medicine, Fremantle at the University of Notre Dame Australia, and was director of medical services at SJOG Murdoch Hospital from 2012 to 2014. Ben Edwards will begin at SJOG Murdoch Hospital in April, after a stint as acting chief executive of SJOG Mt Lawley hospital since November. Prior to that role, Mr Edwards led SJGHC’s Transformation Team.
April 7, 2017
Disability services provider Rocky Bay has appointed Martin Wandmaker and Richard Diermajer to its board.
April 7, 2017
UnitingCare West has appointed Amanda Hunt as chief executive.
April 7, 2017
The Royal Flying Doctor Service has appointed a new marketing and communications team to be headed by Kerry Milne.
