The notorious paedophile last month found again to have abused young boys will remain in the nursing home where he lives with debilitating and irreversible dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Justice David Mossop on Friday said neither the prosecution nor the defence said it would be appropriate for 87-year-old John “Kostka” Chute to be taken into custody. The judge also said custody would not be appropriate given his age, health and personal circumstances, as well as the absence of any risk to the community. Chute, also known as Brother Kostka, faced 16 charges as against six victims between 1979 and 1986. There were 14 counts of indecent assault of a minor, one charge of buggery without consent and one charge of an act of indecency with a minor. Brother Kostka had been found unfit to plead and faced a special hearing by judge alone. Late last month Justice Mossop returned not guilty verdicts on the count of buggery and a count of indecent assault.
April 8, 2019
The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union and Latrobe Community Health Service Limited will contest a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) at 10am before Fair Work Commissioner Harper-Greenwell in Court 11 and Conference Room A – Level 5 in Melbourne.
April 5, 2019
Baptist Care (SA) Inc has a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) matter to defend before Deputy President Anderson in his Adelaide chambers (Delbridge).
April 5, 2019
Southern Cross Care will have to handle a s.365 (Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal) before Fair Work Deputy President Mansini in Hearing Room 6.1 – Level 6 in Adelaide (Hamidi Manesh).
April 5, 2019
After 13 years at the helm, Bruce Lindqvist will hand over his role at Encounter Centre to Shelley Hoppen.
April 5, 2019
A Far Northern health professional will face court over rape and child sex allegations later this month. The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with four counts of rape, 13 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and one count of maintaining an unlawful relationship. The historical charges were made public when the accused appeared in Cairns Magistrates Court in February 2017. The case moved through the courts for the better part of two years until it finally progressed to the District Court in October last year, when Judge David Reid presided over a pre-trial hearing in Cairns. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency would not comment about the practitioner, but an AHPRA spokeswoman said registered health practitioners had “a positive obligation, under section 130 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, to disclose certain charges or convictions as they arise”.
April 5, 2019
The Secretary of the NSW Department of Justice, Andrew Cappie-Wood, today announced his retirement from the public service. Mr Cappie-Wood’s remarkable career in the public service spans more than 40 years. His contributions to improving community safety through his stewardship of the NSW Department of Justice will be felt for years to come. Before becoming Secretary of the Department of Justice, Mr Cappie-Wood was head of the ACT Public Service. In NSW, he previously led the Department of Housing, the Department of Education and Training, and the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, as well as working in a range of positions in the Department of Planning.
April 5, 2019
A s.365 (General protections) application from Luke Fry against Karingal St Laurence Limited T/A genU Karingal St Laurence has been rejected by Fair Work Deputy President Boyce in Sydney on 4 April 2019. The case summary reads “Application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal – application filed out of time – not a strong case on merits (liability or damages) – applicant not aware of 21 day time limit –no exceptional circumstances – extension of time refused.”
