Townsville Aboriginal & Islander Health Service must face up to a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) lodged by an ex-staffer (Hussey).
July 10, 2018
Monash Health has a s.739 (Application to deal with a dispute) it will defend before Deputy President Hamilton in Court 3 and Conference Room B – Level 6 in Melbourne (Singh).
July 10, 2018
An application by Health Services Union-Victoria No. 1 Branch (s.512 – Application for a right of entry permit) is being sought from Fair Work Deputy President Gostencnik in Court 5 – Level 6 in Melbourne at 10am this morning.
July 10, 2018
An application for termination of the SteriHealth ACT Enterprise Agreement 2014 (s.225 – Application for termination of an enterprise agreement after its nominal expiry) will be reviewed by Senior Deputy President Hamberger in his Sydney chambers at 1.15pm.
July 10, 2018
A juror deliberating in the trial of a Newcastle doctor accused of sexually assaulting patients has alleged being bullied into making a decision, prompting a warning by the judge. Doctor Jeremy Michael Stafford Coleman, 64, has been charged with 66 sexual and indecent assault offences. The District Court heard the offences allegedly happened over 20 years up to 2013 at clinics in Newcastle and Kanwal on the New South Wales central coast. Dr Coleman’s trial has spanned 10 months and is the longest of its type in Newcastle’s history. In her closing address, defence barrister Pauline David late last month argued all of Dr Coleman’s examinations had been done for a proper medical purpose and not a sexual one. Crown prosecutor Paul Marr rejected that and said the doctor had had a sexual motive. As the jury began deliberating for a sixth day, judge Penelope Hock was alerted to what she called tensions in the jury room. Judge Hock told the jury she had received a note by a juror alleging they had been pressured to make a decision. Judge Hock said the note was of concern. “No juror has the right to seek to overcome the decisions of another juror or to bully a juror,” she said. “You all have a duty to listen carefully and be objective to the views of every one of your fellow jurors. “Calmly weigh up opinions about the evidence and test them by discussion.” Judge Hock advised the jurors they must treat each other politely at all times and must make a decision based only on the evidence. Judge Hock took several days to give directions to the jury before it started deliberating. She said many of the women had waited years to make complaints and only did so after police issued media releases. She said as a result, the jury would have to examine the crown’s case carefully. But she said delayed reporting of alleged abuse did not mean a person was untruthful. The judge also said the jury needed to consider each woman’s case individually, stressing it was up to the crown to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. “Suspicion is not good enough,” Judge Hock said. The jury will have a rest day toady and resume deliberations on Wednesday.
July 10, 2018
Australian Government Department of Human Services is facing a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) today before Fair Work Commissioner McKinnon in his Melbourne chambers (Gadzikwa).
July 10, 2018
Another person has been sentenced in a Bendigo court for begging in public following a police crackdown last year. The man in his 40s, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was sentenced in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Monday on multiple counts of begging alms. He was spotted sitting in front of Coles in the Bendigo CBD at 6.30am on September 18 asking passers-by for money. Coles staff asked the man to move on, but he refused to leave. Police were called to the area and he was offered referrals to public housing organisations, which he refused for various reasons. He told police he asked three people for money before staff came out and asked him to leave. The man was spotted begging again 10 days later at a bus stop on Mitchell Street. When approached by police, he told them to “get —-ed” and boarded a bus, making an obscene gesture to police as it drove away. The man told the court he was begging because he wanted money to help him move out of his unit, which had no heating and no insulation. He was living off the Disability Support Pension due to his schizophrenia. The man was begging on the streets of Bendigo for seven months before police picked him up. Since last year, he has been able to find permanent housing through Haven; Home, Safe. The man told the court things had improved in 2018. “Everything is fine. I don’t beg anymore,” he said. “I’ve thrown all those old friendships out that were causing me to get into trouble.” The man had previously been jailed for begging, but police did not suggest another jail term. Magistrate Sarah Leighfield agreed and said it was good to see the man had found better accommodation. “It’s obvious you’ve made lots of positive changes in your life, and I won’t step in the way,” she said. The man was placed on a six-month good behaviour bond. Police in Bendigo charged 31 people with begging alms in 2017 – an increase from just one charge in 2016. There were no begging charges in 2015, and just over one per year from 2008 to 2016. In 2017, police encouraged the public to report begging so they could refer the homeless to housing organisations.
July 10, 2018
Community Accommodation and Respite Agency Inc has a s.394 (Application for unfair dismissal remedy) with which it must deal before Fair Work Commissioner Hampton in his Adelaide chambers (Kumarapperuma).
