The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 5

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1992 TNI ACS Across the Yarra River in two mighty bounds Tenants sent Pfcr JOHN WOUOSTRA liquidator named for collapsed travel firm water foils before 4 1 law MIKE DALY Artist ReMa Best's gtaat aalaut-td aeea scalptart "Girl Traversing the Yarra' feegaa leaping acresa the river teethridge last Bight, treat FMaders Street Static! te the acw MM jllliea Sootagate arts tad leisure development la twe beaaea, II figures are Illuminated la a green and blue seqaeace that Ms Best is based ea Marcel Dachamp's 'Nude Descending a Staircase! eaiatlag and the time-Use phe? tegraphy at lath Ceatary fittees Edward May bridge. Bat her lasplratiea eaajeireht the famous Sklppiag Girl yinei gar aid Alice's Sweet Beabeaa advertising signs. The leaping girl Is eae at besf of activities brightening ay the river and Its sarreuads duolag 4 21-day River Festival celejrrat lag the epealng at Seuthgate aad linking ap with the eutdeec pre; gram el the Melbeara fjfler aatleaal Festival at the -Arts Irem aext Thursday. i'. Other rlverberae aad riverside attractions at a special preview last alght Included a huge float, lag Ice-skating rink, a water-task percustiea Installatiea, mid-air chamber music, aenlc sculptures; a trapexe star, rellerblf diag singers aad ether wandering pert farmers.

Ms Best, 19, was torn 'in Perth and lives In Adelaide, waeasM is completing pwt -graduate; utiles In cemputer-alded art at-tad University ef Seuth Australia. The footbridge sign will be Jilt mlnated 24 hours daily during the festival, aad thea after dark far aaother three months. "Alter that," she says, "IPs ap te the people el Melbourne whether It stays er comes dcrwn." PAGE 21: New life tor By MARQAftET COOK hundreds of domestic and International traveller! and about 90 tuff bave been affected by the financial collapse of a Melbourne-based travel company, Wandana the Travel Professionals. The Federal Court late yesterday appointed Mr Tim Jonas, from the chartered accountants Pitcher Partners, provisional liquidator of the company. Jonas said he believed the company owed a total of 12 million to airlines, the travel Industry and consumers who had paid for their 'travel arrangements In advance.

About $400,000 of this amount was owed to travellers. The chief executive of the Travel Compensation Fund, Mr Carlo Brattonl, said It had bad concerns bout Wandana's financial position for several months. He said the fund, a national body that issues licences to travel agencies, did not believe Wandana met the financial criteria required to be a member. "Every agency has to be a member of the fund but to obtain this, they have to lodge an annual renewal, including an audited financial statement," he said. "Our staff who assessed the Renewal (by Wandana) did not believe they met our safe cover levels." The fund revoked the company's licence yesterday, which meant It could no longer operate as a travel agency.

"Wandana has to close Its doors MDi Is not allowed to do any active selling, but it can render any assistance to (existing) customers who don't know what to do," he said. Mr Brattonl said he believed Wandana the Travel Professionals bad enough money to pay staff their wages and that customers handed a water consumption bill tor $626 by their landlord In July and told that unless they paid it they would be evicted," she said. "There Is no way that woman can pay the bill which was mainly caused by a faulty toilet and it has caused her great distress and had a major detrimental effect on her health." According to Melbourne Water, the average family uses 270,000 litres of water a year. On 1991-82 water-use charges, that would cost $33.43 a year. In April, water fees rose, making the average annual charge $81 per family for 1982-93.

Public tenants who are healthcare card holders are eligible for a concession of up to $67.30 to help pay their water bills. A $20 rebate was also offered to all households by the Minister for Water Resources, Mr Steve Crabb, when announcing the fee rises In March. Problems But a spokeman for the Department of Housing Victoria's largest landlord confirmed that it had decided not to pass the $20 rebate on to Its public tenants. Instead It would use the $1.2 million each year "where possible" to fix faulty water fittings and Install more water-efficient appliances. The spokesman said It would soon send letters to Its 63,000 tenants, advising them to pay the bills or risk "Jeopardising their chances" of getting the additional $S-per-child annual water rebate promised by Mr Crabb for 1993.

"We would anticipate that most people wont pay any more for water than they do now, unless they use more water than is reasonable," the spokesman said. BySUKNCALES Melbourne Water has started charging thousands of public and private tenants for their water use before new laws bave been passed making renters liable for the charges. Several tenants have been sent bills in the past three months of up to 1800 for their annual water consumption, with hundreds of other tenants being charged $100 to $300. The new water costs relate to water used between May last year and May this year, when Melbourne Water moved on to a part-user-pays system for charging water rates. But the amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act making tenants liable for water use bills while landlords continue to pay other sewerage and drainage charges have not yet been passed by State Parliament.

Melbourne Water has sent water consumption bills directly to 63,000 Department of Housing ten-ants and at least 40,000 private renters, but legally It cannot force tenants to pay the bills. A Melbourne Water spokeswoman said last night that It was not doing anything sinister or untoward by sending the bills before the legislation had been passed. "If you are claiming we are not legally able to send out the bills, that is not correct," she said. "The Ministry of Housing has asked us to bill their tenants direct and there Is nothing to stop us doing that What we cant do is force the tenants to pay (the bills) or take action to recover the money from them." The situation has created confusion among tenants who have been told of their legal rights by community and tenants' organisations and advised not to pay the bills. But for thousands of other public housing tenants who have not Inquired about their legal liability, the new charges have led to financial hardship and distress.

Ms Janine Mayhew, a tenants' advisory officer with the Spring-vale Community Aid and Advice Bureau, said she had been contacted by many tenants who bad received bills of up to $800. "I have bad one Dandenong sole-parent family that was Just Leap in the dark: Melbourne became a little brighter last night when the neon sculpture 'Girl Traversing the Yarra' was switched on. National lifts home, business rates jvho had booked and paid for holi days before 1 August would not be affected. However, he advised people ho had paid for their travel arrangements after that date to confirm their arrangements with airlines and hotels. A spokeswoman for Wandana the Travel Professionals said the company would make an official announcement on Monday.

The Public Tenants Union of Victoria claims the main problems with the current situation, besides ABT to review sex video show The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal Is to review Channel 9's 'Australia's Naughtiest Home Video Show for possible breaches of program standards. The program was abruptly pulled off the air on Thursday night following viewer complaints and the supposed Intervention of Nine's owner, Mr Kerry Packer. The program at 8.30 pm. In adults-only viewing time featured distant shots of couples making love, animals mating, a child touching a kangaroo's genitals, and a naked woman with a man's head held between her breasts. The ABT said it had called for a tape of the program after receiving more than 130 complaints.

It said 23 per cent of callers objected to the program being cut short the legal doubts, are that: The $20 rebate Is unlikely to be By STEPHEN MAVNE and DAVID WALKER National Australia Bank yesterday lifted fixed home loan mortgage rates and business rates to become the first major bank to push up Interest rates In almost three years. National lifted Its business reference rate from 10 per cent to 10.2 per cent and Its fixed one, three and five-year home loans by 0.23 points to 8.30, 10.75 and 11.23 per cent respectively. The business rate applies to all existing National customers but the home loan changes apply only to new customers. A National spokesman, Mr Haydn Park, said the rise was a commercial decision based on rising market Interest rates and com Wandana the Travel has its head office In Collins petitive pressure for deposits. National also lifted most of Its fixed-term deposit rates by between 0.10 percentage points and 0.35 points.

All of the announced rises take effect on Monday. Spokesmen for ANZ, Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank said Interest rates would not be rising for the moment, but the situation was constantly under review. The federal Treasurer, Mr Daw-kins, yesterday played down NAB's move, saying be was not agitated by small movements In commercial rates. Speaking on ABC Radio, he pointed to recent fluctuations In bond rates as suggesting there was nothing unusual In the latest rate move. Mr Dawkins suggested the NAB rises could show the bank "taking advantage of its competitive which bank analysts regard as stronger than most other banks'.

Officials said the NAB had not moved Its variable rates, which depended most heavily on Government-controlled cash rates. Even so, the move is likely to worry the Federal Government, keen to avoid any impression that the nation Is doomed to repeat the last interest rate surge. The Opposition Treasury spokesman. Mr Reith, seized on the rises yesterday as proof that Australia faced a rerun of the high and damaging rates of 1988 to 1990. That eventually meant higher costs for businesses and families and fewer Jobs, he said.

He blamed the rises on the "disastrous and hopeless" policies of Mr Dawkins and the Prime-Minister. Mr Keating. "We are experiencing an upward movement in Interest rates," he said. "It's-obvi-ously Just a start of more to come." Mr Park said National -had anticipated a continuing tailing trend when setting its rates, but recent developments such as the failing dollar end bad current-account figures bad reversed expectations. "All we have done is follow the trend," Mr Park said.

The home loan changes do not affect borrowers on variable rates. Economists said it was Hkely that the National was simply adjusting after overshooting with Its previous cuts. banded on by landlords to tenants. Street and branches In Armadale, Balwyn, Brighton, St Kllda Road, Water bills received by tenants are often unusually large because of leaking pipes and faulty appliances over which tenants have no Glen waverley. Too ran and Perth control.

It also has small shareholdings In Pan Australian Wandana Travel, which has branches In Carlton and Mentone. However, a spokeswoman said these were privately owned companies and would not Rents bave not been not decreased In proportion to the extra water charges now being born by tenants Instead of the be affected any way. landlord. YOU'RE INVITED To a showroom overflowing with TERRACOTTA SALE MASSIVE 3 DAYS ONLY YOU WILL NEVER SEE THESE PIKES AGAIN. RM.SO WORTH OF STOCK.

LARGE RANGE OP TERRACOTTA PLANTER POTS. ALSO CONCRETE AND SANDSTONE PRODUCTS TIM T)fTeWMtel WaWVw)MM If Conor St. RlckJMaO SAT, SUN ft HON 1 AM 10 PM VISA aCD, MCD WELCOME. BJIlULil IDEAS INVITE One of our trained deekjners tor work with yeu. ft NT MM KSJM SNR PRODUCTION PLANNER (Pharmaceuticals) This outstanding opportunity in production support one to be prized if you have the background and talent Our client is one of the most prestigious in the industry world-wide, tfag growth company in Pharmaceuticals In Australia and a leader in world standard manufacturing practice.

the dlfferencel 6 CaU TINT tfa 7 MTt Senior Accountant $55,000 Package Including Car Long Established Successful Company Variety Challenge If you seek variety and responsibility, by being both bands-oa, and involved in the management and decision making, this position will provide that opportunity. Not only will you enjoy the benefit and senior responsibility of being ia a small dooe knit operation (turnover $17 million), you will also have access to the resources of a large, well- known and stable garment manufacturer, your potent company. Reporting to the MO, with functional support from the Creep, yoa will -be an important member of the Company management team. This is a hands-on position which would suit a down-to-earth aistanCZ person who has had at least 8-10 years manufacturing accounting" experience preparing reports, involved in stock takes, variance analysis and who has also supervised staff. Exposure to standard coating will bcZ.

seen as aa advantage, but is not esornrial. Above average people ssaPs; will be necessary aa you will join a committee of fire others to help rosw the company. Please send a brief career resume to Howard Jeffe, or if furtheC -ffHB- TCHCNS 2M I tn lav) CHRISTIAN MEDITATION WORKSHOP FR. LAURENCE FREEMAN BENEDICTINE MONK, LONDON SATURDAY IXTU AND SUNDAY UTS SEPTEMBER riinarinti CoUtg Hon, Conum Rood. Kew I JO om to 4.M pa COST: Sat (1 days) S2S (I 4ty) til (per doy coo.) BYO LuocO Cheque payable to: Chriotioa Meditation Network.

PO Boi 31, Naoawadlnt 3131. (Peon eoctoae a stomped, self-eddresed eavetope). OniaMH tf Chriottao MHMatioa Network, 1 lamrMth St, St KIMo. Etrt: (M) im CT WTO Ttftrtl ulr OW, ExserUtaUhewte Decants as Baa'fet Come to the Society of Interior Designers of Australia Lecture Series, September 8, 1 5, 22,575 One lecture only S25 BOOKINGS 2808274 It is a dynamic function reflecting the unusual numberdiversity: of items and the on-going commitment to increased throughput and manufacturing capability. Selection will reflect quite specific criteria.

You need extensive MRP experience in a CMP regulated manufacturing industry, a information sought, telephone (S3) art S13L Your interest will -I kept ia strict confidence. 35 ftoarfce Street, Mimosa on 333S. Teh (S3) 7 4131. relevant technical qualification and the interpersonal maturity and analyticalinterpretive skills to ensure the calibre of planning decisions required at the salesmarketing interface. Written sopBcsttono, to confidence ojtMClng Ref.

No. 4-3154, to Ftnhy MoDard ff i i i a ct ton, kcciuiuiiciii spcoansv, i ngnco Street, East Melbourne, Vic 1003. Tel: (OS) C54 4544. Fax: (OS) 654 I M. kVVM' tk CONSULTING GROUP (Ex toctofy.

AppHtnoM not kwkidMl.) Draft National Standards on Carcinogenic Substances and Confined Spaces The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Commission is releasing the following documents for public comment in Victoria: i 3 Control of Scheduled Carcinogenic Substances In the Workplace: Draft National Model Regulations and Draft National Code of Practice 3 Joint Draft National Standard for Planning and Work for Confined 2 Spaces 2 These documents are being released for MELBOURNE SYDNEY PERTH ADELAIDE BRISBANE lftMIMIIAN OAK (toort, totmkM tench wHh ocfc dQttig. TT7" IMMIGRATION AD genuine de facto, marriage, political, family, work permit, employment applications, reviews and appeals, under new regulations. IA1LOW CO. 9) lninol Street Carhea Immigration Solicitor 4V Attorneys Pa. Ml 2799 StatcAdministralior.

liknftnflffifl WrnnnT 1 mancnor roumcmoom-on7trwm jnctmHoQ hoMdiyv 10 eVfn. 5 p.fn. CAoRMtRWlU- 788 BIVER8DALE P.O. TtLRMeoM XNTttLLfc 23 LASER DVE. TIUTMISM Pro-active) ogexit of change) Wwil known transport company I Salary neg.

to $45,000 .7. Are you by nature an organiser, inquisitive, wttft the ability to review office and organisational procedures and implement change In a fast moving, high csent demonq environment? TNi position wil be of definite appeal to on assertive, yet (P0Q30 0CI vsoo QOnft. It I 3 1 CO aown to earm, oomriarranon manager wno can ensur or mar national ana rate poscies ana procexajree- tosowea you undent ona me necessrry tor tjmew Textile Industry Auckland Our client is a fabric knitting, dyeing and finishing Company based in Auckland. We ore seeking a person who wiH bs able to take ful charga of the Technical Manogement function of this Company within two years. The position Is responsible to the Managing Director for the efficiency and enhancement of the Company's human and technical resources In the achievement of both daily production goals ond the Company's strategic aims.

Key personal chorocterl sties will include commitment, dynamism and (he ability to set and ochieve goals, develop human and ftolw probloMnt in tyiltoflKiNc ond IoqIcoI mo nnf. THo oMicctMtftjl applicant wil join a wnol iwnoQtfnnft ftMfn ond ploy kty port in ft opocotion ond dYas4opfnnt of lh buiinMt A remuneration packogo will bo offered which fully comntenMirole wHh the importance of pceHfon. HeaM apply tn writfof te) LmmrJIkiam anagement oexsoarmnti accounnng mrormarion, anatysa ana reporting and, therefore may wel have an quoifteation. PC skies ore naturoty a must. Working closely with the State Manager, kr organisation where a team contribution of ed Importance, you wW supervise an experienci public comment in Victoria concurrently 5 with their release for comment by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission.

The period of public comment closes on 20 November 1992. 2 Copies can be obtained by contacting: Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Commission I D10 World Trade Centre Cm Spencer and Flinders Streets Melbourne 3003 Tel: (03) 628 8567 Fax: (03) 628 6SS5 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH oomlnorration department and maxima the effectiveness. At the some time, you wi be able td propose ond Implement changes to nxinogement rtomatton ond admlnejratlon systems. i OVER 2 MILLION DOLLARS of inventory wil bo ouctionod piece by pieca to the highest bidder. Merchandise includes over 200 famoue bronze acutpturea by European artieta euch aa A.

Rodin, A. Moroou. Craaerua. Barye, MojgnoM. P.J.

Mono, Viasraa, Houdon ate. Aa weS aa fomouo erbeta of the American West F. Remington, Buoool, Free or A Kauba. Over 60 Tiffany style lamps ouch aa the Dragonfly Poppy, trie, WatarMy etc. Over 22 of the ftnoot portion carpets that were eatzed by US Cuotomo.

FREE CATALOGUE To Quarry for consideration, you wl dennlteV have! sopervxyoOTTilrieitratlon experience, knowledge of accounting, Ideoly a background In transport or a fast moving environment where oc curate and tlmety! intormotion ond efficient administration a essentioL Art ottrocttve renumerotlon pockoge wW be negotiated and future prospects wttnln IMs International organaatton are excelent. NeteforwcdyourappecxNm No 6M2 to Tony Roue. Level e. 267 CoMns Sweet! MfUCHJBNt VX: iOQO. tetiiO 2M1 Tax 06O 2S13.

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