The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 32

THE AGE, Tuesday 2 May 1989 Boys to be tested after worker found to be HIV positive Solid Maple "Valley Forge" by Lincoln An Opposition backbencher, Mr Ross Smith, MLA for Glen Waverley, told Parliament last month that police investigations bad confirmed that while Pierson was employed by CSV in December and January he had bathed and interfered with two boys. Acquaintances and former CSV colleagues of Pierson have been offered tests for AIDS, which can develop from the HIV virus. By FIONA ATHERSMITH Two' boys who were alleged In Parliament to have been Interfered with by a former employee of Community Services Victoria are to be tested for the HIV virus, which causes AIDS. The parents of the boys, who cannot be identified, asked Community Services Victoria for a test to be carried out on their sons after they were told by the department that the former Enjoy tomorrow's today quality that will endure and appreciate Sturgeons want special hospital units to treat AIDS patients Two bankers found guilty in $21 million tax fraud case Two merchant bankers were found guilty yesterday of conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth of more than $21 million In tax. After considering its verdict for six hours, a jury in the Central Criminal Court in Sydney found Francis Dennis Ward, 51, and Reginald Keith Knight, 52, guilty of the charges against them.

The. trial had lasted several weeks. Mr Justice Loveday remanded, the men in custody to be sentenced, with a third man, Paul Richard Russell, 39, of Baulkham Hills, on 11 May. Russell has' pleaded guilty to the same charge. Ward, of Centennial Park In' Sydney's east, and Knight, of Gold Coast, had both pleaded not guilty to conspiring to defraud the.

Commonwealth of tax between 19 April 1978 and 19 December 1980. The prosecution alleged that the pair were principals of the: merchant bank Ward, Knight and Dunn, which marketed tax' schemes aimed at those interested in reducing their tax Although their scheme was" technically called a "Slutzkin" after a High Court case of the: same name it was also referred to as a "bottom of the It operated by stripping the assets, from companies so they still had a tax liability, but no resources to pay. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr Nicholas Cowdery, QC, said the scheme allowed with a current-year tax liability, to transfer nronertv. nlant and Bedhead and 2 bedsides 895 FINISHThe rich clear finish brings out the natural beauty and colour. It also protects and preserves the surface.

CONSTRUCnON.Sofid panels, dove-tailed drawers, drawer slides and dustproofing between the drawers, all reflect the built in juahty throughout. styles are never "out of These "evergreens" reflect the influence of the world's finest designers (18th century). The lines are graceful, the storage ample and the finish excellent. Pierson, 35, who is also known as Ian George Dixon, was employed as a child protection officer in the CSVs Baltara reception centre and at its western metropolitan region headquarters. Pierson is still receiving counselling in Pentridge hospital, -before being transferred to a special unit in division for HIV-positive prisoners.

Advisory body has new chief By philip Mcintosh A Melbourne physician. Professor Priscilla Kincaid-Smith, has been appointed head of the Victorian AIDS advisory committee. Professor Kincaid-Smith, director of the kidney unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and a professor of medicine at Melbourne University, takes over from Professor Ian Gust, who has been appointed chief scientific and medical adviser on AIDS to the Federal Government Professor Kincaid-Smith was previously deputy chair of the committee. The Health Minister, Mrs Hogg, has also appointed two deputy chairmen to the committee. They are Mr Adam Carr, an author and journalist and a founding member of the Victorian AIDS Council, and Dr Paul Nisselle, a former president of the Australian Medical Association in Victoria and the AMA spokesman on AIDS.

employee, Barry Pierson, had been found to be carrying HIV in Pentridge. A spokesman for the Minister for Community Services, Mr Spyker, said one set of parents was informed on Friday and it seemed they had taken the news well. The second family was told of Pierson's positive test result yesterday because the department pulsory AIDS tests for every surgery patient The professional officer of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian branch), Ms Belinda Morieson, said the RANF believed it was an employer's responsbility to ensure that all voluntary health workers were educated in infectious-disease control procedure. A spokeswoman for the Minister for Health, Mrs Hogg, said the case of the woman who contracted AIDS when she accidentally jabbed herself with a contaminated needle highlighted the need for all health-care workers and volunteers to adhere to the AIDS protection guidelines. The spokeswoman said the woman was a friend of the AIDS musstisbsiehuI By LOUISE BELLAMY and MICHAEL PIRRIE Surgeons yesterday called for special hospital units to treat AIDS patients, following reports that a Melbourne woman had become the first voluntary health-care worker in Australia to be infected with the AIDS virus.

The president of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Mr Durham Smith, said special units in the main public hospitals should be set aside for AIDS patients. The units would ensure the best treatment because staff would be specialised and risks to the staff would be minimised because they would be fully aware of the dangers. Mr Smith said the college supported com received a contaminated blood transfusion. Professor Basten said that it was like splitting straws to say there was a difference between voluntary health-care workers and others caring for AIDS patients in both a home or hospital setting. He said many people, including relatives, friends and volunteers worked as home health-care providers.

"The moral is that if you obey the infection control rules whenever you are looking after someone infected with AIDS, in whatever capacity that might be, the risk is minimal. But if you don't, the risk increases and tragic accidents can he said. "We must do our best to help everyone looking after people with AIDS to avoid this Quafity furniture for less SPRINGVALE 546 8m 2215 Princes Highway Cnr KaBmna Avt. batwaan Blackburn A SpHngvala Ma 4ts ir- New law to allow public servants' suspension: Cain By DAMIEN MURPHY The State Government will introduce legislation to allow the suspension of public servants with pay while they are under investigation. The Premier, Mr Cain, said yesterday the powers would be used in cases where there was a potential danger to the clients or staff of a Government body.

Under present laws, the Government could not have suspended Barry Pierson, a former child protection officer with Community Services Victoria, whom police are investigating over alleged child-sex offences, if he had been a permanent employee. The Minister for Community Services, Mr Spyker, said on Sunday that Mr Pierson had tested HIV-positive. "You all know the kind of case to which I'm referring, where it suggests that children in CSV may be put at risk by allegations made or conduct alleged against a particular person," Mr Cain said. "Officers should have power had been unable to reach them during the weekend. Both families will be given counselling by CSV and the tests will be carried out as soon as possible, the minister's spokesman said.

Pierson, who is serving a 210-day sentence in Pentridge for credit card fraud, is wanted for questioning in the United States about alleged child sex offences in San Diego. patient and did not strictly fall within the definition of a voluntary health-care worker. However, senior AIDS experts said the woman was a health-care worker under international guidelines. Professor Tony Basten, the former chief advisor on AIDS to the Federal Government, said that according to the criteria of the Centres for Disease Control in the United States the woman's infection would be classified as a case involving a home healthcare provider. According to sources, the woman's infection is believed to be one of a few such cases involving home health-care providers, including a woman in the United States who became infected with AIDS while caring for her newborn baby, who had 425 6343 81 4633 348500 Group equipment to a new company usually with a similar name and carry on with no tax The original comoanv.

with tax liability, would be sold through a second company to a third compa-. ny or individual. With no assets, no tax could be paid and there could be no recourse against the original shareholders because of the legal concept of limited liability. Mr Cowdery said there were references in Ward, Knight and Dunn internal, documents to "company undertaker" and to a company being consigned to a "watery There was no evidence that any of the company documents went to the "bottom of the although many did turn up in a caravan on a property west of Sydney, he said. Mr Cowdery said 71 companies were stripped of their assets in two years, depriving the Commonwealth of $21.5 million in tax.

Ward and Knight denied any wrongdoing, saying they were acting as agents with the belief that the ultimate owners of the 71 companies would deal with the tax liabilities. Both said there had been ad ministrative inefficiency, but not dishonesty in the bank. No trial date has been fixed for a fourth man, Mr Emod Tarisz-nyas, 55, of Nerang, Queensland, who has pleaded not guilty to the same charge. as a territorial claimant under the system of committees that would be set up. He said mining, ou or natural -gas companies would be able to operate in the Australian Antarctic Territory without Australian approval.

The treaty would not prevent unnecessary mining; the sharing of scientific data would be placed at risk; and the treaty was vague about who would be responsible for any future damage to the environment "The disastrous Exxon oil spill in the Arctic is an example of what could happen In Antarctica, but with much more damaging consequences." Mr Milton is chairman of the House of Representatives committee on the environment, which is investigating the impact of tourism on the Antarctic. The treaty, due to be signed in November, must be ratified by 16 countries before it becomes international law. The signatories must include the seven countries with territorial claims Australia, Britain, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and Argentina. Opposition decides to oppose signing Antarctic mining treaty to, if they see fit, remove that person with pay pending a proper investigation of those charges." Mr Cain denied that the legislation was aimed at a public servant involved in the recent adoption case, where an Indian-born child, Kajal, was taken from pre-adoptive parents after the mother failed to notify the Federal Government that she was pregnant He said it was often necessary to investigate whether there was sufficient evidence to lay a charge. "In those circumstances it is not always appropriate, or desirable, to have the officer continuing to work.

This is particularly so where it is reasonably believed the officer's presence might pose a potential threat to clients or other staff." The Government planned to amend the Public Service Act during the present session of Parliament Mr Cain said there had been problems in the Department of Corrections where public servants could not be suspended while being investigated. Mr MUtow serious flows justify a veto of the treaty. exploration. Australia, as one of the seven countries with territorial claims, has a veto over the treaty coming into force. Mr Milton said in the report, distributed to caucus members, that the treaty had several serious flaws that justified a veto.

Australia would lose its status PlllKIBlil II III mil A 'mill ill 'A sfiffij' I By CARMEL McCAULEY, Canberra The Federal Opposition decided yesterday to oppose the signing by Australia of an international treaty that could allow mining in Antarctica. A Government backbencher, Mr Peter Milton (ALP, Vic), also released a report warning that Australia could lose its claim to sovereignty over its Antarctic territory if it signed the treaty. Both developments are likely to increase pressure on Cabinet which appears to be split over the treaty. The Environment Minister, Senator Richardson, favors signing because he says the treaty would ensure controls on mining companies. But the Treasurer, Mr Keating, and the Resources Minister, Senator Cook, are believed to be against signing.

The shadow cabinet voted to oppose the treaty on the ground that it would lead to mining in the environmentally sensitive Antar-tic The treaty provides for a system of environmental controls on WMOMMNMWNMaWOMMMtt "How can I stay ahead of the competition when injection moulding machinery is outdated so fast?" ONLY $3747 TO Remember, too, that AGC leasing finances the full purchase price of the goods you need and that lease payments, when made on income producing assets, are tax deductible. If you want to stay ahead of the competition in the Plastics business, talk to AGC Business Finance soon. In the Plastics business you can't afford to fall behind competitors who install more advanced equipment. Vbu can have the very latest plant when you need it, without tying up working capital or depleting your other lines of credit, like the bank overdraft. The answer is AGC Business Leasing.

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factory. Appliances not included) SOLID TASMANIA! OAK doors, formica bench with Over-the-wall pool shot falls short at Pentridge By QARETH BOREHAM Prison authorities yesterday described as "ham-fisted" an attempt to smuggle weapons into Pentridge prison's Division by throwing a bag over the wall. A blue plastic bag, containing a sawn-off .22 rifle, ammunition and a banting knife, was found by a warder between a bluestone Jail wall and an inner security fence on 18 ApriL Authorities believe the parcel was meant to land in the prison pool but failed to make the distance. It landed In a "no man's land" not normally accessible to prisoners. A spokesman for the Office of Corrections said regular searches of Division by the prison dog squad had failed to find more weapons.

He said the authorities were reasonably certain that no other arms had come into the prison. "Random searches are carried out all the time by the dog squad at the prison, so security is pretty tight," he said. The spokesman said that with the onset of colder weather the pool was not often used, and a prisoner trying to smuggle the bag out of the pool would have been noticed. i Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Street, MELBOURNE VIC. 3000.

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