The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • 14

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD FRIDAY APRIL 4 1997 14 Opinion ML- AAALAPtoT The victims of social injustice Many people view the current debate about whether Aborigines should gain native title over pastoral leases as one of social justice It's in that respect that I would like to make several points It's socially unjust to take away some of the rights of one part of die community to give more rights to another part of the community That's communism It's socially uqjust to expect a small section of the community to pay the full price of reconciliation The whole community should be prepared to pay that price Ift socially uqjust in Australia to go back on a deal that was agreed in good faith by all parties including Aborigines just three years ago that pastoral leases extinguished native title: As a part of that deal Aborigines will receive a $14 billion land fund to pur- chase land like home owners and amall business people farmers have each paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their leaseholds All we are seeking is the same certainty of title we had before the Wik decision was handed down This is no more or no less than what all home owners and small business expect as their right Australians are serious about reconciliation then they should be making a serious effort to discover how all Australians can be involved Expecting a section of the community hundreds of kilometres away to Sy the price reeks of the worst id of NIMBY (not in my backyard) Ian Donges President NSW Farmers Association April 2 Sydney or no ownen should MAL AlALTftPT MLDIV6S erdict on lawyers is plainly unfair tionship It is right for you to point out that the law does not make fee disclosure optional The debate of these issues has unfortunately detracted from the substantive content of the commissioner's report which was encouraging for the legal profession The report revealed that despite a 31 per cent increase in telephone calls to the commission's office the total number of complaints against lawyers has marginally dropped Also the number of conduct complaints referrred for investigation has fallen by 155 per cent This is despite a 52 per cent increase in the total number of lawyers in NSW Patrick Fair President Law Society of NSW April 3 Sydney $50000 and less than $250000 is $440 An application under the Family Provision Act incurs a filing fee of $497 Unfortunately the consumer has no choice in these matters and is unable to shop around with the non-existent competition or even complain to a government watchdog No doubt Mr Mark does not concern himself with Commonwealth matters but if he did he would be horrified to learn that an application by an individual to the Federal Court of Australia for substituted service of a bankruptcy notice (necessary when a debtor has eluded the process server) is $500: The filing fee on a subsequent bankruptcy petition presented by an individual is a further $500i Corporations large and small pay $1200 for each filing Diane Burgess Solicitor April 2 Mosman Front page news: verdict on So what's new? Unfortunately there's scant evidence presented to support the claim that lawyers are ripping off their clients in this article Just how many of the complaints and made to the Legal Service Commission were complaints and how many were inquiries? Of the complaints how many were valid and upheld and how many were spurious and made by clients dissatisfied with the outcome (as opposed to the conduct or cost) of their case? Could it be that any increase in complaints is another symptom of our modem tendency to blame someone else for our problems? Who better than your lawyer to pick on? PS: I'm not a lawyer Bruce TuHoch April 2 Raudwiclt Since the Herald has seen fit to give front-page prominence to the wickedness of lawyers per- Hip plontinji $jeralb Aboriginal health facts TjHE Governor-General Sir William Deane says he hopes Hut the report Hie Health and Welfare of Australia's Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Peoples will "enoourage and nfrtninmnt and farilitafinm nf anhitinna to reverse die story of dying and death of fellow Australians" mity-hing fte report in Darwin on Wednesday Sir William said its unprejudiced and undeniable statistical data should form die basis for scdutums for Aboriginal health problems But that is a forlorn hope if past experience is any guide: The report written by die Australian Bureau of Statistics and die Australian institute of Health and Welfare is excdknt But thtt is no guarantee that it will lead to effective remedial action where there has been none before: Sr William also said: caring Australian who reads this report must recognise that nothing can justify any delay our doing whatever we can to address the overwhelming health problems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians" No-one will disagree with that The cold hard truth is that statistics without more are of very little use To the extent that die picture they paint is already known their more detailed and comprehensive compilation does not take die search for solutions very far Without more these statistics will soon be merged with a background of painful feelings most have when they consider the undeniably bleak condition of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders More useful by far is to discover why after years of effort so little has been achieved Aborigines themselves complain about inadequate health care Many have accused bureaucrats" of wasting the money made available by governments for Aboriginal health care It is quite Kkdy that die amounts made available have indeed been inadequate But the widespread perception among both Aborigines and non-Aborigines is that there has been waste or diversion of funds or both Uncertainty about what has happened to this money must be removed by a proper audit of representative programs not to make life difficult for those who have been trying to do die right thing but to dear the way for effective action If there is waste or worse it must be identified and-stopped Against die gloomy background of the Health and Welfare report there are some brighter patches One appears from a report from Cape York the Herald yesterday It is a reminder of how experience has shown for example the positive correlation between involvement of Aborigines in their own health care and actual improvement in their health As Ms Patricia Nona a 31-year-old Aborigine who co-ordinates health grams for five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Cape York says: makes a difference up here is that we have employed indigenous people in the managerial positions They communicate with their own people speak their language and we get better For a host of reasons the health and welfare of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are poor in comparison with that of other Australians often terribly so However arresting the contrast might be though there are much more important questions to attend to One is why money assigned to programs for improving the health and welfare of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders over the years has not been more effective Another is why beneficial strategies for involving Aborigines in such programs have not been adopted more It is die answers to these kinds questions which are the key to real improvements Top texts DAME Leonie Kramer the head of a review panel on the HSC study list makes the convincing and necessary argument that taking a book off the list is not censorship This is a point that is worth making as some critics of the review panel have confused the issues of removal from the HSC study list and censorship Censorship involves systems that prevent students from ever reading the books that are to be axed from the study list or never make the list The review panel has not done this As Dame Leonie points out there is nothing to stop students from reading the axed texts or teachers recommending the texts to their students or students in future years reading the texts or in the case of the play Top Girls which was written by Caryl Churchill from seeing it performed when one of the theatre companies puts it on The review panel was making a judgment about the suitability of the texts in an examination and classroom context in other words and not necessarily on the value of the texts out of this context In a statement explaining why the review panel recommended the removal of Top Girls and the novel Finefhmr by Gillian Mears from the HSC list and highly commended another novel Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy Dame Leonie noted that the texts were considered in terms of their merit broad community ethical and moral standards and whether each text was considered a good teaching book" This is a concise and useful summary of the criteria that should be used to evaluate the texts The criteria however should be interpreted in an inclusive and liberal manner A narrow view of what constitutes community standards for instance should not be used to blacklist a text that challenges the prevailing correctness Narrow interpretations of the criteria for instance could see many of plays removed from the HSC study list on the grounds that suicide is glorified divisive racial and gender stereotypes are presented violence is often portrayed and a great deal of foul language pours out of the mouths of some of the characters Top Girls interestingly was found by the panel to be a play that contained gratuitous violence in banal and crude It was the nesTofthe violence that told against die play This'is an acceptable response Gay student is The courage of Christopher Tsakalos in bringing his case to I intend suing the Education Department forthwith In 1956 not the problem distressing situation for him Christopher is not the tence and taking help them instead LETTERS haps it could in the interests of justice for all publish a list of government fees and charges and update that list whenever they are increased Then the consumer will be able to see just where hisher money goes I note that the Legal Services Commissioner did not mention in his criticism that stamp duty on a modest home purchase of $200000 is $5490 That is a tax and increases according to the value of the property for example $300000 $8990 stamp duty In a rising real estate market stamp duty is a bonanza (Ih case the Government spokesman in such matters tries to tell us that relief for low-income earners is available please be advised that the relief cuts out when the price for a dwelling exceeds the sum of $155000) The filing fee in the Supreme Court on an application for probate in a jf modest estate of more than when as a child I migrated to Australia with my parents because I could not speak the language of my new home (English) I was teased taunted and harassed by other students at school Where does this nonsense of' suing for everything and anything stop? The treatment dished out to me motivated me to do something about it ie I learnt die language much more quickly than possibly I would have but for the taunts Rita Zammit April 3 Strath field I admire Christopher Tsakalos so much At just 14 he is standing up for himself and for others against what must be an incredibly would be spread more evenly It would also ease the distress of old people seeing the Government stripping away their assets while they are still alive A Parkinson March 20 Coogee Short stuff Walking home from a doco yesterday swatting mozzies and blowies all the while I was struck by the Columnist Leo Saturday dig (Herald March 29) at my fellow Americans for overuse of what he took to be the diminutive in place of perfectly good word" hello One of the features of this country I have come to love is its willingness to diminutise virtually any word adding both colour and distinctiveness to Conflict of interest Mai Colston guilty of theft and corruption? Not a chance Not when the Howard Government depends on him and others of his Uk to pass a good deal of its proposed legislation A touchstone of justice is that those judging have no conflict of interest Involving those being judged Wake up Australia BID Macka March 26 Griffith (ACT) Perhaps Senator Colston nnder the impression that like pork bcUes ne should be paid for by the kilo? Andrew Taubman April 3 Petersham What a shame the National Farmers' Federation and the Coalition prefer to remain in ignorance of the documented histories as presented in Frontier on the ABC and The West on SBS This is not the story ted by the victors in the oks books The courage of the European invaders was certainly enhanced by superior weapons technology the will to survive at any cost and rapacious greed One feels that some farmers have not changed much under the skin but are only curbed by the law Their lack of conscience and fair play was symbolised by the two controversial advertisements one using innocent children to promote dissension and discord in our country At least the Labor Government for all its bad economic mistakes had a heart and a conscience Australians and especially those professed Christiana in government should be mindful that ye sow so shall ye reap" and that one day we may suffer as have the indigenous people of this country Surely we must share and care for this wonderful land and prove that greed is no longer our guiding principle Barbara CfifL March 31 Elaaora Heights Vocal groups If John Howard deguts or second guesses the High Court Wik decision to keep ms Coalition Government intact then the High Court may as well shut up shop Any future decision which upsets organised vocal groups also would be at risk Stewart Moyser March 24 Katoomba RSVP Trinity Brsmmw School: Reunion for boarder boys" Anzac weekend beginning Apr 25 Details Annette (9581 6000) 25th anniversary June 7-8 Seeking supporters and all past alayers Contact David Babbage 1 681 627): Donald (b 1913) Olive Schweickle 1937 in Canterbury district Worked for Commonwealth Bank Seeking descendants and information Contact Ctdin A Currie 46 Gorman St Toowoomba Qld 435a Wjt pUnriif GPO Box 3771 Sydney 2001 Fax for letters 9282 3492 Internet: letterSfomhxomau All letters to the Herald should carry the home address and day and evening numbers for verification letters will be a maximum words and may be edited with consultation Letter writers who would like receipt of their letters acknowledged should send a-stamped sdf-addressed letter writers please note letters published in this news- on foe Internet CD-ROM by photocopying and by other methods: Responsibility for election comments in this issue is taken bv the Editor-in-Chief JRAlexander 201 Sussex Street Sydney 2000L I refer to your editorial who break Laws" Herald April 3)l I cannot agree with your assertion that whether or not competition has increased legal fees is one of a number of "insignificant mentioned by the Legal Services Commissioner at the launch of his report The effect of competition on the legal profession is fundamental to current debate regarding regulation of lawyers I stand by my criticism of the commissioner and note his recent retraction In relation to the issue of lawyers who do not make the required fee disclosure the Law Society's position is firmly that the profession must comply In fact the commissioner's report says that the majority of practitioners attempt to comply with the disclosure laws" (page 28) The Law Society believes up-front fee disclosure is beneficial to the solicitor-client rela Threatened species The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is not serious in acting against breaches of its Threatened Species Conservation Act as Director-General Robyn Kruk would have us believe (Letters March 14) We have been pleading with NPWS for no less than 15 years to put a stop to horses galloping through internationally recognised wetlands and dogs chasing 'migratory wading buds from their feeding and roosting habitat at Towra Point Nature Reserve (TPNR) in Botany Bay but to no avaiL Migratory wading birds are protected by two international agreements signed by Australia Many of these birds fly up to 16000 kilometres to reach southern destinations They return to the northern hemisphere some to Siberia around April when their feeding tundra have thawed from the winter snow and ice At 30 tin fortify them for their flight home across land and sea Many hundreds of waders including at least 34 species have at times been observed feeding around TPNR But now due to NEWS'S failure to enforce its Threatened Species Act constant harassment by dogs and humans has reduced numbers to fewer than 200 waders from only 18 species No reason here for pride NPWS! Berate Clarke Oyster Bay April 2 Dear Sir About 20 years ago I read in an AiBwiMn Knihiiw iMnini! article which forecast the demise of the use of Sir" as an introduction in written communication I don't know how things have progressed in the US but here we moved far In fact we even seem to be reversing the trend towards the use of which while no less antiquated than Sir" at least has the benefit of being non-sexist We don't use this type of affectation in oral communication and you don't see in e-mail correspondence so why do we persevere when we write on paper? Part of the reason might be the difficulty in finding a suitable alternative that suits all circumstances But rather than a difficulty this should be seen as an opportunity to give public attention is to be applauded The inability of schools to deal effectively with the kind of homophobic violence he experienced must be addressed The denial that there is a problem by George Green the acting Director-General of Education is deplorable He even attempts to blame Christopher for being a truant Who wants to go to school to be tormented every day? The principal of the school also apparently claimed Christopher was inflaming his fellow students by the way he walked and talked This is akin to saying black people cause racist attacks by being black Chris Sitka April 2 Petersham our written communication more flexibility variety and personality In future I'll reserve Sir" for correspondence to men who owe me money or against whom I intend taking legal action Just think of the clarity and economy of the message when the next woman who writes a John" letter commences the correspondence instead with Sucker" A Moore March 23 Caringbah Death duty With the introduction of compulsory up-front admittance fees to nursing homes the Government has effectively reimposed a death duty This particular death duty however is discriminatory in that it is only imposed on the estates of those people who win the unlucky lottery of having to be admitted to nursing homes And for the first time this death is collected while they are alive If our community needs more money to pay for the health care of the elderly then the Govern- aid in ment should impose this death duty on all estates not just on the estates of nursing home patients After all who can predict in advance whether one needs to be admitted to a nursing home in years to come Such a death duty could be earmarked for use in providing the elderly with health care like home nursing meals on wheels nursing home costs home care community care and die like In this way the elderly of our society would still be paying their way according to the user pays principle but the cost real steps to of just mouthing platitudes 1 Lyndon Smith April 2 Cremorae While I can sympathise with this boy the homosexual community appears to have double standards Every year the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras sends up my religion homosexuals are dressed as nuns one year as the Pope handing out condoms This is my faith and I am deeply offended Whom do I sue? If you want tolerance and understanding then I suggest you clean up your public image Joy Burns April 1 Woolloomooloo describing the pitiful state of the local mailbox I said among other things that the box was in such a downgraded state even overlooking the dreaded graffiti that I doubted my letter would reach him- The manager responded saying that yes the letter had in fact reached turn and he had referred it to some other boffin in Australia Post I thought it was a clear case of another buckpass but on Easter Monday just 10 days after my letter a new mailbox was installed for the residents of this It must be something that warrants submission to The Guinness Book af Records People power lives Bany Quigley March 31 ClontarC Help from hemp New proposals to cultivate Indian hemp in Victoria leave NSW behind yet again Hemp grows well in our State where the variety of dimnw enable it to be selected for fibre seeds or foliage Hemp's great contribution to Western civilisation was halted by bans which were commercially inspired Its return would see a productive renewable source for manufacturing of paper rope fabric and medicines Andrew April 1 fern Mr Guinness! Good grief! I've suddenly found that I agree with two articles by Gerard Henderson in recent days (on euthanasia) Is this a record? Chris Goddard April 2 Parramatta problem the students who are assaulting haramring and making him attempt suicide are Everybody especially children should have the right to feel safe and the freedom to be themselves The teacher who told him to like a man" and tone down his effeminate mannerisms was well-meaning but misguided Thousands of gay kids suffer a similar situation every day at school and many more know that they would be better to lie about their sexuality if they want to be safe I know I was one of them But it seems society would rather gay kids suffer and have a significantly higher suicide rate It's easier than acknowledging their exis- Oz-speak But for an Aussie to rag on the Yanks for use of diminutives is more than the pot calling the kettle black It'll the elephant suggesting the wombat needs to go on a diet A Seppo in Sydney Walt Bachman March 31 KirribiUL Leaning towers Do other parts of Sydney indeed other parts of Australia have the same experience as we in watching their local Australia Post mailboxes disintegrating into rusty leaning postal towers of Pisa7 Ten days ago after a futile phone call three months ago to the authorities at our nearest main regional post office I wrote to the regional manager of Australia Post in Chatswood In an interview on the AM program the Deputy Prime Minister Mr Fischer stated that the separation of powers prevents or at least Inhibits the Executive from removing Scna- Mai Pnkfna from the i removing I tor Mai Colston from the legislature Presamably therefore Mr Fischer will now show a similar level of respect for the members of the High Court Mitchell Landrigan RandwKfc April 2.