Man awarded $1m for police assault

Former constables Graeme Carter and Mark Sesin kicked in the door of Donald Walker's Surrey Hills flat in 1993, because they were concerned about his girlfriend.

The judgment states that what happened in the flat is unclear, but when Mr Walker confronted the officers they assaulted both him and his elderly mother.

Mr Walker suffered numerous injuries including broken ribs, while his mother's shoulder was dislocated.

The 461-page judgment awards Mr Walker more than $1 million, his brother more than $800,000 and his mother's estate $100,000.

Gay couple win $23,000 for vilification

A mother and son have been ordered to pay $23,100 in damages to a gay couple they harassed and vilified during a bitter neighbourhood dispute that was sparked by barking dogs.

Queensland woman Jean Lawson and her son Paul Lawson must also publish a 140-word apology in local and state newspapers after calling their one-time neighbours, Timothy Wilson and Shane McCollum, "faggots", "poofs" and "princesses".

In the landmark ruling, Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Tribunal found the Lawsons vilified their homosexual neighbours to further their case during a nasty dispute about Alsatian dogs and a boundary fence.

Mr Wilson and Mr McCollum, a high school teacher, say they were forced to move out of their rented home in Logan Central after nine months of harassment and humiliation.

While tribunal member Peter Roney noted both parties "gave as good as they got", the Lawsons were found to have harassed, embarrassed and vilified Mr Wilson and Mr McCollum by calling them derogatory names in reference to their homosexuality.

Relations between the residents nose-dived in August 2005, when Mr Wilson, a 45-year-old nurse's assistant who worked mostly at night, complained to the RSPCA and local council that Mrs Lawson's two Alsatians barked all day in their yard.

The tribunal heard that when Mrs Lawson, who is in her 60s, was notified of the complaint, she believed Mr Wilson had also told the council the dogs were being mistreated.

Months of taunts ensued from both sides, with Mr Roney noting the "extraordinary animosity" that resulted.

"There were accusations and counter-accusations suggesting verbal abuse, profanities, actual physical violence, intimidation, the making of numerous police complaints, the levelling of criminal charges each against the other, application for orders that others keep the peace and be of good behaviour, and other general acts of irritation and vindictiveness passing in each direction," he wrote in the tribunal judgment.

Mr Wilson and Mr McCollum alleged Mrs Lawson called them "faggots", "girls", "ladies" and "princesses" a number of times, as well as referring to the men as "poofs" in the presence of strangers.

Mr Lawson accused the pair of calling his mother a "Scottish slut", a "Jewish whore", a "mole" and a "bitch".

Mr Wilson, speaking from Sydney today, said he never made reference to Mrs Lawson's race or culture.

"I had sleepless nights and it really was scary because a lot of our friends wouldn't come and see us," he said.

Mr Wilson said he and Mr McCollum had received support from friends and family and members of the gay community, but also some abusive phone calls, calling him a "dirty faggot".

Mr Lawson said he did not want to comment on the tribunal's decision at this stage. Nor would he comment on whether Mrs Lawson would lodge an appeal against the decision.

Detainee sues state over knife

WHEN a 16-year-old girl assaulted her mother with a knife, she was sent to juvenile detention.

She was just eight the first time she threatened her mother with a knife. She had also similarly threatened her foster carer, attacked a teacher and stabbed a fellow student. She appeared to have a fascination with knives, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.

Now 25, the woman is suing the state for allowing her access to the knife she used to kill a teacher, Scott Bremmer, in a cooking class at the Yasmar detention centre.

The court heard she was allegedly sexually abused as a child, had been assessed as retarded and suffering from intermittent explosive disorder. Since she was sent to Yasmar at 16, she has assaulted her solicitor, doctor, psychiatrist and two teachers, one of whom was attacked with a leather working tool in July 1999. Two days later, she was allowed to participate in the cooking class, despite staff allegedly raising concerns that she appeared "hyped up". Her handcuffs were removed and she was given cooking implements, including knives.

During a break, she allegedly showed "heightened interest in knives", and after returning to class, she fatally stabbed Mr Bremmer. She was charged, and eventually sentenced to a limiting term of 10 years under the Mental Health Act. She has been held in isolation for most of that time, has assaulted guards and tried to harm herself in custody.

Yesterday, in what Justice Stephen Rothman acknowledged was an unusual claim, the woman's foster mother began suing the state of NSW, on the girl's behalf, for compensation for her imprisonment. It was argued that government organisations knew she was violent, had a history of using knives and needed to be restrained. She was owed a duty to ensure she was adequately supervised and not given access to knives, her lawyers argue in their statement of claim. A psychiatrist found she failed to understand the offence or that it was wrong.

In 2001 the state pleaded guilty to breaching occupational health and safety rules at Yasmar in the supervision of the girl. It was fined $294,000. Staff training had since been changed, the court was told. The case continues.

Bullying victim awarded lifetime damages

A teenager has been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, and weekly earnings, after suing the New South Wales Government for failing to protect him from being bullied at primary school.

Benjamin Cox was bullied by an older student at Woodberry Public School near Maitland in the Hunter Valley 13 years ago.

He was six at the time.

On one occasion, the student tried to strangle him, and he fell to the ground unconscious.

His mother reported the bullying to school authorities, but it did not stop.

Mr Cox is now 18 years old.

He suffers from a severe psychiatric condition and is unemployable.

He claimed damages in the Supreme Court, alleging the State of New South Wales had breached its duty of care.

Justice Carolyn Simpson found the school's response was "dismally inadequate".

She said the staff made no attempt to deal with a serious problem, and grossly failed in their duty to him.

Mr Cox was awarded more than $213,000 and weekly earnings for life.

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Of course this report couldn't have come at a better time!

They say, "Justice Carolyn Simpson found the school's response was "dismally inadequate".

But they don't say when she found that out? My guess it wasn't today! John Howard's ABC would like you to think it was?