Judge to keep mentally ill man in jail

A mentally ill man has been jailed for another 12 months because the Northern Territory's top judge says there is no where else for him to go.

Christopher Leo, 28, has already spent 16 months in Alice Springs prison for the aggravated assault of a woman in August last year.

He was found unfit to stand trial but was found guilty in a special jury hearing last December.

Chief Justice Brian Martin says he had no choice but to keep Leo behind bars for another 12 months, as there was no support or housing facilities in the Territory to make him safe outside of prison.

But Leo's lawyer told the court jail had been very detrimental for him.

He says Leo tried to harm himself with a broom stick in January this year, and more jail time would hamper his ability to go back into society.

Justice Martin says it is "utterly unacceptable" there is no support or housing facilities for mentally ill people who commit minor offences, other than jail.

He says it is not good enough that the Territory has not been able to provide any accommodation or resources for the mentally ill, and this should not be so in a civilised society.

He says work to build resources and facilities for mentally ill people who commit minor offences needs to be in the pipeline by next year.

The judge says by the time the review is held in July, he expects resources and support will be available so Leo can be released into the community.

But he says even if building work on facilities started straight away, they will not be finished in time.

He ordered a transcript of today's Supreme Court proceedings to be sent to the Health Department, Department of Corrections and Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Territory Government says a housing plan which will address the lack of mental health facilitates will be released next year.

Housing Minister Rob Knight admits more needs to be done.

"A lot of people who are homeless have mental illness and need specific supported accommodation with specialised providers," he said.

"I guess we acknowledge there is an issue and there is a need there and while there are some services being provided, there is more services that need to be provided in the future."

A Territory lawyer says Leo is part of a growing list of people not receiving proper support.

Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid lawyer Mark O'Reilly says Leo has had a tough time over the past 16 months in maximum security at Alice Springs jail.

He told the Supreme Court today Leo is in a hopeless situation and the jail only has one officer to support all of its mentally ill inmates, including three men serving life imprisonment.

He says arrangements should have been made to put Leo into a suitable interstate facility in the time he had been jailed.

Ministerial Cover Up at LB Prison Hospital

“The Law and Justice Committee of the Legislative Council is inspecting the Long Bay prison and forensic hospitals this morning after an urgency debate on the effect of the early lockdown on mentally ill patients” said JA Coordinator Brett Collins.

“The government has been condemned by the entire Australian mental health profession for that cost-cutting decision, and it promised to move all forensic patients into hospital conditions by the end of last month. That has not been done” said JA Coordinator Michael Poynder.

“The Minister for Justice Hatzistergos rejected Committee members’ requests for the Nurses Association and Justice Action to join the Parliamentary inspection as expert advisers. This leaves the mental patients to speak for themselves with guards present, despite the immense experience offered by both independent organisations. This arrogant abuse of power isolating patients from community support could never be justified” said Mr Collins.

“One of the patients, an Iranian citizen, has been rushed by ambulance to the Prince of Wales Hospital. He has refused his heart medication until the lockdown ends. The Iranian Ambassador Mahmoud Movahhedi has written to the Premier and Prime Minister saying the ‘allegations have become a matter of concern for the Islamic Republic of Iran’ and asked them to investigate alleged violations of his civil, legal and human rights” said Mr Poynder.

For comments:

Brett Collins on 0438 705 003
Michael Poynder on 0401 371 077

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Trades Hall, Suite 204, 4 Goulburn St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
PO Box 386, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia
T 612 9283 0123 | F 612 9283 0112
E ja@justiceaction.org.au

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Slow release for mentally ill prisoners

This would occur over time and there would be no sudden mass release of prisoners: MHRT

As many as 2000 NSW prisoners will receive improved psychiatric care under a revision to forensic mental health legislation.

The changes will also secure the earlier release, under community treatment orders, of some people whose illness had previously made them unsuitable for parole.

Greg James, QC, president of the Mental Health Review Tribunal and architect of the reforms - already enacted and likely to go into effect from February - said the tribunal would supervise psychiatric treatment for prisoners and ensure it continued after their release. According to some estimates, nearly half of prisoners have some form of mental illness.

Court diversion programs are preventing about 1600 mentally-ill people a year from receiving a jail sentence, but the changes mean that for the first time psychiatric treatment for those who are jailed will be co-ordinated with treatment after release. Both will be under the tribunal's supervision, with individual treatment orders made by a panel comprised of a judge, a forensic psychiatrist and another mental health practitioner.

Mr James said about one-fifth of some 2000 forensic patients had been judged unfit to stand trial on account of their mental illness, while the remainder were serving their sentences. Of these people, about 1000 might otherwise be eligible for parole, but "the parole board does not regard them as capable of adjusting to community life," he said.

The new treatment regime would accelerate such people's parole, Mr James said, but this would occur over time and there would be no sudden mass release of prisoners. "The expertise is all in place" in community health services, he said. "I don't think you'll find community agencies will be stretched."

Philip Mitchell, the head of the school of psychiatry at the University of NSW and chairman of the NSW Mental Health Priority Taskforce, said the standard of mental health care in jails was improving. "It's not perfect but there's been a shift and very capable people are moving into forensic mental health," he said. Young doctors now competed for training places that had previously been impossible to fill.

Nevertheless, the legislative changes and a new forensic hospital to be opened at Long Bay but run by NSW Justice Health (a division of the NSW Department of Health) represented "a huge expansion" in psychiatric services, Professor Mitchell said. "The challenge for the system will be getting enough staff."

John Basson, the statewide clinical director of forensic mental health within NSW Justice Health, said many senior doctors had applied to work at the facility, but the agency was having difficulty attracting enough junior doctors. Mental health nurse recruitment was also problematic. "We're struggling like everyone else," he said.

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Madness causing madness in prison hospital
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Man not guilty due to mental illness

A man who stabbed his wife to death has been found not guilty due to mental illness.

The 36-year-old man stabbed his 31-year-old wife in her Randwick unit in Sydney's east in November 2007.

The New South Wales Supreme Court heard he accused her of having an affair and days before exhibited disturbed behaviour, telling his wife he almost stabbed her friend.

After the stabbing the man fled with [his eight year old] child and was eventually found by police on the south coast of NSW.

Today Supreme Court Justice Peter Hidden ruled the man is not guilty of murder due to mental illness.

He ordered him to be detained in the hospital unit at Sydney's Long Bay prison until released by the due process of the law.

Report backs refugee detention changes

Researchers say a new report on the mental health of refugees backs the Federal Government's decision to greatly reduce its use of mandatory detention.

The study from the University of New South Wales examined problems faced by 700 Iraqi refugees between 2003 and 2007.

Co-author Zachery Steel says it shows rates of mental illness such as depression increased dramatically, the longer the refugees spent in detention.

"This is profound clinical depression that lasts for many weeks and people are highly disabled every day," he said.

"Rates of depression up to 40 per cent of people who'd been there for over six months."

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Police slammed over Taser death

In a particularly worrying finding, the report states that one person died of a heart attack 12 days after being shocked by NSW Police.

The state Ombudsman has slammed a police plan to roll out stun guns, saying the weapons should only be used to deal with "extreme situations".

"Police need to be extremely careful using Tasers," NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, said.

"They are not a non-lethal weapon - they are just a less lethal weapon."

Mr Barbour's comments came as he released a special report into the use of Tasers in NSW today.

The report analysed the use of Tasers by the police riot squad and Tactical Operations Unit between 2002 and 2007.

The State Government sidelined the Ombudsman in relation to Tasers when the stun guns were rolled out to general duties police across the state's 81 local area commands more than a month before today's report.

Mr Barbour called for a two-year moratorium on any further roll-out of the controversial weapons, pending a further independent review.

"Current police standard operating procedures relating to Taser use are inadequate," he said.

"There are known risks with using Tasers, and police must receive clear, comprehensive and consistent guidance to ensure safe and effective use of this weapon."

Mr Barbour said "alarm bells" were already ringing as a result of the roll-out to general duties police, with four of the first five deployments being used in "drive stun mode", where the weapon is activated and pushed into a person's body.

"This rings alarm bells for me, as we are already seeing a completely different type of use by general duties officers."

The report found that those who were subjected to Taser use were typically male, Caucasian, under the age of 40 and with mental health issues.

More than half were intoxicated when they were Tasered or had a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

In a particularly worrying finding, the report states that one person died of a heart attack 12 days after being shocked by NSW Police.

The report makes 29 recommendations for Taser use including giving guidance to officers about the risks the weapons pose.

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Teen pregnancy, suicide rates a 'wake-up-call'

A report that shows Australia is not the lucky country for its youth should act as a policy wake-up call, the federal government says.

The Research Alliance for Children and Youth compared health, education, employment and family relationships of Australians aged up to 24 with those in other developed nations.

Overall, non-indigenous Australian youths fared relatively well in each category but not compared with youngsters from the best performing countries. And indigenous young people compared miserably on every indicator.

"Despite our economic prosperity, Australian children do not perform as well as modern society would like to think," the report said.

Federal Families and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said the report would be a "shock" to many people.

"We are falling far behind many, many comparable countries ... where we would have thought we were doing so much better," Ms Macklin said.

"We all know the shocking gap that exists between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians but ... I don't think that people are aware of the extraordinary differences between our children and children in other developed countries."

Pregnancy rates were much higher than the OECD average, and rates for indigenous Australians were the highest, the report found.

Youth road deaths are the third highest in the OECD and indigenous young people have the second highest suicide rate behind Finland.

Children of indigenous youths have the second highest infant mortality rate and recorded the lowest birth weights.

More than 15 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 years claim to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress.

Australia also performed poorly in the transition between education and employment, and family relationships.

Head of the study, Professor Fiona Stanley, said the findings suggested government policy had failed children for many years.

"If this was the Olympics, Australian's would be horrified that we've failed to bring home a single gold," she said.

Prof Stanley said Australia can do better and the indicator levels were "very policy sensitive and responsive".

Ms Macklin agreed, saying paid parental leave and a focus on early childhood education would help boost Australia's performance.

"It does need to be a wake up call ... as a nation we have to do better," she said.

Eleven-year-old Isha Menon, selected to be acting Children's Commissioner for the day, said one area of focus should be better work-life balance for families.

"Many children in my class have to go home alone and sometimes around 4.30 they are still hanging around and playing with friends," she said.

"They probably never see their parents because they work long hours.

"We must support parents to spend more time with their children."

The wellbeing of Australian youth compared to other Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations

Infant mortality: Australians 20/27

Indigenous Australians 26/28

Low birth rate: Australians 7/18

Indigenous Australians 19/19

Mental health: Australians 13/23

Indigenous Australians 23/24

Accidental injury: Australia 7/8

Education

Reading: Australians 6/29

Indigenous Australians 29/31

Maths: Australians 29/31

Indigenous Australians 29/31

Science: Australians 5/30

Indigenous Australians 29/31

Transition to employment: Australia 17/25

Peer and family relationships

Parents "just talking" with children: Australians 18/27

Indigenous Australians 17/28

Sense of belonging: Australians 11/29 Indigenous Australians 29/30

Teenage fertility: Australians 21/30 Indigenous Australians 31/31

Road deaths: Australia 20/23

Source: The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY).

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Assess ambulance chief over bullying: report

A report into the troubled NSW ambulance service today recommended that the CEO, Greg Rochford, urgently meet the NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, to assess his performance after a disturbing inquiry into bullying and harassment in the service.

The draft report into the management and operations of the Ambulance Service of NSW had recommended Mr Rochford be replaced but that was not supported by all members of the upper house committee.

The chairwoman of the committee, Robyn Parker said after tabling the report that the inquiry into the service showed that ambulance management and government had "brushed under the carpet" serious issues affecting the mental health of paramedics for 10 years.

She said there were nine suicides of which the inquiry knew.

She said Mr Rochford appeared to be "completely unaware" of the extent of bullying and harassment in the service.

"He came and said he was saddened and distressed. Well, this has been going on for 10 years," she said.

"I think if this Government ignores this once more I think we will have a terrible situation."

The report also recommended that Mr Della Bosca and the Director-General of NSW Health Debora Picone meet Mr Rochford quarterly to review progress in relation to reducing bullying and harassment in the service and that the progress be reported to Parliament in the same way that the fire and police services are required to do.

Ms Parker said so many officers contacted the committee in a distressed state that a mental health protocol was established to deal with them.

"This inquiry found that management and government had failed to act over 10 years. Dozens of reviews, dozens of reports and ambulance officers [are] still continuing to suffer from bullying and harassment," she said.

"We have a senior management and successive health ministers who want to brush this under the carpet. This report says enough is enough."

But deputy chairwoman Christine Robertson said that government members of the committee did not agree with many of the report's conclusions.

She described the report as "one sided" because it did not recognise the operational change already achieved and because a lot of evidence was confidential.

The inquiry received 261 submissions, twice that of the recent parliamentary inquiry into Royal North Shore Hospital.

A spokesman for the Health Minister said: "The minister already meets with Mr Rochford regularly and they discuss key performance indicators for the Ambulance Service."

He said he had not had the opportunity to read the report as yet.

Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said the Government must not ignore this report because the service was "stretched to breaking point".

"If the Premier [Nathan Rees] wants to get real he needs to force his Health Minister [John Della Bosca] to act on all of these recommendations as a starting point," she said.

Rise in deaths of children at risk

THERE has been a surge in the number of deaths of children at risk in NSW in 2007, despite a $1.2 billion funding injection into the Department of Community Services over the previous five years.

The revelation came at an estimates hearing at State Parliament yesterday, as an inquiry is finalising its recommendations as to whether the Government is doing enough to protect children at risk.

The Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, said yesterday 156 children at risk had died in 2007, up from 114 in 2006. In all cases, the children were known to DOCS as being at risk.

For several years the number of deaths of children at risk has hovered at 100-110 a year. Criticism over the continued high level of deaths led last September to the Wood inquiry, headed by retired Supreme Court judge James Wood, QC. It is to report its findings by year end.

The number of deaths of children at risk is usually disclosed by the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, although Ms Burney said yesterday she had told him that if asked during the committee hearings, she would disclose the data.

Ms Burney pointed to the "significant increase" in the number of deaths, which would be of public concern.

"The most frequently-recorded risk factors in reports about children and young people who died in 2007 were domestic violence and parental substance abuse," Ms Burney told the parliamentary committee hearing. "These issues seriously erode our children's safety, accompanied by a third social problem, mental health issues for parents."

Of the 156 deaths, 72 were from natural causes, 18 were babies who died of sudden infant death syndrome, known as SIDS, eight were suicides, eight died in car accidents, five drowned, three died from fires, three from accidental choking or smothering, 11 died in uncommon circumstances such as from a snake bite, four died from fatal physical assaults, and the remaining 19 died due to causes unknown or undetermined.

In all, 55 per cent were involved either directly, or their sibling, in instances of domestic violence in the three years before their death, and there was also 55 per cent in cases where there was suspicion of parental substance abuse, and 24 per cent showing parental mental health concerns

"The Opposition has been calling for a royal commission into DOCS for quite some time," the Opposition spokeswoman on community services, Katrina Hodgkinson, said. She blamed the department for not working closely with other government agencies, a culture of bullying in the department, and a "revolving door of junior ministers" handling the portfolio for the chronic problems.

During the committee hearing, the director-general of the Department of Community Services, Jenny Mason, said that despite successes in hiring more case workers, staff turnover remains high, at 8.9 per cent in 2006-07.

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Govt attacked on 'asylum' boat issue

Amnesty International: deeply concerned with the government's policy of taking boat people to Christmas Island.

Human rights groups have attacked the federal government over its treatment of a group of suspected asylum seekers intercepted en route to Australia.

An Australian naval patrol boat intercepted a vessel carrying 14 people near the Ashmore Islands, 320 kilometres off Australia's north-west coast, on Monday.

The group, including one woman, was being transferred Tuesday to Christmas Island for processing. The boat is the first to be intercepted off the coast of Australia this year.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said it appeared the boat had come from Indonesia but it was unlikely those on board were illegal fishers.

"We haven't identified their country of origin as yet. They'll be processed and interviewed on Christmas Island and it'll become clearer then," Senator Evans said.

Amnesty International said it was deeply concerned with the government's policy of taking boat people to Christmas Island.

"The detrimental impact of detaining individuals in isolated centres has been well documented and Amnesty International remains concerned for the physical and mental health of any asylum seeker taken to Christmas Island," refugee spokesman Graham Thom said.

"It is completely inappropriate to treat this group differently from other asylum seekers and it is certainly not in keeping with our international obligations to protect people who are fleeing persecution."

Senator Evans said people were continuing to seek refugee status due to ongoing unrest in the Middle East.

"There's pressure around the world with refugees seeking to find asylum, large numbers of people particularly out of Afghanistan and Iraq because of the troubled situations there."

Senator Evans said the federal government was working closely with the Indonesian government to strengthen border control and stamp out people smuggling.

Project SafeCom spokesman Jack Smit attacked Senator Evans for his "bullying" comments on border protection.

"It's time Minister Evans stops acting like (former prime minister) John Howard, and it's time he stops uttering the nonsense lines of the widely reviled former immigration minister Philip Ruddock."

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Mental illness more prevalent among youth

A new report on children's health shows that young people's mental health may not be improving, as was previously thought.

The Australia 21 research group says more than 20 per cent of all young people suffer psychological distress and up to 50 per cent display stress-related symptoms.

The report's author, Richard Eckersely, says the sharp increase in mental illness shows that governments have to take a more holistic approach to health.

"We have to stop seeing health as simply a matter of the number of GPs, how our public services are going and recognise these problems have their roots in quite fundamental aspects of our society, from things like family conflict and breakdown, work life pressures, poverty, inequality," he said.

Mr Eckersely says the findings contradict the accepted view that young people's health is improving.

"That relies primarily on declining death rates but you can't rely on those measures any more and when you look much more widely at young people and wellbeing, particularly mental health, then it looks like the picture is one of decline rather than improvement," he said.

Judge rules youths be taken out of adult jail

IN A victory for prisoner rehabilitation, a Supreme Court judge has ordered three young offenders be removed from adult jails and returned to juvenile detention centres by Monday to complete their sentences.

Justice Peter Johnson yesterday found the three, aged 18, 19 and 20, had been transferred to jails due to overcrowding in detention centres without proper consideration of their circumstances, the effect on their rehabilitation or procedural fairness. He refused a request from the Department of Juvenile Justice to be given 10 days to organise the transfer.

The youths were transferred to adult jails in April despite court orders they serve their sentences in a juvenile facility until age 21 because of special circumstances that can include developmental delay, mental health issues, and rehabilitation prospects.

Justice Johnson said the transfer had "at the very least, a strong likelihood of actual detriment to their prospects of rehabilitation given the lesser facilities available in adult prisons".

He accepted that psychologists in the juvenile centres who wrote reports on the youths had been told not to include recommendations they stay in the facilities. He referred to evidence that a psychologist had been instructed by her superiors to change her report to delete all quotes from the sentencing judge and other recommendations about the client's unsuitability for transfer to jail.

The three offenders, known as ID, PF and DV, were among 26 young people on a transfer list drawn up by the Department of Juvenile Justice in January when the numbers in detention centres surged after the State Government toughened the Bail Act. The severe overcrowding meant young people had to sleep on a mattress on the floor, and were being held in "segregation" rooms usually used as punishment cells, and older detainees were moved to prison, contrary to court orders.

Justice Johnson accepted that overcrowding could be a consideration for transfer, but there was a statutory obligation to ensure the department had adequate resources.

He said consideration had not been given to the circumstances of the three, in particular, "the powerful body" of evidence that pointed to their progress in rehabilitation, and ehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifducation and training, in the detention centre.

Jane Sanders, the principal solicitor at the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre, said the decision was a victory for rehabilitation and for fairness. "The court reiterated the importance for juvenile offenders to be given an opportunity for rehabilitation even if they have committed very serious offences and have already turned 18," she said.

Dr Tim Keogh, a psychoanalyst and expert witness in the case, who has held positions as director of psychological services in Juvenile Justice, and head of Inmate Services and Programs in the Department of Corrective Services, said it appeared young offenders' rights had been compromised due to management putting pressure on psychologists to change their reports.

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Rise in hospital attacks by mentally ill

THERE has been a 50 per cent increase in assaults at NSW hospitals in the 10 years to 2006, mostly upon staff, with a significant rise in attacks by mental health patients.

A report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research said that most assaults occurred between 3pm and 9pm, peaking on Sundays between 3pm and 6pm, and more often involved males.

A lack of mental health facilities was raised at the Garling public hospital inquiry recently and mental health staff at Nepean and Prince of Wales hospitals have publicly complained about psychiatric patients blocking emergency and a sharp increase in assaults on staff.

The Illawarra region has had a spate of resignations from its mental health ranks, including the director, Monica Taylor, who quit two weeks ago, and the chief psychiatrist, Irwin Pakula, who was fed up with the administration.

The bureau's report found that from 1996 to 2006, police-recorded incidents of assault at hospitals across the state have increased from 214 to 322.

In more than two-thirds of the assaults, the victim was a stranger and was most often either a hospital staff member or police officer.

The report said the cause of the increase in assaults was "unclear" although there was anecdotal evidence that hospitals, particularly emergency departments, had become increasingly strained over the past 10 years.

The introduction of a "zero tolerance towards violence" policy by NSW Health might have encouraged staff to report incidences.

When adjusted for population, most of the assaults occurred in the Hunter region, followed by Sydney metropolitan and the Illawarra.

The most notable trend over the period was a "dramatic" increase in assaults by mental health patients, which increased from 19.2 per cent of all assaults in 1996 to 31.7 per cent in 2006, representing a 65 per cent increase, the report said.

The Opposition health spokeswoman, Jillian Skinner, said frontline workers bore the brunt of the Government's failure to deliver adequate mental health services.

"Hard-working doctors and nursing staff should not have to accept assaults on hospital premises as part of their job description," Mrs Skinner said.

The Health Minister, John Della Bosca, said NSW Health had improved security in public hospitals with more closed-circuit televisions and duress alarms, safer entry and exit points, and better lighting and car park security. Mr Della Bosca said the Government also provided 450 new mental health beds between 2001 and last year.

He said the bureau found a 25per cent drop in assaults from 2005 to 2006. Most increases in assaults occurred between 1996 and 2001, with a significant drop between 2005 and 2006 from 6.2 hospital assaults per 100,000 people to 4.7 per 100,000.

But the data includes only assaults reported to police, just a fraction of the average eight a day across the health system. In 2006, alcohol caused 30.5 per cent of assaults; drugs, 17.1 per cent.

Professor Gordian Fulde, the director of emergency services at St Vincent's Public Hospital, said the jump in assaults was probably due to increased reporting and a huge increase in mental health patients over the past five years.

Detention centre staff 'cracked'

Immigration Minister, Chris Evans... certainly there may be some obligations on the department in relation to these matters.

More than 60 former staff at Australian immigration detention centres have reported long-term mental health problems associated with the stress of the job.

There were 62 cases of mental illness among former guards at the Woomera and Baxter detention centres in South Australia.

One former guard is suing for damages, and the former managers of the centres could face a series of other claims.

A doctor employed at Woomera, Simon Lockwood, says years on he is still counselling many former staff.

"I saw severe depression. I saw post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders," he said.

"I saw a lot of alcohol abuse - people would drink to try and cope with what they saw.

"I saw a lot of relationship difficulties and marriage break-ups and it was a very toxic environment for a lot of the officers."

Several former employees, including Clive Skinn, say the ongoing riots and violence damaged their own lives as much as it did the detainees.

"I was on WorkCover for 18 months and then I tried to do myself in four times over it actually," Mr Skinn said.

"The only thing that kept me going was me kids and ... it's something I never ever want to see or do again. I don't recommend it to anyone."

The former guards say they were given inadequate training to deal with the violence and challenges the job involved.

One former manager at Woomera, Allan Clifton, says most guards were not equipped to deal with the conditions.

"The majority of officers, given that they were poorly trained, were very, very good people who were trying to do the best they could under difficult circumstances," he said.

"We had a group of officers that had come from prisons, in particular Arthur Gorrie in Brisbane, who belonged to the so-called boys club. They were all about crash and bash, crash and bash, that's the only way to do it."

The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, says he is aware some staff are already seeking compensation.

"I think first of all, as I understand legally the duty of care is with the employer," he said.

"Certainly there may be some obligations on the department in relation to these matters, but as I understand it those are about to be tested in a court case and obviously that'll be a legal decision."

Related:

REPORT OF ICOPA XII: Howard League

Here is the Report of the Twelfth International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA XII) held in London in July 2008.

The Howard League for Penal Reform organized and hosted the conference to develop the case for the abolition of prison and to rethink penal policy. Presentations and discussions addressed the impact of the penal system on prisoners and communities, and the ancillary, fiscal and human costs of pursuing a failed crime control agenda in the 21st Century.

Speakers provided suggestions for alternative non-punitive approaches, including custody and community interventions. Other key themes included the intersection of politics, prisons, and poverty, the role of privatization and capitalism in penal policy, and penal abolition in relation to the media and public perceptions.

Speakers from a variety of countries, including Brazil, Trinidad, Canada, Australia, USA, Belgium, and New Zealand, joined academics from across the United Kingdom, making ICOPA XII a truly international conference. Our Nigerian delegates Ernest Ogbozor and Adamoh Mustapha were blocked by immigration bureaucracy at Lagos despite the efforts both in Nigeria and London.

The conference was aimed at an audience of practitioners, penal abolitionists, policy makers, penal reformers, NGOs, academics and concerned individuals.

The King’s College venue provided accommodations in close proximity to meeting rooms and a large auditorium. The organizational work of the Howard League was appreciated and acknowledged widely.

ICOPA XII ranged over three days, and included four plenary sessions, a variety of workshops and themed panels, a performance, and a boat cruise on the Thames.

Speakers included:

· Professor Thomas Mathiesen, University of Oslo
· Professor Joe Sim, Liverpool John Moores University
· Frances Crook, Director, The Howard League for Penal Reform
· Stephen Nathan, Editor, Prison Privatisation Report International
· Moazzamm Begg, Former Guantanamo detainee and spokesman for Cageprisoners
· Raphael Rowe, Journalist, BBC
· Professor David Wilson, Birmingham City University and vice-chair, The Howard League for Penal Reform
· Professor Barry Goldson, The University of Liverpool
· Professor Harold E. Pepinsky, Indiana University, USA
· Professor Phil Scraton PhD, Queen's University, Belfast
· Louise Christian, solicitor, Christian Khan, UK
· Peter Collins, Prisoner, Author, Activist
· Sophie Harkat, Justice for Mohamed Harkat, Canada
· Professor Mary Corcoran, Centre for Criminological Research, CESSW
· Imran Khan, leading human rights lawyer, UK
· Julia Sudbury, Mills College, co-founder, Critical Resistance, board member Justice Now
· Pat Magill, Facilitator – Napier (NZ) Pilot City Trust
· Brett Collins, Justice Action coordinator

The spirit of the conference was vibrant, with presentations from a variety of speakers, ranging from current and former prisoners to academics, whose texts underpin the abolitionist arguments. Professor Thomas Mathiesen emphasized this balance between activism and academia, which has long characterized ICOPA. He spoke about the importance of fostering power from below, and of maintaining a focus on abolitionist goals.

A recurring theme was deaths in custody, including suicides and killings, phenomena that starkly represent how governments have failed in their duty of care to the whole community. This focus was fitting in a country where the Howard League had recently drawn attention to a 37% increase in suicides in English and Welsh jails between 2006 and 2007.

The scandal referenced in the theme of ICOPA XII was well expressed by Professor David Wilson of Birmingham City University and Chair of the Commission on English Prisons Today, when he told participants that in a private prison contract exposed during an inquest, the company GSL lost one penalty point for a prisoner death compared to the finding of a weapon as being worth 50 penalty points.

The Universal Carceral Colloquium, a set of linked panels within ICOPA XII organized by affiliates of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons, ranged over two days. See below for a full report on the Colloquium.

The conference generated a debate on abolition in the Guardian on line, which has a worldwide audience and eighteen million hits a month. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree

ICOPA conferences have been held since 1983 across the world every two years in places including Toronto, Nigeria, Poland, US, Spain, New Zealand, Costa Rica and Australia.

Several possible venues were mentioned for ICOPA XIII. These are: north of Ireland/Northern Ireland, Trinidad, and Ottawa.

Tribute to Pauline Campbell


Deborah Coles of Inquest referred to the tragic case of Pauline Campbell. Pauline, a trustee of the Howard League and one of the UK's leading prison campaigners, was scheduled to speak at ICOPA XII but sadly died aged 60 just before the conference took place. Pauline had campaigned for the cause of women in prison after her only daughter, Sarah, died in Styal prison near Manchester aged 18 in January 2003.

Sarah was abandoned by her father when she was four. She was sexually abused over a period of several years as a small child. At age 15, she was raped. When she was 17, her GP committed suicide. She became clinically depressed and was addicted to drugs.

Pauline wrote of Sarah's death: "When Sarah arrived at Styal, she was strip-searched twice, and taken to the segregation/punishment block. The following day, she swallowed a quantity of prescription antidepressant tablets, but then told staff what she had done. Unbelievably, prison staff, including a nurse, walked out of the cell, locked the door and left her alone.

There were 'avoidable delays' before the prison called an ambulance. When paramedics arrived, they were stopped at the gates for eight minutes before being allowed through. Sarah was unconscious when they reached her. She was taken to hospital, and died several hours later without regaining consciousness."

From 2004 onwards, Pauline campaigned by taking direct action against the deaths of women in custody. Whenever a female 'self-inflicted death' occurred, Pauline held a demonstration outside the prison gates - blocking any transportation carrying new prisoners from entering the jail on the basis that it was not a place of safety. Over four years, Pauline conducted 28 demonstrations and was arrested on several occasions, charged with public order offences that never lead to convictions.

Her campaign ended tragically this May, when Pauline's body was found by a passer-by close to Sarah's grave. A section of the conference's final plenary session was dedicated to Pauline's memory and a celebration of her campaigning spirit.

ICOPA XII: The Universal Carceral Colloquium

Overview

In the summer of 2007, several Canadian academics affiliated with the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons (JPP) began work on the project that would develop into the Universal Carceral Colloquium, a set of four linked panels within the 12th International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA XII).

The goal of this undertaking was to create a space for focused discussion - within an abolitionist framework - about the changing and expanding dynamics of imprisonment, and about those aspects of the carceral experience that seem to remain constant across geography and time.

In his introduction to the first panel, Professor Robert Gaucher of the University of Ottawa described the central theme of the colloquium as “the relationship between the universal carceral and carceral universals”.

This focus on both change and continuity, and on the relationships between the two, made for a wide-ranging but unified agenda, covering issues from mental health in prisons to the indefinite detention and deportation of non-citizens as part of anti-terrorism agendas.

In keeping with ICOPA traditions, abolitionist principles, and the mandate of the JPP, efforts were made to place the voices, perspectives, and stories of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families at the centre of the colloquium program. Five of the thirteen papers presented were authored or co-authored by current or former prisoners, or family members of prisoners.

Over the course of the colloquium, the many-layered nature of the carceral archipelago - and its integration with various systems of control and processes of normalization - was demonstrated. Beginning with the first panel, and continuing throughout the colloquium, the participants engaged in a discussion about how penal abolitionism can and should respond to the universal carceral.

Many suggested action along the lines of Mathiesen’s (1974) “Unfinished” theory, aiming at short-term negative reforms: the closing of a particular institution, elimination of a particular policy, or implementation of a specific non-punitive, non-system program.

Discussions of targeted action intersected with broader debates about abolitionist theory and practice, ranging from Justin Piché’s historically-informed presentation on “carceral eradication strategies” to Claire Delisle’s remarks on the need to strategically engage “the rest of the left” in penal abolitionism and Peter Collins’ emphasis on public engagement and civic responsibility.

Another thread running through the panels concerned the net-widening nature of many reform strategies, and the resultant need to re-emphasize the importance of undiluted abolitionism (defined by Thomas Mathiesen in the opening ICOPA plenary as an ideal-type perspective and stance; a way of relating to issues characterized by the will to say “no” to the penal state).

Susan Nagelsen & Charles Huckelbury, Jen Kilty, and Peter Collins drew particular attention to the disastrous consequences of using carceral spaces as sites for mental health ‘treatment - a widespread phenomenon that has led to system expansion, the criminalization of mental health issues, and the proliferation of sub-standard treatment.

At a different end of the spectrum, Mike Larsen and Sophie Harkat addressed the consequences of the trend to use immigration law as a proxy for national security law. The “make it up as you go” reforms that have accompanied such policies have had deleterious consequences for the rights of detainees and their families, and allowed the state to extend its capacity to imprison well beyond the traditional confines of the criminal justice system.

In light of the proven failure of imprisonment and the demonstrable consequences of carceral ‘tinkering’, the call for a renewed commitment to abolitionism - in spirit and practice - was echoed throughout the colloquium.

Panel-by-panel Summary

ICOPA Session D: What is the Universal Carceral?

The first panel opened the colloquium by presenting several case studies in the expansion of the carceral archipelago, each built around the experiences of a prisoner or group of prisoners. Sarah Lamble delivered a paper written by Peter Collins, who is presently incarcerated in Canada.

Peter’s work situated two contemporary horror stories regarding the management of mental health in Canadian prisons within a historical framework, illustrating the long-standing collusion between professionals from the fields of health and punishment.

Mike Larsen presented a vignette of a new development in Canadian immigration penalty - a special prison built to confine immigration security subjects, managed by a contractual arrangement between border security and correctional agencies. Mike raised the question of how abolitionist theory and practice can and should adapt to such exceptional spaces of confinement without presenting the ‘traditional’ system as a ‘lesser evil’ alternative, thereby strengthening it.

Claire Delisle told the story of Douglas Gary Freeman, a man who was recently extradited from Canada to face trial in the United States for acts allegedly committed 30 years ago. In reviewing his case, his resistance, and the movement that mobilized to support him, Claire raised questions about the role of transnational cooperation and extradition policy in the operation of penal regimes, and highlighted the thinly-veiled vendettas and political agendas that underpin the legal system. Combined, the three papers illustrated the multi-faceted, pernicious, and inherently political nature of imprisonment as a technology of control.

ICOPA Session E: Experiences of the Universal Carceral I

The first of two panels focusing on the experiences of prisoners and their families, this session brought together themes of health in prison, acts of resistance and agency, and gendered experiences of confinement.

Susan Nagelsen delivered a paper co-authored with Charles Huckelbury, who has served thirty-four consecutive years in an American prison. Their paper concerned the systemic denial of medical treatment and provision of substandard care to prisoners, and the public health repercussions this has on their communities of origin.

They proposed the outpatient transfer of infectious persons with nonviolent drug convictions into private sector treatment programs as a stepping-stone towards abolition. Jen Kilty presented the findings of a study of self-harming behaviours of federally and provincially sentenced women prisoners in Canada.

She convincingly argued that these self-harming behaviours represent acts of individual agency and resistance; strategic attempts to express emotion and negotiate identity.

By framing such acts as forms of bio or psy-citizenship, a strong case is made for community-based alternatives to incarceration. Mary Corcoran discussed the ‘contrary states’ of confinement experienced by women political prisoners during the Northern Ireland conflict.

Within the prison, their dual status as ‘women prisoners’ and ‘political prisoners’ led to an overlapping of forms of pastoral power and techniques of management geared towards subversives. Coupled with the dynamics of inside-outside relationships between the prisoners and their movements, this layering of multiple forms of penal power presented considerable ramifications for individual and collective acts of resistance, suggesting that resistance itself is a fragmented activity.

ICOPA Session I: Experiences of the Universal Carceral II

The second panel based on the exploration of carceral experience provided a particularly powerful illustration of the link between the Universal Carceral and Carceral Universals. The session began with a reading, by Phil Scraton, of a paper authored by Craig W.J. Minogue, an Australian prisoner. In this short, provocative piece, Craig argued that the standard definition of a ‘political prisoner’ is narrow and unrealistic. In place of a definition based on incarceration resulting from oppositional political activity, Craig proposed a conceptualization of political imprisonment based on conduct during and after imprisonment - and on the state’s response to such conduct.

Such a framing reveals a great many ‘political’ prisoners, providing a basis for wider engagement by progressive movements in prison issues. Erin McCuaig presented detailed findings from a study of the experiences of female partners of imprisoned men, particularly as regards visitation.

Framing her analysis in relation to the literature on structural and interpersonal stigma, Erin discussed the dehumanizing effects of the carceral on the families of prisoners and reviewed the methods of resistance adopted by her respondents in the face of the carceral.

Erin’s research focused on the traditional criminal justice system, but her findings were echoed in the remarks of the final panelist, Sophie Harkat, who is herself the female spouse of Mohamed Harkat, one of Canada’s “Secret Trial Five”.

While Mohamed’s imprisonment was pursuant to immigration law, and had nothing to do with criminal justice, Sophie related the same acts of dehumanization and resistance reviewed by Erin, highlighting some of the universal aspects of the carceral experience.

Sophie’s own presentation recounted her ongoing struggle as the spouse and, through the imposition of unprecedented bail conditions, jailer of a husband subject to a secretive and exceptional form of state power. She discussed the negotiation of multiple roles (wife, guard, prisoner, activist), and the importance of maintaining forward momentum in an abolitionist campaign.

ICOPA Session J: Abolition and the Universal Carceral

The closing panel combined conceptual discussion with a review of the history of abolitionism (and ICOPA) and the presentation of strategies and campaigns informed by abolitionist thought.

Justin Piché opened with a review of the net-widening nature of the universal carceral, and the “proliferation and normalization of detention as a disposal tactic” utilized by the late modern state. He argued that ongoing trends towards mass incarceration, coupled with the creation of new spaces of - and excuses for - confinement and the co-optation of many well-intentioned reforms, presents a need to re-examine and renew penal abolitionism.

Justin concluded by emphasizing the continued importance of Mathiesen’s strategic framework, which uses short-term negative reforms in pursuit of the long-term abolitionist goal.

Hal Pepinsky then presented a short, thought-provoking paper based on his recent work on Peacemaking Criminology. He argued that we need to move away from the study of crime, criminality, and just responses, and toward the study of violence, informed by peacemaking goals such as the creation of safety and enhancement of ontological security.

In short, he proposed that abolitionist thought move ‘beyond justice’.

Sophie Harkat then spoke about the campaign against security certificates in Canada, and the multiple methods and targets of this particular abolitionist movement. Her presentation emphasized the importance of changing public opinion by providing counter-narratives to state discourse and - most importantly - continuously underscoring the humanity of incarcerated persons. These activities require media-savvy abolitionists, operating alongside both a grassroots movement and a committed legal team.

While Sophie’s husband Mohamed remains subject to a security certificate, her campaign has won major victories in the court of public opinion and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Brett Collins of Justice Action, Australia, made the final presentation. He reviewed several successful ongoing and past campaigns undertaken by Justice Action, drawing out lessons for other organizations. Brett also emphasized the potential combination of media engagement and direct action, and highlighted the importance of a pro-active attitude in the face of the carceral state.

He closed by discussing the importance of taking on ‘tough cases’ and bringing a non-punitive alternative agenda to the most controversial situations.

Art in Prisons

The importance of art was a recurring theme. Charlie Ryder of the Anne Peaker Centre described it. When I was in I kept a scrapbook in which I kept poems, short stories, paintings and drawings. During exercise I would put my headphones on, and dance and run and imagine I was playing lacrosse around the prison yard. This form of creative resistance was really important to me while the prison system was using violence and hatred. The arts were keeping me focused on being at peace with myself.

The arts create a space where you are treated with respect, compassion and where you can work through the trauma and abuse you have experienced or you can highlight the barbaric treatment of some of our most vulnerable people.

As part of the job I do, I regularly answer letters to prisoners enquiring about funding arts and I have been very moved at the difference it makes to their lives. Through hard work, patient application and imagination they are able to produce beautiful work.

Media Presentation

Media Release July 24, 2008

Professor calls for prison moratorium

At the opening of the International Conference on Penal Abolition ICOPA X11 hosted by The Howard League for Penal Reform in Kings College London yesterday, Professor Joe Sim of Liverpool John Moores University said: “There must be an end to the building of new prisons in the UK and the use of academia to justify the expansion of the penal system.”

Thomas Mathiesen of Oslo University said: “Abolitionism is a moral stance to say No to the expansion of the system. It is not about refining the system. It requires the fostering of power from below, effectively acknowledging prisoners as stakeholders in the outcomes.”

The conference will continue over the next two days with other speakers including Moazzam Begg ex Guantanamo detainee, Professor Phil Scraton of Queens University, Professor Julia Sudbury of Mills College California, and Stephen Nathan of Prison Privatisation Report International.

The evening of the opening day featured the play “CUTS” dedicated to Pauline Campbell written by Antoinette Moses about the imprisonment of mentally ill women who self harm.

Contact: Andrew Neilson, 07918 681 094

Media Release July 25, 2008

Indefinite detention without trial exposed

On the second day of the ICOPA conference at King's College London, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg said that "the repressive measures that have accompanied the War on Terror disproportionately target refugees and asylum seekers. This continues unabated".

Wife of Ottawa detainee Mohamed Harkat, Sophie Harkat, exposed the Canadian security certificate process, which has controlled her husband without charge or trial for five years. She said: "this is unacceptable in a democratic society that claims to respect the rule of law".

Professor Julia Sudbury of Mills College, California, and co-founder of Critical Resistance, said "penal abolition is becoming a mass movement, along the lines of the anti-slavery and anti-death penalty movements".

The conference will continue today with a focus on the role of privatization and capitalism in penal policy. Speakers will include Stephen Nathan, Editor of Prison Privatization Report International, Brett Collins of Justice Action, Australia, and Richard Garside, from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, King's College London.

A media conference will be held following ICOPA, at noon on Saturday July 26, at the Waterloo Campus, Franklin-Wilkins Building, Stamford Street, King's College, London.

Contact: Andrew Neilson, 07918 681 094
Thomasin Pritchard, 0044 2072497373
Brett Collins, 0061438 705003

Media Release: July 27, 2008

Deaths in Custody – a community outrage

On the third day of the ICOPA conference at King’s College, London, Stephen Nathan of Prison Privatisation Report International said: “the penal system is growing without pause with governments throwing money to private corporations whilst refusing to take responsibility for the outcomes.

There is no evaluation or public accountability in the process, with those in charge adopting the typical business practice of expansion and corporate growth.”

The last plenary session returned to the dominating issue of deaths in custody, and specifically to those in the UK.

“Deaths in custody are prison violence in the form of suicides and killings, and show the total lack of responsibility by prison authorities” said leading human rights lawyer Imran Khan.

“The isolation and blocking of the support of prisoners’ families was indefensible” said Frances Crook of the Howard League for Penal Reform when presenting a dedication to the life and work of Pauline Campbell.

The Guardian

Not all our material was expressed. One letter by Dr Bob Johnson, Consultant Psychiatrist for many years dealing with the highest security UK prisoners wrote: SUPPRESSING PENAL DEBATE

“Nick Herbert the Conservative Shadow Justice Minister unthinkingly condemns a conference he did not attend, and whose title he lazily misquotes – not prison abolition but PENAL abolition – “Abolishing jails is lunacy, The Guardian, 28 July 2008”. The rest of us should be deeply troubled by three ominous facts reported there – (1) rising prisoner numbers relate, not to increasing crime rates (which are falling here), but to widening wealth gaps between rich and poor (which are not).

More equitable nations imprison fewer of their citizens. (2) The current murder rate in prisons is double the national average. (3) The £139 billion we recently spent on the self-styled Criminal Justice System vastly exceeds the cost of crime. A growing (privatised) Penal Industrial Complex thrives at our expense.

Worse – every criminal I have examined since 1991 was motivated by revenge – for some earlier injustice or abuse. Remove this revenge and crime evaporates. Retribution – a euphemism for statutory revenge – could not be better designed to exacerbate criminality, which it does. Herbert’s ill-digested clichés serve only to delay a sensible adult debate that becomes increasingly urgent with every chilling prison statistic.”

ICOPA X11 RESOLUTIONS

First Resolution of the 12th International Conference on Penal Abolition

Guiding Principles adopted:

1. In planning conferences, ICOPA has as a guiding principle, the objective to reach the widest number of activist groups, people who experience discrimination, youth and recipients of the carceral, and encourage their participation as organizers, keynote speakers and presenters.

2. ICOPA is committed to having a regular space in the plenary at the end of each day, in order to reflect on the themes of the conference.

3. ICOPA is committed to including a range of voices and strives for a balance between personal testimony, the arts, activism and academic presentations.

4. ICOPA is committed to mobilizing the delegates to participate in action such as marches, prison visits, and other types of concrete gestures to promote the aims of the conference.

5. Among its abolitionist objectives, ICOPA seeks to connect with local pressing issues, in order to bring support to those concerned and maintain relevance.

Second Resolution of the 12th International Conference on Penal Abolition

Be it resolved:

We reject the use of incarceration and other penal measures to deal with community problems. We call on governments to dismantle the prison industrial complex, and we support the development and implementation of non-punitive community-based alternatives.

In light of the Dennis Ferguson case (note), ICOPA XII calls on the Queensland government to accept the Circles of Support/JA Mentoring offer made by Justice Action, as an alternative to imprisoning him. This measure will satisfy the need of the community to feel and be safe. (note: accused of child sex offences in Australia)

Third Resolution of the 12th International Conference on Penal Abolition

ICOPA X11 gives its ongoing support to building The Robson Collection housed in the Napier (NZ) Public Library, as proposed by the late Ruth Morris at ICOPA 1X in Toronto. ICOPA will assist where possible with speakers, books and expertise.

The Conference supports the statement of the former Social Development Council of New Zealand that the city of Napier with under 60,000 citizens is an ideal pilot city to show cooperation in “developing its community and not prisons.”

The designed Report is a pdf(1.6mb) downloadable from http://tinyurl.com/6kbtcw or http://www.justiceaction.org.au

JUSTICE ACTION
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T 02 9283 0123 ext 14 | F 02 9283 0112 | M 0438 705003
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QLD judge-only trials 'not the answer'
Civil libertarian Terry O'Gorman says judge-only trials are not the answer. Laws to go to Parliament next week will allow the prosecution or the defence to apply for a trial to be heard by a judge-only in some complex or notorious cases.

Indigenous incarceration under scrutiny
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up almost 25 per cent of Australia's prison population, on the most recent figures. This is nearly double the rate identified as a concern by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody more than two decades ago.

NSW govt to roll out prisons privatisation
The NSW government is expected to roll out a restructure of the state's prison system, including partial privatisation, after uncovering major rorting.

Christmas Island like a prison: Amnesty
Our refugee coordinator Graham Thom, along with our national director Claire Mallinson and board vice president Jim Sharp, has just visited the new Christmas Island detention centre.

Gold Coast nightclubs fingerprinting people
The Australian Council for Civil Liberties has accused Gold Coast pubs and nightclubs of going too far by fingerprinting patrons.

Haneef's lawyer wants secret dossier released
A lawyer representing former Gold Coast-based doctor Mohamed Haneef says a secret dossier used to cancel his client's visa contained no incriminating evidence against his client.

Australia to sign up to anti-torture treaty
Australian complicity in War Crimes in the Middle East, Torture, Rendition. In Australia Draconian Laws, Indefinite Solitary Confinement of prisoners at places like the HRMU at Goulburn Correctional Centre.

Australia: Concerns of a police state
Cameron Murphy NSW Council for Civil Liberties...a massive reduction in police accountability to the community. NSW police now have special emergency powers to bug or track people for up to four days without a warrant.

Doctor urges mandatory detention inquiry
A psychiatrist who has treated immigration detainees says former government ministers should be called to account for the policy of mandatory detention.

UN Torture Committee Blasts Australia
In its report on Australia, the Torture Committee was critical of Australia's prisons, counter-terrorism laws, mandatory immigration detention and of the way Australian officials have ignored torture and mistreatment overseas in places like Abu Ghraib.

LINE IN SAND ON MENTAL HEALTH
“Patients under state control have had their social interaction reduced, and right to smoke removed. These vulnerable and isolated citizens, to whom the state owes a special obligation, are extremely distressed and have asked for community assistance,” said JA spokesperson Michael Poynder.

We owe prisoners more than jail
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Haneef inquiry could be waste of time and money: lawyer
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Habib mistreated but not in Aussie embassy
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ICOPA X1: Listen! You Tube


The documentary addresses penal abolition as a concept and issues surrounding that policy. It presents the 11th International Conference on Penal Abolition held in Tasmania, Australia over the 9-11th February 2006.

Govt launches veterans suicide study

The government has launched a study to assess how many veterans commit suicide and why.

Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin said the study would examine a number of specific cases of suicide by ex-service members in recent years to help identify those members who may be at risk of self harm.

"We know that war service can have both a physical and mental impact on the lives of service personnel. Physical impairment can be obvious, psychological injury is less so," he said in a statement.

"This government is determined to support veterans and ex-service personnel who may suffer psychologically as a result of their service. However to do so we need a better understanding of the incidence and characteristics of suicide amongst this community."

Mr Griffin said the study would be run by epidemiologist and public health specialist Associate Professor David Dunt who is also conducting the recently announced review of mental health services in the Australian Defence [Military-War] Force.

Mr Griffin said his appointment to conduct the suicide study would deliver a more coordinated response to mental health for serving and ex-service personnel.

He is expected to report by the end of the year.

Mr Griffin said the suicide study would be conducted independently of the Department of Veterans Affairs and had been developed in consultation with the National Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum.

"We are seeking to better identify those at risk, common contributing factors in recent cases, the incidence of suicide in the ex-service community and whether there is more that government agencies and the medical and allied-health professions can do to support veterans under stress," he said.

Submissions have been sought from members of the veteran and ex-service community. Closing date is October 5.

Remote mental health services falling short

A report has found governments are still struggling to meet the mental health needs of people living in remote areas.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare looked at spending on mental health services between 2001 and 2006.

It found relatively low numbers of psychiatric services were provided outside major cities.

The institute's Jenny Hargreaves says 94 more services are provided per 1,000 people who live in Australian capital cities.

"We found some differences in the number of Medicare-funded services that were provided in city and country areas per thousand population," she said.

"For psychiatrist services there were 113 services per thousand population in major cities and 19 services per thousand population in very remote areas."

The report also found more Australians are seeing general practitioners about mental health issues, with depression still the most common diagnosis.

Ms Hargreaves says 34 per cent of the 10 million Australians who see a GP for mental health issues each year are treated for depression.

"One in 10 [general practice] encounters involved management of a mental health problem and amongst those depression was the most common, the second most common was anxiety," she said.

Psychiatric care for woman who killed

A Sydney woman charged with the stabbing murder of her father and sister has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness.

The 26-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with killing her father and sister at their Revesby home in July last year.

She was also charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on her mother.

The court previously heard the woman was denied treatment for schizophrenia because of her father's beliefs in Scientology.

Justice Michael Grove has found her not guilty by reason of mental illness.

She will be kept under psychiatric care in hospital until further directions from the Mental Health Review Tribunal.

Qld nurse jailed for raping patient

A male nurse who raped a female patient after treating her for a migraine has been jailed for five years.

The Supreme Court in Brisbane was on Monday told the 27-year-old woman was lying in a cubicle at the Beenleigh Medeco Medical Centre in Brisbane when the offence took place in September last year.

Prosecutor Jodie Wooldridge said the woman was at the centre seeking morphine for a severe migraine.

As she was a first-time patient the doctor refused to prescribe morphine, but instructed registered nurse Nicholas Allan Carroll, 45, of Hillcrest, south of Brisbane, to administer different painkillers.

The court was told Carroll did so, but later ignored the doctor's instructions by returning with a second injection, this time containing morphine.

Ms Wooldridge told the court Carroll injected the woman with the drug, and then immediately orally raped her.

The court was told there was no evidence that Carroll had given the woman the drug to stupefy her.

The woman went to the police that evening and filed a report, and provided them with a sample of Carroll's DNA.

The court was told she went back to the medical centre the following day to confront Carroll.

He admitted he knew what he had done was wrong, but that he told her he had done it because "you're pretty and I'm weak".

He on Monday pleaded guilty to one count each of rape and supplying a dangerous drug.

Defence barrister Wayne Tolton said his client had been suffering from bipolar disorder, which clouded his judgment.

"It made him think he could do anything," Mr Tolton said.

He told the court Carroll's life had been destroyed following the offence, as he had lost his wife of 21 years and was unable to continue practising nursing.

However Justice John Byrne told the court the rape had a "shattering effect" on the victim, who needed ongoing counselling for depression and anxiety.

Carroll was sentenced to five years' jail.

He will be eligible for parole in March 2010.

Many MPs have mental disorders: Costa

Many politicians suffer mental health problems but are reluctant to seek help, NSW Treasurer Michael Costa says.

Mr Costa said a number of state parliamentary colleagues approached him about their mental health problems after he publicly revealed his battle with bipolar disorder in 2001.

Bipolar is defined as a mental condition involving extreme mood swings.

"Once the article (on his disorder) was written, I had people come up to me, independent politicians, and I won't name them, and they said: 'I read that article and I've got such and such a problem. What do you think?'," he told a Black Dog Institute function at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital on Wednesday.

Mr Costa, who manages his disorder with medication, said he gave them advice and told them to seek professional help about their problems.

He said many politicians with mental disorders were often unwilling to reveal them.

"People are very reluctant in political life to come forward with their issues relating to mood disorders," he said.

"The reason for that is politics is a contact sport where aggression and arguments are par for the course, and there is a temptation too great to use any weakness as part of an argument to deal with a policy issue."

Mr Costa said opponents to his stance on electricity privatisation in NSW had used his bipolar disorder, previously referred to as manic depression, against him.

"(They said) my views on this were characterised as being a function of my manic depression," he said.

"You talk about stigmatism ... we have a long way to go, particularly in the realms of politics."

He said he wished more high profile people would open up about their condition to help abolish the stigma attached to illnesses such as bipolar.

"There is a tendency for many people to misassociate mood disorder with intellectual impairment, and I find that incredibly frustrating," he said.

Mr Costa said he used to suffer badly from bipolar but had now found the right combination of medication to manage the condition.

"I sought treatment. Anyone that seeks treatment for depression clearly has a bad case of depression. But the good news is that there are medicines, there are strategies," he said.

Mr Costa said his family had a history of mental illness.

"My sister is a schizophrenic and my mother suffered from bipolar disorder," he told the audience.

Mr Costa was at the Black Dog Institute, a facility dedicated to mental health disorders, to launch the book Managing Bipolar Disorder.

Edited by psychologist Kerrie Eyers and University of NSW psychiatry professor Gordon Parker, the book is a collection of case studies and diary entries from people with bipolar who talk about their experiences in a light-hearted and non-clinical way.

Mr Costa said the book would be a welcome resource.

"If we are going to get on top of this issue, particularly for our younger people, we need people who have suffered from mood disorders to come forward and tell their story and say that there are good treatment regimes for these problems," he said.