Teens face extreme body art ban

Extreme body art, including branding and scarification, will be banned for people under 18, under changes to be introduced into the NSW parliament today.

Minister for Community Services Kevin Greene will introduce legislation closing a loophole that allows scarification, beading and branding of under-18s.

Scarification and branding involve permanently scarring the skin, while beading is the placement of foreign objects under the skin.

The changes bring the law in line with current legislation on tattooing.

"The Iemma government is responding to the well-founded concerns of parents whose kids are falling prey to peer pressure for the sake of a trend," Mr Greene said in a statement.

"It is absolutely vital that we protect impressionable children from short-term fads like scarification, branding and beading which all cause life-long damage to the body."

Last week, the government announced new laws banning intimate body piercing for children under 16 and requiring parental permission for all other piercings.

The maximum penalty for performing scarification, branding or beading on a person under 18 in NSW will be $22,000.

Squatters out as bulldozers start engines

The last days … squatters Amy Rush, her daughter, Lundja, with Martin Gozdz and Jon Wah in Iceland, their now former home.

FOR the residents of Iceland, a five-year-old Balmain squat with waterfront views, a vacant building is a house waiting to become a home.

"Unused buildings not being occupied are such a waste," said one of the squatters, Jon Wah, 28. "Derelict buildings attract derelict people but if they are occupied, they become a home. The people look after the property."

By today, Iceland - one of Sydney's longest-running squats - will be a soulless, empty building again as residents vacate on the order of Leichhardt Council, which will bulldoze the Weston Street office block to make way for a park.

It will be the end of an era, those in Sydney's squatter scene say.

"It will be sad to see this place go," said Amy Rush, who has lived in Iceland on and off since 2003 and named the house after her favourite holiday destination.

"About 20 people have lived here over the years and it's been a place for band rehearsals, art projects, people practising dance routines, bike workshops. Squatting gives you a chance to think about things other than how you are going to pay the rent and ways to contribute to the world."

Ms Rush moved into the squat shortly after it was abandoned by its former users, a tugboat company that used it as an office.

"It was pretty easy just to walk in and start using it. The owners had just had a party so there were balloons and champagne glasses and glitter. It was magical to walk into this deserted party scene," she said.

In February last year council officers recommended Iceland's residents be evicted after noise complaints from neighbours but the council voted to allow them to stay until work began on the park.

A leading housing academic has called on the City of Sydney, Leichhardt, Marrickville and Waverley councils to charge higher rates on vacant properties to encourage the owners to let squatters live in empty houses.

The director of the I.B. Fell Housing Research Centre at the University of Sydney, and the leader of a training program for squatters, Col James, said: "Rubbish gets left on a vacant property if it's not occupied.

"There are 120,000 vacant properties in the Sydney metropolitan area and at the same time there is a growing demand for housing."

The Mayor of Waverley, Ingrid Strewe, said she supported squatting. "We are certainly not vehemently opposed to it. If a property is empty, someone should be living in it," she said.

"I know we have empty properties in our area and if there could be some way of making owners think twice about leaving them empty that would be great."

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Open hearts for the youngest on the streets
Of the 100,000 people whom the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates are homeless each night, about 36,000 are thought to be under the age of 25 and 10,000 under 12. Every night, one in two young people who seeks support accommodation will be turned away.

Housing crisis is real: industry
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) says new research highlights the seriousness of Australia's housing crisis.

Open hearts for the youngest on the streets

PAUL MOULDS began working with homeless people more than 20 years ago, before the 1989 Burdekin Inquiry into youth homelessness. Since then, the number of homeless teenagers has doubled in Australia.

Of the 100,000 people whom the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates are homeless each night, about 36,000 are thought to be under the age of 25 and 10,000 under 12. Every night, one in two young people who seeks support accommodation will be turned away.

"The faces change but the stories I hear are the same," Captain Moulds, the director of the Oasis Youth Support Network, said. "Torment, abuse, neglect - they were the same stories [20 years ago] but the figures just show we could do more."

Captain Moulds is one of many youth workers who gave evidence last year at the National Youth Commission's inquiry into youth homelessness. Its findings will be issued on Tuesday.

Since the hearings, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, pushed the issue of wider homelessness onto the political agenda in January. The Rudd Government's first white paper - to be prepared by Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson - will deal with homelessness, for which $150 million was promised in the lead-up to the election.

"You can't put your finger on one thing," Captain Moulds said, of what caused homelessness. "Some people have mental health issues, some have family issues, some have fallen out of state care … It is not about material things; it is mainly about the quality of relationships in families - leaving, without the financial basis or the emotional basis."

Captain Moulds was 19 when he began as an outreach worker in Kings Cross and has run the Oasis Youth Support Network in Surry Hills for 12 years. In the two years that Sascha Ettinger Epstein spent making a documentary about the program at Oasis, to be aired on ABC1 on Thursday, she said she struggled to comprehend his optimism and support for children straying from his programs.

"There is a massive emotional void in the kids' lives and they look for someone who is going to be there consistently," she said. "Paul is worse than the Energizer Bunny. He just perpetually has empathy: that unconditional love that you just want from a parent."

Her assessment was true for Beau Berry-Porter, who became homeless when he was about 13 and credits Captain Moulds for the stable housing in which he now lives. Though he left home thinking he could look after himself, last year he suffered a psychotic episode and he says the decision to leave is not one children can properly make.

"You can grow up but your priorities change," he said. "You can't have the successful life … of a job and a family and those things. But once you get that stable accommodation you can focus on those other things."

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Public housing rorts cost $53m a year
A new offence of failure to notify change of conditions will be created, with the maximum punishment being a jail sentence.

Public housing rorts cost $53m a year

People who rort the NSW public housing system are costing taxpayers up to $53 million a year, prompting a new crackdown by the state government.

It comes after recent investigations found people owning as many as 16 properties or running two businesses were claiming assistance through the public housing system.

Tenant cheats have now been given a three-month amnesty period to come forward and correct their tenancy details, including their income, or risk being sent to jail.

NSW Housing Minister Matt Brown said the Tenancy Fraud Bill 2008, to be introduced into parliament on Thursday, would give the government new powers to pursue cheats and frauds.

"Public housing is a scarce resource, and it's my job to ensure we allocate it to those with genuine need," Mr Brown told reporters.

"What this new law is all about is cracking down on cheats.

"We're going to crack down on cheats who own homes, businesses, boats and then expect the taxpayers to subsidise their rent as well."

The new powers will allow the Department of Housing to cross-check with other government agencies, to see what assets public housing tenants own or what businesses they may be operating.

The legislation will also allow the government to go after illegal occupants of public housing who are not tenants.

A new offence of failure to notify change of conditions will be created, with the maximum punishment being a jail sentence.

Mr Brown said the $53 million lost each year could go to providing an additional 200 homes to people who actually needed them.

The current waiting list for public housing in NSW is around 40,000.

"I just can't believe that anyone thinks they can get a taxpayer subsidised rent when we've got people in real need, the aged ... some homeless people, people with disability," Mr Brown said.

"I think they are pretty rotten to think they can get a house, subsidised by the taxpayer ... and deny many people who are in need of homes."

Recent examples of fraud include a tenant in Sydney's eastern suburbs who was claiming public housing assistance while running a painting and decorating business and owning 16 investment properties in NSW and South Australia.

The owner of two real estate agencies, who was also a director of a finance company, was also recently caught rorting public housing assistance. That tenant now owes $16,000 to the department.

"If people are driving around in fancy BMWs and wanting a Department of Housing home, then they are ... looking at the wrong type of home," Mr Brown said.

Quote: With this new draconian law the authorities may then send someone to jail who owns nothing but who may have made a common mistake of "failure to notify change of conditions" or use this legislation to simply get rid of "illegal occupants" who from my understanding are usually just mentally ill people who don't know how to apply for public housing themselves but who reside with others. Then the authorities can give the tenancy to someone else.

I strongly suspect this is not about the alleged two recent examples of fraud quoted above but simply an 'umbrella' to be opened up to catch anyone. If those above people misused the system then why not just make them pay for their mistake instead of threatening every other law abiding public housing tenant with losing their tenancy for minor discrepancies or misconceptions?

What we also need is proof of the alleged fraud quoted above and why the authorities couldn't get their money back from people who they say had "16 investment properties" and or "two real estate agencies" and not just the say so of the NSW Government. People do get sick of government propaganda and coverup's by the NSW government who has left public housing rot just like the hospitals and any excuse will do to kick people out so that they can claim there is sufficient public housing when there is not.

Madness causing madness in prison hospital

“Fifty mental health patients held at the Long Bay Prison Hospital have from yesterday been locked in cells from 3.30 in the afternoon rather than the normal 9pm” said JA spokesperson Brett Collins.

“The nurses and prison officers have expressed their extreme concern to Justice Minister Hatzistergos on the effect of solitary confinement and loss of access to therapeutic support for these most vulnerable patients with severe mental illnesses and medical/surgical needs. He fobbed them off on April 1st.” said Mr Collins.

“The patients will self harm, and become sicker as a consequence. They will be drugged to tolerate the conditions although they have said they will refuse medication as a protest. The patients now call for the media and Justice Action to inspect the hospital and speak with their representatives.” said Mr Collins.

“This is part of a new regime negotiated with private companies in a PPP that relieves the government of the cost of the new hospital. Twenty-eight prison officer positions have been withdrawn.” said JA spokesperson Brett Collins.

“Health in NSW has reached a new low. This is despite Premier Iemma and the Federal government nominating mental health as its top priority concern. Minister Hatzistergos is the ultimate bully, who against the advice of the experts, imposes the authority of the state on sick citizens who are totally dependent. While he describes the plan as “The Way Forward” he presides over the worst recidivist rate in the country with the victims bearing the cost, and a budget of $1 billion” said Mr Collins.

“Court intervention to compel the government to maintain their duty of care is unlikely to be successful. The NSW Supreme Court this week affirmed its unpreparedness to overturn wrong prison discretionary decisions, when it refused to compel the entry of the prisoner newspaper JUST US. However in Victoria, Supreme Court Justice Bongiorno stopped the “terrorism” trial due to prison conditions” said Mr Collins.

For comments: Brett Collins 0438 705003

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Prison hospital lock-down: mental patients madness
“Prison authorities have ordered the removal of 28 officers from the prison hospital area as part of their ironically named “Way Forward”. This will lock patients into cells at 3.30pm instead of the current 9pm from April 2nd” said Justice Action Coordinator Brett Collins.

Judges depart Red Mass
Bishop Peter Ingham reminded the Judges about locking up the mentally ill in prison and that they should not be dishing out double punishment to them.

Crims 'losing millions' in cash, assets

Millions of dollars in cash and assets have been stripped from organised crime gangs and other NSW offenders in the past year, the state government says.

In the past 14 months, $26.5 million in cash and assets has been seized or frozen in accordance with the Criminal Assets Recovery Act, Police Minister David Campbell said.

"This sends a clear message to criminals that their flash cars, boats and mansions are prime targets for NSW police," he said.

"If jail isn't enough of a deterrent for these crooks, then losing their prized possessions should definitely be."

Among goods already seized are real estate, cars, jet skis, jewellery and almost $8 million in cash, all linked to one major investigation.

Funds raised by the confiscation of cash and goods goes toward crime prevention, and drug rehabilitation and education programs.

Mr Campbell praised a strengthening of the Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act for the increased value of seizures.

"The new system gives police the power to pursue confiscation matters in the local court," he said.

"Police can seek to seize and sell any tainted property linked to a suspect, such as a vehicle used to drive to the scene of a crime or a mobile phone used to set up drug deals."

When pain persists, they arrive

ALLEN DIAZLI has seen homeowners come and go over the past 17 years in the mortgage belt of Sydney.

He's one of the Sheriff's men in Bankstown, the officers responsible for carrying out repossession orders for banks and mortgage brokers.

But Mr Diazli has never seen the belt tighten by so many notches in such a short time for so many people.

Since January, he and his colleagues have been repossessing an average 15 homes a week, more than three times the number they were doing three years ago. "This is crazy," he says. "We don't need any statistics to know how bad mortgage stress is for people. We've got a whiteboard that we fill out and it's been chock-a-block for months."

The Reserve Bank warned yesterday it expects more people to fall behind on their mortgage repayments as the full impact of rate rises hits home.

"Looking forward, an increase in arrears is likely," it said in its twice-yearly review of financial stability. The bank estimates there are already 40,000 borrowers who are late with their payments by more than a month. Of these, 15,000 are more than 90 days overdue.

The bank also warned borrowers were now at a higher risk of losing their homes should they fall behind on repayments. The proportion of NSW houses subject to repossession applications had doubled since the mid 1990s. This was partly because more people had loans with non-traditional lenders who were more likely to foreclose quickly.

Repossessions had risen in areas such as western Sydney where borrowers had taken out large mortgages and house prices had fallen below the value of the loan. These borrowers were unable to clear their debts by selling their home and more likely to face a repossession.

Overall, the Reserve said Australian households and businesses were better placed than ones in other countries to weather the wildest financial storm since the early 1990s.

Households were benefitting from low unemployment, lower taxes and rising real disposable incomes, but this belied significant "pockets of stress".

Singling out greater western Sydney as one such pocket, the bank said mortgage arrears here were 2½ times greater than those in the rest of NSW.

The steep rise in interest rates since the middle of last year - 1 percentage point from the Reserve Bank and an average 0.25 percentage points extra from the commercial banks - is expected to see more households fall behind.

For sheriff Paul McAuley, the repossessions he sees around Bankstown are startling.

People are still angry when they lose their houses, but he notices that "people nowadays seem to think, when they take a loan, that it's a risk and that if they take the loan they might end up losing their house".

"That's a big change to the mindset that was around even 15 years ago," he said.

The area's newly-elected federal MP, Labor's Jason Clare, said he is trying to put the issue of housing stress on the national radar for one important reason: "If it's happening here, it will soon be hitting other areas."

Mr Clare's rationale is simple. He believes Bankstown is the canary in the coalmine - the first place to feel the impact of mortgage stress before it hits home for hundreds of thousands of other households.

"One of the worrying statistics about Bankstown is that we have a median income that's below the national average but mortgage repayments that are well above the national average," he said.

"So obviously if you're buying a house for $400,000 or $500,000 in Bankstown, it's going to be a lot more painful paying it off.

"Economists will tell you that the effects of an interest rate rise take about six to nine months to be fully felt, so there's a strong possibility that we're yet to feel the worst of it."

The Money Care financial counselling co-ordinator at the Salvation Army, Tony Devlin, said the past 12 months have been the busiest in recent memory.

He said the proportion of clients using his service because of mortgage stress had more than tripled. About 35 per cent of the 5000 people a year the Salvation Army counsels were under severe mortgage stress.

"What we've found is that where people have been struggling to keep their heads above water, this last year has been the time when they've gone under."

Mr Devlin said finding accommodation for people who have lost their properties has become a major problem. Rental vacancies in Bankstown are below 1 per cent.

■ Australian Prudential Regulation Authority figures show sharemarket volatility in late 2007 wiped $4.3 billion from the superannuation balances of Australians.

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A leading figure at the St Vincent de Paul Society says homelessness is the worst he has seen it in his 42 years with the charity.

2nd Renaissance -40
Hardship and grief accompanies a complete financial meltdown. People who are concerned about their large mortgages and credit card debts must realise that when (not if) a major depression comes the banks will show them no sympathy; but will seize their property and other assets with the full backing of the rule of law. However, it doesn't have to play out that way.

Just as numbers can change the balance of power when people - acting collectively - decide to free trafficked women from brothels or take over a failed enterprise, so they can turn the tables on predatory banks and other financial institutions. If a few thousand people were to declare their intention to default on their loans, the big lending institutions would quickly sool their lawyers on to these individual families with great indignation and vigour. But, if several million families were determined to abandon their contracts the story would play out very differently.

Panel to pick judges planned

THE power to appoint judges would be partly taken away from government and shortlists for appointments would be drawn up by an independent judicial appointments commission under a state Coalition government.

The NSW Opposition has released its second major policy in two months in a discussion paper drawn up by the shadow attorney-general, Greg Smith, called Restoring Faith In Justice.

It calls for the establishment of an independent commission to provide a shortlist to the Attorney-General for judges' appointments, which it claims would prevent some of the accusations concerning political appointments and provide for a more "independent arm of government".

The model follows on from the British Government's decision to establish a Judicial Appointments Commission in 2006.

The system of appointments says the paper "needs overhauling because it is government controlled and leads to political appointments and patronage; it is opaque and impossible to determine the process of selection and appointment; that there is a perceived lack of consultation among relevant stakeholders; and that there is a perceived lack of depth in the pool from which judicial talent is drawn".

The Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell, said yesterday: "If we're going to get the state out of the mess it's in, we need the best possible people from across the public sector, from judges to the more basic positions.

"Unless we start to raise the standards, the performance is not going to lift."

Mr Smith said that some of the people appointed to the bench in the past had been appointed because of their "political connections".

"They get good people in there generally but there's also a lot of room there for picking your mates," he said.

The paper said a judicial appointments commission should be established "to ensure a fairer and more transparent appointments process, while safeguarding against excessive politicisation of the courts".

It says there had been significant community concern recently over the manner in which people are appointed to the NSW judiciary.

"Accusations of 'jobs for the boys' and political favouritism, in the arena, of judicial appointments, have clouded public perceptions of the NSW judiciary."

The Opposition argues that judicial appointment is "clouded in secrecy", raising public concerns about judicial standards.

At present, the attorney-general takes appointments to cabinet with people qualified for appointment if they have been an Australian lawyer of at least seven years' standing (or five years' standing for magistrate's appointments).

The latest Coalition policy follows the Opposition announcing last month that, if elected, buses, trains and ferries would be run by a single transport authority that would tackle all public transport problems from ticketing to timetabling.

It also comes in an environment where the Coalition is being routinely attacked by the Government for having failed to come up with policy in Mr O'Farrell's first year as Opposition Leader.