Glass sandwich maker avoids jail

A Hobart woman who laced her estranged husband's sandwiches with crushed glass has avoided going to jail.

Lynette Margaret Quessy, aged 50 of Sandy Bay in Hobart, has received a nine-month suspended jail term.

Over a three-week period last year, Quessy put crushed light globes in her then husband's lunches.

The Criminal Court in Hobart heard the couple had separated but were still living together at the time and there was dispute over a property settlement.

After finding glass in a bread roll and in a container in the pantry, Quessy's husband became suspicious.

He started storing his lunches in a freezer and organised for them to be analysed.

Lawyer jailed for stealing

JOHN AVERY, lawyer has been jailed in Hobart. The art-collecting former barrister was sentenced to 4½ years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of misappropriation and 129 counts of stealing.

The 60-year-old, who practised in the suburb of Moonah, appeared on remand yesterday.

The Chief Justice, Ewan Crawford, told the Supreme Court that Avery's crimes appeared to result from him living far beyond the means of a $150,000-a-year income, and spending on excesses including art.

He misappropriated from his legal firm or stole from clients a total of $512,000 over six years before being detected by the firm's financial manager and Avery's partner in March 2006.

Avery kept records of much of what he took. The court heard he wishfully thought that one day he would reimburse those who had suffered from his crimes.

Now struck off the role of legal practitioners, he had to sell his family's house to pay its mortgage, and was likely to be bankrupt.

"His fall has been a considerable one," Justice Crawford said. "Crimes of this kind shake the security and confidence of the public and cause considerable harm to the reputation of the legal profession on whom the public should be able to rely."

Justice Crawford said Avery had a reputation as a hard-working lawyer with a practical, non-nonsense approach to his tasks, who worked pro bono if his clients required. Testimonials of good character were put before the court.

Unable to determine exactly who had suffered, or the extent of most of the losses, Justice Crawford ordered the repayment of four amounts totalling $80,000.

Avery claimed to have $350,000 work in progress at his firm before his forced retirement, and paintings and sculptures valued at $120,000 were retained.

He will be eligible for parole half-way through his sentence.

Tas Premier sacks Wriedt

Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett has sacked Paula Wriedt from his Cabinet.

Mr Bartlett says he decided the time had come to reassign her portfolio.

He spoke to her about this but he says she was unable to make that decision.

He went to Government House this morning and asked the Governor to relinquish her responsiblities.

Ms Wriedt attempted suicide last month and admitted an affair with her driver.

The driver, Ben Chaffey, is on stress leave and is seeking a payout of more than $100,000 from the State Government.

Ms Wriedt revealed she was suffering from depression

Jail term for 'baking' drugs at home

A Southern Tasmanian man who made illegal drugs from cold and flu tablets has been jailed for three and a half years.

The Hobart Criminal Court heard the drugs had a potential street value of between $15,000-$60,000.

Carey John Green used cold and flu tablets to produce methylamphetamines at his Dysart property.

In July 2006, police found $23,000 cash, chemicals, drugs and equipment when they searched the property.

The Court heard the 44-year-old had a history of being a "backyard amphetamine cook'' to support his own drug habit.

The court heard Green was grossly obese and had health problems which would make his time in jail difficult.

He will serve two-and-half-years before being eligible for parole.

Green's partner, 47-year-old Gail Ann Pearce, today received a four month suspended sentence for buying cold and flu tablets used by Green in his drug operation.

Tasmanian jailed for child porn

A Hobart man caught in an international internet child pornography sting has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years jail.

49 year old Michael John Coulburn was sentenced in the Hobart Criminal Court after he admitted downloading and possessing thousands of explicit images.

Coulburn is one of more than 700 paedophiles tracked by the FBI in the United States .

He will be eligible to apply for parole after three years.

Eight years' jail for attempted murder

A Hobart man has been jailed for eight years for trying to murder his former partner.

Robert Peter Gaffney will serve at least six years in prison before being eligible for parole.

The 37 year-old stabbed his partner Suzie Jacobson in the throat last November then held her captive in her home for four hours.

Justice Shan Tennent said the attack arose out of a drunken, jealous rage. The judge said Gaffney watched Ms Jacobson bleed and prevented her from getting medical help.

The court heard Ms Jacobson needed a voice box reconstruction and spent three weeks in hospital after the stabbing. The judge said the attack could have killed Ms Jacobson.

Justice Tennent said Ms Jacobson will have to live with the psychological and physical consequences of the act for the rest of her life.

Four years for driving death

A Hobart man has been sentenced to four years jail for dangerous driving which caused the death of his fiance in Tasmania's south earlier this year.

Vaughn Barry Stonehouse was drunk and had drugs in his system when he lost control of a ute at Kingston in February.

37 year old Bronwyn Hayers suffocated after being pinned under a ute at Kingston last February. The Hobart criminal court heard Ms Hayers was flung from the front passenger seat after her fiance Vaughn Stonehouse lost control of the ute.

42-year-old Stonehouse was later found to have a blood alcohol reading of more than 4 times the legal limit.

Justice Shan Tennent said what Stonehouse had taken from the victim's family could never be returned. The court heard Ms Hayers' children were devastated by her mothers death and had become angry and withdrawn.

Stonehouse was sentenced to four years jail with a non-parole period of three years.

Anti-Gunns protest at Mac Bank's AGM

The Wilderness Society is protesting outside the Macquarie Bank's annual general meeting in Melbourne.

The society believes the bank is considering helping to fund the controversial pulp mill planned for northern Tasmania.

Protesters are dressed as Tom Cruise from the movie, Risky Business.

Geoff Law from the Wilderness Society says Macquarie is considering whether to become involved after the ANZ Bank's decision not to fund the mill.

"Well we've been told by people within the bank that they are looking to assist Gunns with a share issue later this year so that equity can be raised to fund the pulp mill and the bank is also considering getting involved in other ways," he said.

Jail for death drivers

Two young men have been sentenced to a combined total of 10 years prison for killing a motorcyclist in Tasmania's south last year.

23 year old Haden Hori Anderson and 22 year old David Gallagher hung their heads as Justice Pierre Slicer read out their fate.

The Hobart Criminal Court heard Anderson and Gallagher were racing each other at high speeds when Anderson's car hit 25 year old motorcyclist Aaron Bumford, near Franklin, killing him instantly .

Justice Slicer said the crash was horrendous and has had a devastating effect on Mr Bumford's family.

Anderson was sentenced to six years prison for manslaughter, and Gallagher received four years for causing death by dangerous driving.

More time urged for abused ward compo

Hundreds of Tasmanians have already been compensated for the cruelty, violence and neglect they suffered while in state care.

Tasmanian Premier, David Bartlett is being urged to extend the deadline for people who were abused as wards of the state in Tasmania to apply for compensation.

Hundreds of Tasmanians have already been compensated for the cruelty, violence and neglect they suffered while in state care.

But after complaints from people who missed out on the first scheme, the Government opened a new and final round, with three months to apply and $10 million on offer.

The Government says at the beginning of May, 390 people had applied for redress.

Leonie Sheedy, from the support network CLAN, says the June 30 deadline should be extended, or others will miss out.

"We're going to be faced with the same situation all over again, in six months time," she said.

"I'd like to ask the Premier of Tasmania to extend the deadline for people to put in their applications, because the Queensland Government have extended their redress scheme."

Ms Sheedy says she is still hearing from people who have only just heard of the compensation scheme.

Related:

Formal sorry to child abuse victims
Hundreds of people who were abused as children while in state care will get a formal apology from the South Australian Parliament today.

SA commits $190m to counter child abuse
Former Supreme Court justice Ted Mullighan released the results of his three-year inquiry into the abuse of children in state care on April 1, revealing abuse occurred in every type of care from the 1940s onward.

Child abuse compo must be fairer: lawyer
The recent Mullighan inquiry investigated cases of abuse among former state wards and made a range of recommendations to the SA Government.

Compensation for SA sex abuse victims
The South Australian Government says it will focus on compensation for victims, now that the inquiry into the sexual abuse of children in state care is complete.

Tas lags in support youth leaving state care

A new report has revealed Tasmania could be doing more to provide resources and support for young people leaving state care.

The Create Foundation report shows Tasmania has few transition services and the lowest budget for people leaving care.

It focuses on young people who have reached the age of 18 and left care , or those younger who have already made independent living arrangements.

It found when people leave the state care system without support, they are more likely to enter the Juvenile Justice System.

Jacqui Reed from Create, says young people moving from state care are vulnerable and the government is responsible for ensuring they are supported.

The Tasmanian Government allocates just over $1,500 to help each young person move from state care, when on average, all other states pay more than $5,000 per person.

In most states, assistance is provided until the person turns 25, but in Tasmania it stops at age 21.

Unfair tax on gays: activist

There are concerns same sex couples could be financially worse off under the Federal Budget.

The gay and lesbian rights group, Coming Out Proud, says this year's budget treats all same sex couples as de facto relationships.

The group's Julian Punch says this will mean some couples could lose welfare benefits and be taxed on double incomes because their relationship is not recognised as having the same value as a marriage.

He wants the Federal Government to recognise same sex civil unions nationally to avoid tax discrimination.

"At the moment, currently and with the previous government, as facist as it was, our relationships were just in a no person zone, they weren't accepted they weren't recognised," he said.

"Now the government's going to recognise them for the purposes of tax accruements."

Related:

Watered down same-sex laws pass in ACT
Laws granting same-sex couples legal recognition passed the ACT Legislative Assembly Thursday night, but the territory government is still furious it was forced to water down its legislation.

Gay activist questions govt decision
The ACT government has been forced to abandon plans to legally recognise same-sex civil union ceremonies after the Rudd government refused to support the move, upsetting the Australian Coalition for Equality.

Unsafe corporations, unsafe sex, drugs, binge drinking 'normal' for teens: study

Researchers say the tax on alcopops will do little to curb binge drinking which is seen as 'normal' (Get Images)

A university study has found binge drinking is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to teenage risk-taking behaviour.

Education researchers at the University of Tasmania surveyed 1,000 parents and 1,000 high school students over five years about their perception of risky behaviours.

Thirteen per cent of students surveyed said they got "blind drunk" regularly while 43 per cent said they did so occasionally.

Education researcher, Professor Joan Abbott-Chapman, says she was surprised to find that many young people do not regard binge drinking as high-risk.

"Teenagers seem to think that normal teenage behaviour includes drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and to a certain degree smoking marijuana and also to a lesser extent unsafe sex," she said.

Professor Abbott-Chapman says parental involvement in setting standards can reduce teenage risk-taking behaviour.

"And it's the teenagers who rely only on peer groups for support or feel isolated and have no one to turn to these are the ones that tend to drink more and we also found that school engagement was also involved," she said.

Alcopop tax little use [to corporations]


The Federal Government's tax on so called 'alcopops' is likely to have only a minimal impact on teenage binge drinking according the researchers [from the business association?]

Taxes on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks have increased by around 70 per cent, making them to $1.30 more expensive, in a bid to curb binge drinking.

Professor Abbott-Chapman says more needs to be done to address the problem.

"The effects are likely to be marginal unless they are linked to a widespread range of community and family programs which tackle some of the problems of social and educational engagement or disengagement rather," she said.

Updaedt 350:pm (AEST)

Greens want alco-pops tax revenue spent on alcohol education

Greens leader Bob Brown says his party will not be inclined to support the Government's increased tax on pre-mixed drinks unless the money is put aside to combat alcohol abuse.

The Coalition says it will block the legislation to approve the 70 per cent tax increase, which is expected to give the government $3 billion in revenue.

Senator Brown says the Greens do support the tax and believe it will reduce consumption of so-called alco-pops.

But he says the revenue raised must be spent on education and health programs.

"We're not inclined to support this legislation unless there's a program for re-mediating the impact of alcohol abuse goes with it, in other words unless a sizeable part of this money goes to tackling the big problem of alcohol abuse in our communities" he said.

Related:

Calls for binge warnings on alcohol packaging
The Public Health Association (PHA) says warnings about the dangers of binge drinking should be pasted on all forms of packaged alcoholic drinks.

Support for booze public education
A SURVEY of 1000 Australians found more than three-quarters of those questioned about attitudes to drinking said there was not enough public education about the dangers of alcohol, despite the Rudd Government's promise of a multimillion-dollar binge-drinking strategy

Conference told drinking needs to be 'denormalised'
A conference in Brisbane has been told that society needs to change the way it thinks about alcohol before there will be a reduction in binge drinking. The Alcohol and Drug Foundation organised the conference to discuss ways to tackle the problem, with organisations and researchers from across the country attending the event.

Alcohol boosts cancer risks: experts
A new study has found that drinking just two standard alcoholic drinks a day significantly increases the risks of developing breast, bowel, throat and mouth cancer.

Balmain hotels fill as young mourn pub mates
Many of those involved in the accident were from Balmain. Friends gathered, embraced and cried openly on Darling Street, and soon after were intoxicated with alcohol as well as grief. Balmain bar staff described the incident as a pub staff night gone wrong.

Former Prosecutor's safety risk in prison

A Tasmanian court has heard a former Crown Prosecutor who stole $200,000 seized from criminals can not go to Risdon Prison because his safety would be at risk.

Michael Paul Shirley has been in custody at the Hobart Remand Centre since his arrest in March.

For about four and a half years Michael Shirley, a senior crown prosecutor, stole varying amounts of cash from the Tasmania Police property store in Hobart.

Prosecutor, Mark Miller, said the money was mostly proceeds of crime seized from drug dealers.

Defence lawyer, Greg Richardson, said a spiralling gambling problem led Shirley to steal and he also gambled much of his wages and bank loans.

He said "it was close to half a million dollars wasted on keno."

Mr Richardson told the Hobart Criminal Court Shirley would have to serve his prison term in the Hobart Remand Centre because of the criminals he had prosecuted.

He said "he can't go to Risdon, they can't guarantee his safety."

Mr Richardson said his client had twice attempted suicide since his crimes came to light. He said Shirley's crimes were neither clever nor sophisticated and detection was inevitable.

He said his client has paid back part of the money and will be practically destitute when he leaves prison, with little chance of gaining employment.

Shirley will be sentenced later this month.

Fighting intergenerational crime

In some family trees, branch after branch is bent.

Tasmanian criminologist, Vanessa Goodwin is studying how crime is passed down the generations in some families, and says early intervention - and support - could help people break the cycle.

Ms Goodwin says she is about to focus on 6 Tasmanian families to find out why crime is a way of life.

"Potentially a different value system, a different way of life, very difficult to break the cycle," she said.

"I think it's extremely difficult, particularly if you're living in an area where there are a lot of other people who are involved in crime as well,

"So there's a lot of positive reinforcement to commit crime and not a lot of positive role models of how to get out of involvement in crime and lead a different life."

Ms Goodwin has already studied five generations of one family.

The 167 members had committed more than 2,500 offences.

103 had at least one conviction, while 45 had served at least one jail term.

Ms Goodwin told yesterdays National Police Commissioner's conference in Hobart, the Northern Territory intervention could provide some answers for families at risk.

"Obviously education and making sure kids are in school is another important area," she said.

"And making sure that kids are being provided for by their families, so that you know the welfare cheque isn't being spent on alcohol or gambled away."

Intensive support is another option.

Ms Goodwin says Queensland's 'Family Independence Program' dedicates workers to helping families.

"Whether it's problems getting the kids to school, health issues, problems accessing Centrelink payments, whatever it is, there's someone there to assist the family."

From those on the front line, there is applause for initiatives like 'Project U-Turn' that confront offenders with the consequences of their behaviour:

"If you're stealing a TV and you think it's just a TV, you don't see the impact of that offence on children who might have nightmares because a crook has done their house over, or are bed-wetting," says former policeman, John Lennox.

Results from the crime study should be known by early next year.

Related:

Adelaide, South Australia
New Ways Forward: Pathways to Change
23 & 24 September 2008
1st Call for Abstracts
Closing Date 31 March 2008

Victim Support Service (SA) is delighted to announce that we will be hosting the 2008 National Victims of Crime conference in Adelaide.

This conference aims to excite and inspire participants by providing a range of diverse papers, presentations and workshops that explore ‘New Ways Forward’. The key themes for the Conference include: Reform, Participation & Accountability, Response. The Conference Organising Committee hopes that a wide range of people with diverse interests in working with people who have experienced crime, victimology, law reform and trauma will come together to explore New Ways Forward and potential Pathways to Change. Papers and workshops are invited within the following broad themes or any other that you believe may be of interest:
􀂃 Reform e.g.
o Victims’ rights
o Law reform
o Changes to legal processes
􀂃 Participation & Accountability e.g.
o Restorative justice initiatives
o Mediation and adult conferencing
o Crime prevention
o Community safety
o Specialist courts
o Diversity
􀂃 Responding to Victims of Crime e.g.
o Therapeutic responses
o New and emerging crimes
o Access and equity issues
o Rural and remote services
o Police and legal responses
o Role of volunteers
o Group-work
Should you wish to submit an application for an oral presentation / paper, workshop or poster presentation, please follow the guidelines below. Abstracts (maximum of 300 words) should be sent as an email attachment in the following format:
• Title of Presentation / Workshop
• Author/s
• Brief Biography of Author/s (Please note: if the abstract is accepted then this biography will be printed in the conference program.)
• Contact person
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Type of presentation
o Oral presentation & paper
o Workshop
o Poster
o Other
• Abstract (overview of presentation content)
• Audiovisual requirements
The Conference Organising Committee must receive abstracts no later than 31 March 2008 by email to conference@victimsa.org. Receipt of your abstract will be acknowledged. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by 30 April 2008. Full papers must be submitted by 31 July 2008. For further information please contact either David Kerr or Jodie Sloan at
Victim Support Service on (08) 8231 5626 or Toll Free 1800 182 368.

Tasmanian criminals keeping it in the family

Tasmania's inter-generational crimes are being discussed at a national police commissioners conference in Hobart.

Tasmania's Police Commissioner Richard McCreadie says some Tasmanian families cannot shake the cycle of committing crimes and often pass the bad habits to their children.

He says police are looking at new ways to address the problem.

"If you look at the court listings and that there are names that regularly pop up, it's not hard to see that some of them are second, third and fourth generation and there's a similarity in the way they're behaving.

"We think that we can better treat that and start to pay attention to these at risk kids at a very early time, develop parenting skills to see that they don't simply become ensconced in the justice system."

The conference finishes on Thursday.