Physio jailed over sex attacks

A Melbourne physiotherapist who sexually assaulted 15 of his patients has been sentenced to nine years and 11 months in jail.

Bradford Allen Deslandes, 44, from Wantirna South, pleaded guilty to 30 charges, including rape and indecent assault.

The County Court heard the assaults happened over a nine-year period.

Deslandes will serve a non-parole period of seven years and eight months.

Discrimination Act should apply to intervention: Calma

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner wants the Racial Discrimination Act immediately reinstated in the Northern Territory's Indigenous communities.

When the Howard government's emergency intervention legislation was introduced last year, it was made exempt from the Racial Discrimination Act.

Commissioner Tom Calma says suspending the Act for Aboriginal people is wrong.

"If we want to practice equality, if we want to honour our international obligations and the obligations that the Parliament has bestowed on Australia, and that's the Racial Discrimination Act, then that should be back in place and people should have the right to be able to lodge a complaint," he said.

Watchdog slams jails oversight

AUSTRALIA'S only independent prison watchdog has heavily criticised the oversight of Victorian jails, saying the existing system of monitoring abuses and corruption is "well short of what a democratic society is entitled to".

The criticism of the lack of transparency in Victoria's prisons by the Western Australian Inspector of Custodial Services, Professor Richard Harding, comes after The Age revealed secret documents detailing improper behaviour by staff at the state's largest female jail.

Professor Harding said the Victorian Government's failure to release its multiple inquiries into assaults, deaths, drug use and staff impropriety in the state's jails could be fuelling problems inside prisons.

Professor Harding told The Age: "This is important stuff. Would it have stopped it more quickly if the reports had been made public? My guess is it would. In WA, I have had similar issues and I feel confident the release of my reports covering these issues have lanced the boil of this kind of stuff."

Professor Harding testified at a Victorian court hearing earlier this month after he was called as a witness by the Western Suburbs Legal Service. The service is fighting for the release of a secret review of the placement of prisoners by Corrections Victoria into solitary confinement.

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show Victoria's prison watchdog, the Office of Correctional Services Review, has completed more than 100 investigations into prison incidents since 2000. None have been released.

Professor Harding said the Victorian watchdog was compromised because it was part of the Justice Department, which also manages prisons.

"People can't but help be aware of the problems they may create within the department with their reports, whereas an autonomous external inspectorate (has) a fearless approach to controversy," he said.

"It is well short of what a democratic society is entitled to and we come back again to the human rights issues. In the end, these can only be properly traversed by external accountability.

"If you have an external inspectorate, all of these things — justice and fairness and decency to the individual — and the way the prisons are spending their money become visible to the public."

But a spokesman for Corrections Minister Bob Cameron said the state's jails were subject to rigorous oversight. The spokesman said the Ombudsman's office had the power to demand investigation reports from the Justice Department and conduct its own inquiries, which could be tabled in Parliament.

[Well if it's anything like NSW then the ombudsman actually says... they have no power to ask for any evidence in relation to 'discretionary' decisions made by the commissioner, those having been made for the 'good order and security of the prison. Therefore the Ombudsman is said to be a toothless sort of terrier and that those answers are given to complainants and in fact very little is done when complaints are made and therefore end up getting to this point where they're out of control.]

The Age yesterday revealed that prison guards at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, which houses up to 260 female prisoners, were told by experienced officers to break rules, conducted improper strip searches and falsified records.

The breaches are revealed in prison documents detailing concerns raised in October 2006 by new prison officers.

Documents reveal women's prison rules flouted
GUARDS at Victoria's largest women's prison were told by experienced officers to break rules, conducted improper strip searches and falsified records, according to secret prison documents.

Behind the wire
The documents, from 2003 and 2004, outlined claims that "prison officers at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre were sexually assaulting female prisoners and standing over prisoners to obtain sexual favours".

PDF Prison staff briefing notes

PDF Documents about sexual assault allegations in 2003

Secret policemen's bill: $7.5m

MORE than 600 security officials around the nation have worked on the Mohamed Haneef case and the related British bombings in an investigation which cost more than $7.5 million, collected 300 witness statements and examined 349 forensic samples.

And the result so far: one charge against the doctor that was dropped within a fortnight.

As the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty ran through the figures yesterday, he was quick to point out that - seven months after the Indian-born doctor was arrested, interrogated, charged and released - the investigation is continuing.

He said there was no need to change any practices within his force, even as the Government prepares to launch a judicial inquiry to try to unravel the error-ridden saga and prevent its repetition. "We have reviewed the Haneef matter as a matter of course and there is nothing that has arisen out of those reviews that required us to alter our policies or alter our approaches to those investigations," Mr Keelty told a Senate estimates hearing.

At its peak, Mr Keelty revealed, the investigation involved 249 AFP officers, 225 Queensland police, 54 WA police, 40 NSW police, four police and 15 other officers from the Northern Territory, Tasmania and other agencies, six translators, six Customs officers, and two British police.

They executed 22 search warrants, 16 telephone intercepts, six surveillance devices and seized 623 gigabytes of computer data - and racked up a $1.6 million overtime bill.

Mr Keelty said he was awaiting the results of an inquiry into the co-operation between federal agencies - which he initiated - but welcomed the judicial inquiry and would act on any recommendations.

"We have absolutely nothing to hide," he said.

Mr Keelty, who initially defended the charge against Dr Haneef but later said he had told prosecutors not to proceed, has strenuously denied any wrongdoing by the AFP and blamed the media for creating a perception that police lacked "street smarts" and had failed in the case.

"It is a full-time job trying to correct the media," he said.

The Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, said yesterday that he was still finalising plans for the judicial inquiry.

"The impact on ongoing national security operations is a factor being taken into account in arrangements for the inquiry," a spokesman, Adam Sims, said.

But the Opposition said the inquiry was premature and should be called off.

"The AFP still regards this as a very serious matter," the shadow attorney-general, George Brandis, said.

"It is extraordinary that the Government would set up an inquiry into a pending investigation without interfering with the AFP's capability."

Mr Keelty indicated he did not think Dr Haneef - who returned to his home in India after his work visa was revoked - had a case for compensation.

Mr McClelland separately ruled out compensating or apologising to the Sydney medical student Izhar Ul-Haque, who a Supreme Court judge said had been kidnapped by ASIO officers. The conduct of ASIO in the case of Mr ul-Haque, who was cleared of terrorism charges, is being reviewed by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell.

The Greens senator Kerry Nettle said Mr Keelty "has learnt little from this saga apart from a desire to shut down media scrutiny".

DPP urges tougher child identity laws

The New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions is calling for even stricter conditions on the naming of children involved in criminal proceedings.

A state parliamentary committee is reviewing laws which protect the identity of juvenile offenders, as well as young victims and witnesses.

Nicholas Cowdery QC agrees with the prohibition and believes it should be extended further, to include children arrested but not yet charged, or even to children who are part of an investigation.

"Take it back earlier to the point where there is an investigation underway," he said.

"So it doesn't even have to be the interview of a child, but where the investigation involves a child. Then there should be a prohibition."

Related:

Justice Action’s Submission to the Inquiry into the prohibition on the publication of names of children involved in criminal proceedings.

1 Introduction

Thank you for inviting Justice Action to make submissions to this inquiry. We have considered the terms of reference. In summary, our position is:

(a) Term of reference 1

The current policy remains completely valid for the reasons outlined in paragraph 2;

(b) Term of reference 2

In our experience the Act is operating successfully to achieve the objectives of the current policy outlined in term of reference 1;

(c) Term of reference 3

The prohibition on the publication and broadcasting of names under section 1 of the Act should cover all the children and circumstances outlined in this term of reference; and

(d) Term of reference 4

Our comments on this term of reference are contained in our comments on term of reference 1 in paragraph 2.

2. Submissions on term of reference 1

2.1 Ramifications of naming, shaming and blaming

In all cases, we say that one needs to understand the ramifications of naming, shaming and blaming on people especially children because children are least likely to be able to deal with the fallout. As some Justice Action members are ex prisoners we have taken into account the process of naming, shaming and blaming on us, because it has affected some of us in adverse ways that we say have had no pragmatic outcome in terms of preventing crime in the future.

Amongst other things, the naming of children is likely to have the following effects:

(a) By obscuring the true environmental predisposing factors that led to the crime and instead focusing, hence shifting, the blame almost entirely on a bad person or bad genes.

(b) By hiding the fact that ‘anyone’ without skills could have made the same mistake given the wrong circumstances:

(c) Reducing the understanding about more resources that could be available for people or children to deal with social responsibility or a crisis situation that may develop, by having the further opportunity to learn better social responsibility and skills at the ‘earliest intervention’ that would prevent crime.

(d) Interventions that could have been blocked and that could sideline the general problem of preventing crime generally - particularly if socio economic factors such as poverty or bad parenting - that led to the crime have not been dealt with

(e) Not passing on more social skills to people or children like communication, conflict resolution and life skills in the future to the person or child offender.

2.2 Benefits of addressing the true causes of crime

One needs to understand how the justice system could be much different than it is now. It ought to be constructive so that the community gets the ‘full benefit’ of crime prevention by generally understanding what led to the crime and therefore how to prevent it instead of naming, shaming and blaming a particular offender’s mistake.

• Offending is one part of a person

We are all human beings and so when society breaks down a human being into parts then one invariably loses sight of a way to fix the problem holistically and in terms of crime prevention. Our experience as ex-prisoners is that in order to solve a problem one must search for the solution at the root. Not at the part. In this instance the root is the human being and for this submission a child. The part is what the human being or child may have been accused of (the act or crime) or found guilty of doing. The early intervention at this level provides long-term benefits for crime prevention in the community.

• Stigmatisation

For instance, x is an alleged gang-rapist, or x is an alleged sex-monster, x is an alleged criminal, murder, killer, etc. Even if those attributes were found to be true then how does it help fix the problem holistically of crime, sex offending or killing in the future? Is shaming, naming and blaming a constructive way to address the problem of sex offending or killing in the future? Are there any pragmatic answers we are missing in labeling people, especially children for their mistakes? Are we forgetting the process of learning involved in trial and error?

Once a person or child is broken down into parts, criminal, sex offender, killer, even if the offence may never ever occur again by the same offender, it then becomes harder to prevent crime in the future or in this instance the fact that the offender was a child. To explain:

The problem is more general than the person who has committed an offence. The problem is the offence itself and the social issues underlying the offence. Punishing individuals further through naming and shaming does not address this problem and in effect fails to prevent further offences occurring. Both the person who has committed an offence and society must take responsibility to socially respond to crime for crime prevention to be effective.

• Opportunity to learn from mistakes and rehabilitate

Society is built on trial and error because that’s how people, especially children, learn. We couldn’t have a society without trial and error or learning and therefore depend on it to build the future and so a standard needs to be in place similar to the current prohibition on the publication and broadcasting of names under section 11 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (the Act) to ensure that offending others is addressed generally and holistically and not just internalized as if one particular person has bad genes and is the problem. It is more likely that an offender has lost their way because of ‘x predispositions’, taken too many risks and used the wrong resources in order to achieve the same goals as say you and I might aspire to. Problems that could have been addressed better by learning some ‘social responsibility’, say at school or at the earliest intervention in the future (especially if some parents didn’t have the social skills to pass on) that may have prevented the same crime and will prevent more of the same crime down the track.

If all people or children become aware of the process and outcome (damage caused by the offence of crime, sex offending or killing) then they are more likely not to do it, more likely not to want to do it or be aware of the consequences of doing it themselves. In turn if a person, child, offender knows how much they are ‘worth’ then it is more likely that they will know how much you are worth next time that they may consider offending. How would that happen if they were just belittled, blamed or shamed that would decrease their self worth and deconstruct them?

• Communicating

In communication we learn that if something is not said or addressed in a constructive manner then it would be better off not being said at all. One may argue that shaming and blaming is ‘constructive’ - we say in what way? Destructing and belittling a person for making a mistake does nothing but put fear into a child. A child running on fear is not learning as well because they have high emotions and less thinking ability as a child who has no fear and is thinking about solutions better.

If offending is merely attributed to certain individuals who’ve made the mistake ‘now’ say based on only those who had ‘bad genes’, then that fails in terms of ‘general awareness’ and ‘deterrence’ and preventing the same crime down the track. In this case it is forgotten that many others could make the same mistake. Some crime, sex offending, killing or domestic violence is not always a premeditated crime either. Therefore not a pre learned experience or a plan, but a grave mistake, trial and error and sometimes done in the heat of the moment.

Taking into account ‘social responsibility’ in responding to crime means that all people and children have some responsibility for preventing crime. It gives further opportunity for all children to realise why offending a human being is an option that is not tolerated in society, or even to be considered if one wants mutual respect in the community, in the future and in any relationship between human beings.

3 Constructive feedback through JA mentoring is the solution

In our view, constructive feedback through JA mentoring has a more positive effect than any other means. To have a person trusted by the offender, in a one-to-one relationship, to give support and guidance to an offender as a role model and a friend, is in our experience the most effective means of addressing an offender's criminal behavior.

4. Conclusion

Justice Action believes that naming offenders and in particular child offenders is ‘destructive’. It will reduce the likelihood of general deterrence and shift the focus, blame and attention to the destructive notion that an individual simply has bad genes or even a bad family. Crime and society are more complex. In our view, given a constructive lifestyle, the opportunity to form positive mentoring relationships and an equal opportunity to learn about life, will prevent more crime and make others more aware of not being offensive. Hence, as a general deterrent we should not remove the prohibition on the publication of names of children involved in criminal proceedings.

Additional References

The Privacy Commissioner's position on Child Offenders and Privacy:

Justice Action Mentoring:

ICOPA XII Creating a Scandal - Notification of Conference / Call for Papers

International Conference on Penal Abolition

The Howard League for Penal Reform is organising and hosting the above international conference to develop the case for the abolition of prison and to rethink penal policy. The conference will discuss and hear about the impact of the penal system on our communities and provide suggestions for new and alternative approaches. It will look at custody and community interventions as alternatives to imprisonment; prisons and the politics of poverty; the role of the media and public opinion; and the role of privatisation and capitalism in penal policy today.

ICOPA XII will host international speakers dealing with the ancillary, fiscal and human costs of crime and punishment in the 21st century and will look at other possibilities and approaches outside of a failing crime control agenda.

Key themes and plenary sessions for the conference include:
· Creating a scandal - prison abolition and the policy agenda
· Prison and the politics of poverty
· The role of privatisation and capitalism in penal policy
· Penal abolition, the media and the public

Confirmed speakers so far include:
· Professor Thomas Mathieson, 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 Phil Scraton PhD, Queen's University, Belfast
· Clive Stafford Smith, Director, Reprieve

To book a place at this stimulating and thought provoking conference, please click here
For more information on ICOPA XII, including the submission of papers and applications for poster presentations, please visit the website www.icopa12london.org.uk or email hannah.mcfaull@howardleague.org

Australia grappling with child abuse 'epidemic'

A child protection organisation says the rate of child abuse in Australia has reached epidemic levels.

Child Wise has collated research showing one in four girls and one in seven boys experience some form of sexual abuse.

It is launching a national campaign to raise awareness about the problem and help parents and others who work with children recognise the signs.

The group's chief executive Bernadette McMenamin says the silence about abuse has to be broken.

"We need to look at children, we need to listen to them, we need to hear them, we need to respond to them," she said.

"So many adults do not believe children. So many adults cannot believe that abuse can happen to the children that they know or that they work with. So we need to completely change our consciousness around understanding child sexual abuse."

Ms McMenamin says there needs to be a focus on prevention.

"Children are so victimised by the court system that often victims will say it [the court appearance] traumatised me as much as the abuse did," she said.

"We need to completely examine our child protection systems, the way that we deal with children who are at risk of abuse, or who have been abused."

Related:

Smacking children 'allowable': minister

DOCS insiders blow whistle on tragedy

DOCS workers have detailed a catalogue of failures that have left at-risk children in unsafe families and put staff in danger, as officers struggle with crippling vacancies in a department top-heavy with managers and with a dysfunctional records system.

On the eve of the State Government's special commission of inquiry into child protection services, prompted by the death of seven-year-old Shellay Ward, frustrated staff have spoken to the Herald about reports of abuse that are never investigated and children in care who never see a case worker.

Long silenced by government restrictions on speaking to the media, these Department of Community Services workers say it is time for their views to be heard. They believe it is the only way to ensure that the Wood Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services, due to begin public forums this week, will succeed in undoing the years of neglect and bad policies that have led to the crisis.

The workers who told their stories did so on condition of anonymity, fearful for their jobs and mindful of the impact their actions may have on clients. Many more were unwilling to speak, while others withdrew after legal advice.

One child protection worker, Richard*, said staff were overwhelmed by the amount of work. "In the end that means we can only deal with the worst of the worst cases, and they are the most difficult cases," he said.

"There was a time when you could get to matters before they got to a real crisis point, but we are now being pushed to the very pointy end of child protection."

Wayne, who manages case workers, said there was a world of difference between what the department was telling the public, and what the frontline workers were experiencing.

Much of the problem stemmed from the enormous number of staff vacancies. As a result, "many children in the department's care … very rarely get to see their case worker - it is not unusual to hear that they only see them once a year, sometimes less," Wayne said.

"Many of those unallocated cases are serious allegations of children being physically, mentally or sexually harmed."

Another worker, William, said that despite the $1.2 billion in enhanced funding for the department, "at the field level, at the coalface level, nothing has changed for the case worker, and that is very disappointing".

"There is a political time bomb ticking here - there is a large gap between those that can be helped with early intervention and the crisis end of the system."

DOCS workers have detailed a catalogue of failures that have left at-risk children in unsafe families and put staff in danger, as officers struggle with crippling vacancies in a department top-heavy with managers and with a dysfunctional records system.

On the eve of the State Government's special commission of inquiry into child protection services, prompted by the death of seven-year-old Shellay Ward, frustrated staff have spoken to the Herald about reports of abuse that are never investigated and children in care who never see a case worker.

Long silenced by government restrictions on speaking to the media, these Department of Community Services workers say it is time for their views to be heard. They believe it is the only way to ensure that the Wood Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services, due to begin public forums this week, will succeed in undoing the years of neglect and bad policies that have led to the crisis.

The workers who told their stories did so on condition of anonymity, fearful for their jobs and mindful of the impact their actions may have on clients. Many more were unwilling to speak, while others withdrew after legal advice.

One child protection worker, Richard*, said staff were overwhelmed by the amount of work. "In the end that means we can only deal with the worst of the worst cases, and they are the most difficult cases," he said.

"There was a time when you could get to matters before they got to a real crisis point, but we are now being pushed to the very pointy end of child protection."

Wayne, who manages case workers, said there was a world of difference between what the department was telling the public, and what the frontline workers were experiencing.

Much of the problem stemmed from the enormous number of staff vacancies. As a result, "many children in the department's care … very rarely get to see their case worker - it is not unusual to hear that they only see them once a year, sometimes less," Wayne said.

"Many of those unallocated cases are serious allegations of children being physically, mentally or sexually harmed."

Another worker, William, said that despite the $1.2 billion in enhanced funding for the department, "at the field level, at the coalface level, nothing has changed for the case worker, and that is very disappointing".

"There is a political time bomb ticking here - there is a large gap between those that can be helped with early intervention and the crisis end of the system."

Related:

On the front line of tragedy
Day after day DOCS staff battle fear and violence to save children on the edge of the abyss. It's never enough, writes Ruth Pollard. Staff call it the Department of Damned If You Do and Damned If You Don't. They paint a picture of a reality far removed from the hysterical media coverage and tit-for-tat politics of child protection. They have a long list of solutions and - after more than a decade of neglect, underfunding and staff shortages - a short supply of patience. And yet, amid it all, they have hope.

In their own words: Case workers speak out
I can cite hundreds of examples of matters not being assessed … allegations not addressed until weeks or months after the report,' one worker says. 'At times [I have had] no face-to-face contact with any clients for three to four weeks due to demands of court work.' One case worker says there are more than 50 'unallocated cases that don't have any interventions other than annual reviews. No manager available for approval of financial assistance or advice, no cars for transporting, no access to transport workers.' Some areas report having every position in a team vacant. The large numbers of vacancies are heightened by 'excessive delays in the recruitment process. At times there are more vacancies in child protection than [there are] filled positions.''I thought I could make a difference; that hope is not yet gone, but almost.''[We are] unable to allocate complex casework due to a lack of resources and unable to respond to early reports of families in need.'

REOPEN THE TJ ENQUIRY!

TJ died 4 years ago. His bike was rammed by a Redfern police vehicle, driven by then, Constable Michael Hollingsworth. As a result, he was impaled on the metal spiked fence.

Proper medical practices were not followed by the police and he died in hospital the next day. If standard medical practices were followed, TJ would probably be alive today.

As is the norm in all police-initiated Black Deaths in Custody, the cover up started immediately. Every one was involved, from the then Premier, Bob Carr and to the Police Commissioner. Even the State Coroner did his bit by placing very tight conditions on what could be presented to him in the ‘manufactured’ police Brief of Evidence. The Hickey Family’s legal team, forced upon the Family, blocked some witnesses, did not give proper legal representation to TJ’s Family, and stopped, or agreed to, some crucial evidence not being presented in Court. Whilst the police were exonerated, despite their admitted collusion of evidence, those Aborigines who were provoked by the Redfern Police and vented their collective anger and grief, as was to happen on Palm Island, Qld, at the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee by Snr. Sgt. Christopher Hurley in November, 2004, were found guilty and gaoled. Another corrupt whitewash had occurred.

On Palm Island, Snr Sgt Christopher Hurley. in the Police Station, assaulted Mulrunji so badly that he died shortly after on the cell floor, in great pain arising from his injuries that included 4 broken ribs and a split liver. As usual, in these cases, the cover up started immediately with police, working friends of Hurley, ‘investigating’ the circumstances. But something went very wrong for the Qld. Government and their police. The Palm Island Community, and the solidarity of the Brisbane and Queensland Communities, firstly, and then later from all around Australia, demanded JUSTICE.

Two Coroners, a long enquiry, Government, police and DPP pressure that was resisted, meant the cover-up failed. The acting State Coroner, Ms. Christine Clements, recommended that Hurley face Court on charges of killing Mulrunji. Still the corrupt forces of injustice kept working. The DPP ‘found that Hurley had no case to answer’. And again Aborigines from Queensland and their Supporters around the Nation came out demanding JUSTICE. The then Premier, Peter Beattie, was forced to accept the outcome of this struggle and a new enquiry by Sir Laurence Street recommended the charges against Hurley be reinstated. But eventually, when the Trial was held, “White Australian Justice” was at work and Hurley was acquitted by a racially picked jury.

THE IMPUNITY AND INJUSTICE, AS FAR AS POLICE DEATHS IN CUSTODY IS CONCERNED, FOR TJ, MULRUNJI AND SO MANY OTHERS WAS CONFIRMED ONCE MORE.

Too many koori kids are dying at the hands of the ‘law’

Whose Son, Brother, Sister, Cousin, Uncle, Aunt will die this year
at the hands of the police?

Protest to put a stop to the deaths and get true justice for Koori kids

Fed Govt 'tough on welfare cheats'

The Federal Government is warning it will not be soft on welfare fraud, and people caught cheating the system will face tough penalties.

A northern New South Wales woman has been sentenced to three years jail after pleading guilty to using a false identity to collect Centrelink payments worth more than $195,000.

Human Services Minister Senator Joe Ludwig says rorting the system is unfair on those with genuine needs.

"The Australian Government takes social security fraud very seriously," he said.

"It's about ensuring that the taxpayer money goes to the right people, for the right amount at the right time."

Tags: community-and-society, welfare, government-and-politics, federal-government, law-crime-and-justice, fraud-and-corporate-crime, australia, nsw

Smacking children 'allowable': minister

NSW Community Services Minister Kevin Greene has defended himself against accusations of hypocrisy for smacking his children and then supporting his department taking a six-year-old boy away from a grandmother who smacked the child.

He had smacked his children in the past, he said today, but did not think it had done them any harm.

"My children, I'd like to think, are all pretty average normal children," he told Fairfax radio Network.

Asked about the department's policy on reports of smacking, Mr Greene said: "We have a law in NSW that basically says that children can be smacked but they can't be abused.

"You cannot literally clip a child across the ear," he said. "You can smack a child but you can't cause them physical harm that's going to last a long time.

"I mean, a smack is allowable. It's not encouraged but it is allowable. It's up to individual parents to make the decision. We certainly do not allow physical abuse of children."

He said the report in a News Ltd paper today accusing him of hypocrisy was "disappointing".

Frontline caseworkers who made decisions about taking children away from abusive situations were "doing a difficult job in extremely difficult circumstances", he said.

"They have to make the real judgment decisions. They're the ones who are dealing with really vulnerable children."

Related:

NZ passes anti-smacking law

New Zealand's anti-smacking Bill will become law within weeks after winning overwhelming support in Parliament.

The country joins only a handful of European nations to legislate against the use of unreasonable force in disciplining children.

The parliamentary vote is the culmination of a two-year campaign by Greens Party MP Sue Bradford, who argued New Zealand's appalling record of violence towards children demanded drastic action.

"Every day, there are dreadful injuries inflicted on children," she said.

"People need to realise this is what happens in the name of child discipline."

Members of Parliament were free to vote on the issue according to their conscience but there was near unanimous support for the change, which passed 113 to 7 in the 121-seat Parliament.

Loud applause broke out from the public galleries after the vote.

=======================================

Spare the Rod?

We all know the phrase from the Bible that says spare the rod and spoil the child. Does this mean hitting them? Is there another meaning that is possible here? An advisor of mine whilst I was Children’s Commissioner in Tasmania, who was preparing for church ministry, said that her interpretation of the Bible allows us to consider these statements from a non violent perspective. She said that the rod in the Bible referred to the shepherd’s rod. This shepherd’s rod had a crook in it which was used to hook onto the sheep to prevent them from straying, to contain them. I then realized for myself, that the rod was not the staff that the shepherd also had, that I believe was used to beat off wolves and other predators. My own reflections also lead me to this conclusion, as my favourite Psalm, Psalm 23 states that the Lord is my shepherd and that His rod and staff will always guide me and be my comfort.

The rod is to steer me to paths of righteousness with the rod to protect me from harm. Neither of these were there to harm me, and this concept of a benign and loving God, who like a good shepherd was devoted and faithful in looking after his flock is commonplace in the Bible. I humbly and respectfully offer you this alternative way of viewing some Biblical statements as matters for your consideration, to show how it is possible to parent without any violence, but with guidance, care and love.

Patmalar Ambikapathy

End Physical Punishment of Children

15 year jail term for stepdad rapist

A Cairns man who filmed himself raping his five-year-old stepdaughter, then emailed the footage around the world, has been sentenced to 15 years' jail.

The man, who cannot be identified, had pleaded guilty to 88 state and federal charges, including rape, incest and trading in objectionable material.

The District Court in Cairns, in far north Queensland, heard the 30-year-old used a webcam to film himself sexually abusing his stepdaughter in 2005.

He made 17 movie clips and emailed them to paedophiles around the world.

Members of his family sobbed in the public gallery as he addressed the court and said he was deeply sorry.

Judge Sarah Bradley described his conduct as incomprehensible to right-minded people and an affront to humanity.

She sentenced him to more than 100 years' prison on the sexual offences alone, but they will be served concurrently, so he will spend a maximum of 15 years in jail.