Prison For Failed Gay Tycoon - The Australian

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THE WEEKEND

The Nation

AUSTRALIAN — FEBRUARY 12-13, 2005

Family Court to interview children Kate Legge Social affairs writer

CHILDREN caught in the tug of war as marriages break down may be routinely interviewed by judges in revolutionary changes being considered to reform Australia’s adversarial family court system. Judge Linda Descau of the Family Court told a conference yesterday that a steering committee was wrestling with new protocols to provide greater opportunity for judges to involve children in the decisions that would determine their future. Although the Family Law Act already gives judges the power to interview children, the judge said this provision was ‘‘sometimes but rarely used’’ because of tradition and a climate of anxiety. ‘‘In practising family law in Australia, people are terrified about the idea of interviewing children, just as overseas jurisdictions are horrified that we do not do what is so integral to the issues before us,’’ Justice Descau said. Family law judges in the US interview children as a matter of course, while in Canada, the procedure is so common it is enshrined in legislation with guidelines and parameters spelling out procedures. In France and Germany it is a vital part of decision-making. ‘‘This is something we must address further in Australia,’’ Justice Descau said in remarks to a closing session of the Australian Institute of Family Studies annual conference in Melbourne. She said that if children were able to speak with a judge directly, they could feel empowered in a process that often alienates them, and it could help warring parties refocus on the young people

who are caught in the middle of their disputes. The Family Court is piloting a new system for resolving domestic conflicts called the Children’s Cases Project, which shifts away from adversarial litigation to conciliatory resolution of these deeply emotional disputes. Justice Descau hailed the project as extremely successful, claiming 85 of 200 pilot cases had been finalised quickly, without the legal and resource costs of protracted court appearances. She acknowledged the difficulties of deciding how children should be interviewed, whether in the presence of parents, lawyers, mediators or children’s representatives, and the additional problem of determining how these interviews should be reported. In Quebec, the conversations between judges and children are taped and then released to the parties on a judge’s order or kept under seal. In Germany the judges summarise the conversations for the parties to a dispute. ‘‘Whichever way we go, it is clear that judges will need a high degree of training for this purpose,’’ she said. Her comments were endorsed by a Family Court convenor, Dianne Gibson, who said children were often not seen until just before the hearing, which impeded their input and participation in proceedings critical to their future welfare. ‘‘I’m proposing that we align our family and child dispute model with the core business of the court,’’ she said. Ms Gibson wants the Family Court ‘‘mediators’’ to be rebranded as family and child consultants, in recognition of a radical shift towards self-determination and negotiation and away from litigation.

Christie estate decides not to sue over ‘plagiarism’ Louise Evans

tale The Idol House of Astarte, he thought: ‘‘Oh dear, we can do without this.’’ Mr Prichard said the two works were ‘‘very similar’’. But because Adams wasn’t paid for The Circle and it was published in a magazine for the unemployed, The Big Issue, he said he would not be taking legal action at this stage. But if The Circle were published again or if Adams attempted to profit from the story, Mr Prichard said he might have to investigate whether he had grounds for

AUSTRALIAN author and astrologer Jessica Adams could face legal action if she republishes or profits from her short story that was ‘‘very similar’’ to an Agatha Christie murder mystery, the Christie estate said yesterday. Christie’s grandson Mathew Prichard, who is also chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd in Britain, said that when he read Adams’s short story The Circle and compared it with his grandmother’s murder

legal action. ‘‘If she did it (plagiarism), I have no respect for her,’’ Mr Prichard said from Wales. ‘‘Only she knows if she did Adams it. I deplore plagiarism and I think it is very odd when it involves someone like my grandmother, whose stories are so well known.’’ Adams has denied copying, mistakenly copying or adapting Christie’s work. Literary

critics, however, have accused her of plagiarism, with one saying The Circle was ‘‘a complete and utter rip-off’’. Novelist and critic Debra Adelaide said: ‘‘My dog could tell it’s plagiarism, it takes my breath away it is just so obvious.’’ A Christie fan, Brisbane playwright Janelle Evans, first raised the ‘‘staggering comparisons’’ between the two stories. Readers also wrote to The Big Issue pointing out the similarities. Mr Prichard said that while he was ‘‘very worried’’ and

KERRY Stokes’s Seven Network has claimed the National Rugby League is jointly liable for $311.8 million in damages relating to the closure of its C7 pay-TV sports channel. NRL counsel John Marshall SC told the Federal Court the figures were contained in Seven’s experts report on damages prepared by Nobel economics laureate Daniel McFadden from the University of California. Seven is claiming $480 million in damages from the 20-plus media

Show us your hits: Gary Clark, Guy Sebastian, Katie Noonan and Kevin Savigar at a Sydney workshop teaming pop stars with songwriters

Iain Shedden Music writer

That’s why Guy Sebastian, Katie Noonan (from Brisbane band george), Paulini and Shannon Noll, among others, gathered at a luxurious, waterside mansion in Palm Beach north of Sydney this week, working with songwriters from Britain, the US, Sweden and Australia to come up with commercial material for their next albums.

AS a concept it lies somewhere between Australian Idol , Big Brother and Survivor : put a bunch of local pop stars and a team of songwriters in a house for a week, and don’t let them out until they’ve all written a hit song. Actually that last bit is a slight exaggeration, but the object of the exercise is to produce hits.

and sporting groups it says conspired to force the closure of its C7 pay-TV sports channel in 2002. The McFadden report has assessed Stokes damages based on various ‘‘what if?’’ scenarios, such as whether having the NRL rights (which eventually went to Foxtel) would have helped Seven create a fully integrated media company, or enabled it to provide other non-sports pay-TV

The songwriting workshop, organised by publishing com-

channels. Seven claims it lost $86.4 million from not being an integrated media group and $49 million from not being able to create other channels.

The Australian understands the AFL is jointly liable for a larger amount as its pay-TV rights were cheaper, meaning C7’s operating costs would have been lower, and therefore its profit higher. The NRL believed it had a minor role in the case and yesterday asked judge Ron Sackville to force Seven to provide more detail

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pany Mushroom Music, was designed to pair some of Australia’s biggest pop names with writers who have proven track records in the charts. Scottish writer Gary Clark, for example, penned hits for his own band Danny Wilson in the 1980s, before writing for the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, kd lang and Lloyd Cole. LA-based writer Kevin Savigar, who has worked with Cher and Rod Stewart,

on the domino effects it alleges were sparked by C7’s failure to gain the NRL pay-TV rights. ‘‘How do you get from the loss of the NRL rights to the loss of the opportunity to provide wholesale sporting channels when they had the AFL rights and the first option over that?’’ Mr Marshall said. But Seven’s counsel, John Sheehan SC, said it had detailed how a pay-TV company required premium sports content, such as the AFL or NRL rights. ‘‘We say C7 . . . was put to death

teamed up with Clark and Noonan, who is six months pregnant, to work on titles for her debut solo album. ‘‘For me, songwriting is introspective, personal and private, so I go away on my own,’’ Noonan said. ‘‘But it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and see what happens. That’s what this is all about.’’ Writers and artists split into four teams to write and record. Noonan produced a song a day.

and the consequence of that is we lost all the opportunity associated with being alive — and this claim puts a value on C7 being alive,’’ he said. Justice Sackville agreed with Seven and denied the NRL’s request. Mr Sheehan also said the trial must be quickly concluded as its outcome would affect negotiations on the AFL and NRL’s broadcast rights, due to start later this year. All the defendants have said they will vigorously defend Seven’s action.

Picture: Brett Faulkner

That is not to say the procedure is cynical or heartless. ‘‘The craft of songwriting has to be there,’’ said Clark, ‘‘but if you didn’t bring your heart to the session, what’s the point of showing up?’’ Idol winner Sebastian said he was enjoying spending more time on his album, after the haste of the first two. ‘‘My entry into the industry was quick and weird,’’ he said. ‘‘It doesn’t leave a lot of time to think about what to do musically.’’

Virus hits school camp FORTY girls who were rushed to hospital with vomiting and diarrhoea on a school camp have been diagnosed with norovirus. Queensland Health said norovirus was a common cause of diarrhoeal illness. The 12- and 13-year-old Toowoomba students were taken to hospital after becoming sick on a school camp in the Sunshine Coast hinterland on Wednesday morning.

Prison for failed gay tycoon

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ARTC manages property and assets stretching from West Australia to New South Wales so this position is clearly critical to the further development of the Corporation. Reporting directly to the Corporate Counsel/Company Secretary you will work very closely with the Property Development Manager and his 28-strong team and national travel is involved.

Your key accountabilities in this challenging role will include: • Developing and implementing mine site related commercial and financial strategies • Managing Accounting, Supply, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Production Statistics and Insurance • Evaluating Capital projects • Developing budget systems and the coordination of the annual budget process • Mentoring and developing site accounting and supply personnel To be considered, you must be CPA/CA qualified with significant financial leadership experience, preferably deployed in a mining, heavy industrial or manufacturing environment. Your broad understanding of commercial issues will complement your strengths in problem solving and analysis. We are ultimately seeking a forward thinking and innovative individual capable of rigorously challenging current mining industry paradigms. To apply please visit our website: http://jobs.bhpbilliton.com and enter Ref No 77489 to easily locate the position before Friday, 18 February 2005.

A FORMER director of a Sydney gay media company who misused $220,000 in funds out of ‘‘sheer selfindulgence’’ has been jailed. Greg Fisher, 39, was found guilty of using the money of the defunct Satellite Group to sponsor a show at Australian Fashion Week. He received a 20-month sentence from NSW District Court judge Stephen Norrish, with a six-month nonparole period. .‘‘Mr Fisher, I am satisfied, saw the sponsorship of Mr (Alex) Perry and his creations at Fashion Week as a means of promoting himself amongst a glamorous, well connected audience,’’ Judge Norrish said yesterday in passing sentence. ‘‘Whether the prisoner felt that by promoting himself, incidentally the Satellite Group was promoted, the exercise was one of sheer self-indulgence.’’ Despite using Satellite money to fund Mr Perry’s show, signage at the fashion parade read ‘‘The Alex Perry Collection is brought to you by Greg Fisher’’, the court was told. Satellite was listed as a public company in 1999 and collapsed in 2000. Judge Norrish acknowledged the evidence of highprofile character witnesses such as ex-footballer Ian Roberts and former Federal Court judge Marcus Einfeld, who spoke of the Fishers as a ‘‘family representing all the better values of life and people’’. He also said Fisher’s young daughter would suffer stress from his imprisonment. But he said some term of imprisonment was necessary to ensure executives of public corporations understood the consequences of using company funds for private purposes. He also said Fisher’s time in prison could be lengthened if he is convicted on drug charges for which he will face court on March 24. Police claim they found $70,000 worth of ecstasy, cocaine, GHB and amphetamines in a Darlinghurst unit, which they allege Fisher used as a safe house to store drugs.

LEGAL COUNSEL - PROPERTY

FINANCE AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES MANAGER

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HENDER CONSULTING HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES LEVEL 5 81 FLINDERS ST ADELAIDE 5000 SOUTH AUSTRALIA TELEPHONE 08 8100 8888

FACSIMILE 08 8100 8800

www.hender.com.au

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However, the scandal has been great for sales of Christie’s work. ‘‘I won’t deny that it has raised sales,’’ Mr Prichard said. In Australia, copies of Christie’s collection of short stories, The Thirteen Problems , which contains The Idol House of Astarte , have virtually sold out. HarperCollins has ordered more copies from Britain. Adams’s agent, Curtis Brown Australia, has issued a list of publishing industry professionals objecting to the treatment of Adams and the allegation she is guilty of plagiarism.

Jane Lyons

152BRO Aust

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would continue to monitor the issue, the fact ‘‘the suspicions have arisen from fans of Agatha Christie, that should worry Jessica far more’’. ‘‘I also think what has happened to Jessica, and what she has been accused of, is enough of a deterrent. Thanks to the publicity, the deterrent has been set. ‘‘If someone took an Agatha Christie story and published a derivative version in a commercial publication for money and tried to get away with it, it would be entirely different.’’

Beach house turned into a hit factory

Seven sues NRL in $480m action over channel’s ‘death’ Jane Schulze

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The role provides legal counsel on the ARTC ’s complex property and asset management programs, drafts legal documents on a range of issues concerning leases, licences and contracts, ensures compliance with property related legislation and provides advice to management and staff on legal matters and precedents. You will hold or be qualified for a practising certificate as a legal practitioner and demonstrate experience in developing and negotiating commercial contracts with experience in property matters. Exceptional interpersonal skills are essential with an ability to grasp the underlying technical nature of this business. For a job and person specification please visit www.hender.com.au Applications should be forwarded to Sacha Ure by e-mail to [email protected] Telephone enquiries are welcome on (08) 8100 8822. E30623

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