A young employee walks to her car parked on the outskirts after work finishes.

Riverlink staff are required to park in designated areas around the outskirts of the car park.

Jessica Holt, who works in the centre, said her main problem with staff parking is the lack of it.

“You have to park on the borders, but there’s nowhere near enough parking for the amount of people who work in the centre,” she said.

School-aged casual Nicole Therekauf agreed.

“At Christmas you can’t get a park, because it’s not labelled and there’s not enough parking against the wall anyway,” she said.

Robert Hamilton, licensee of the North Ipswich Post Office said there can be consequences if staff do not park where they are told to.

“When they first brought it in they said they would tow your car away,” he said.

“Recently they said they would fine [offenders] $110.

“I don’t think they can fine us, unless there are signs for two-hour parking or five minutes or something like that.”

Centre staff member Jodie Bailey agrees with Mr Hamilton.

“I think we should have a designated area where [only centre staff] park, with a reasonable number of parks,” she said.

A spokesman from an affilated organisation of the United Retailers Association which specialises in retail leases, says the centre does not need to provide parking for its tenants or their employees in the lease.

“The logical thing is providing staff parking for staff,” he said.

“The problem with that is that tenancy does change, and you could go from needing 500 staff parks to 1,000 staff parks.”

Security concerns

Police provide extra security on Thursday night until centre closes

On Thursday nights – late night shopping in Ipswich – extra security and police patrol the shopping centre, but only until the centre closes, not until the closing staff leave.

Miss Therekauf said she had concerns about her safety.

“The worst part about Thursday nights is walking down to the other side of the car park by ourselves,” she said.

Mr Hamilton said he also worried about employees working late at night.

“I’d like to ask [centre management] what happens if a car gets damaged or a person gets injured while we’re parked where they tell us to,” he said.

Macrossans Lawyers partner Rachel Drew, an expert in industrial relations, said staff have a personal responsibility to ensure their own safe travel to and from work.

“However, if an employer provides a designated staff car park it must be free from any obvious hazards – defects in the car park, issues relating to access to it, and safety issues,” she said.

“Employers might argue if there are alternative safe means of safe transport available like catching a train or bus its open for employees to use that transport rather than driving their car.”

Public transport

President of the United Retailers Association, Scott Driscoll, agreed with Ms Drew, adding retail developments needed to have integrated, safe public transport.

“It’s … the responsibility of the local and state governments to ensure that there are adequate transport and associated amenities to staff and consumers,” he said.

He added Riverlink was not alone in its parking issues.

“Parking is a perennial problem, one that is going to become a bigger and bigger problem with the expansion of population,” he said.

Ipswich Riverlink Centre Management declined to comment.

Related Links:

Personal safety Out and About: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/situationalAdvice/02.htm

Personal safety in the Workplace: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/situationalAdvice/06.htm

Personal safety on Public Transport: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/situationalAdvice/03.htm

The issue generated great public concern when the Immigration Department approached several communities around Australia in a plan to alleviate the numbers flooding the detention centre on Christmas Island.

Jude Burke, a Dalby resident of 22 years, formed a social networking page aimed at voicing the opinions of the community and requested action be taken by the local town council.

“It (the Facebook site) was created to stress the point that employment is already hard enough in our town and that medical facilities are over stretched,” she said.

“I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to legal immigration.”

The Facebook site that helped voice the opinions of the Dalby community

Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown initially agreed to consider the proposal, but later admitted that Dalby was not ready to house an estimated 1,000 people due to inadequate interpretation services, medical facilities and close residential housing.

“We’re a wonderful community here in Dalby and I’m sure we can look at it,” he said.

“But there’s residential housing within roughly 500 metres of that (proposed) site. There would be huge concerns.”

Dr Robyn Keighran, a local general practitioner who has been living in the rural area for 16 years, believes that although the government is taking the right approach by placing asylum seekers in rural areas, Dalby does not have the ability to maintain a detention centre of that size.

“Country doc’s already struggle with pressure when appointment books are full…let alone the extra health costs,” she said.

“Nobody wants to work in the country anymore and as a result, we are left with a shortage of medical services in remote areas.”

Dr Keighran supported Mr Brown by stating that issues with language and social services would still remain.

“Allied health professionals are also scarce in rural areas and can often account for 50 per cent of the health workforce,” she said.

Mr Brown submitted a rejection letter to the Immigration Department outlining both public and council concerns.

“The response was very simple,” he said.

“We do not accept the detention centre in Dalby.”

Melting pot...Griffith University says it is encouraging diversity amongst its students.

Some students have noted that this is an especially common occurrence in group selection in coursework, where the preferred group member is often the Australian with Caucasian appearance, while the international students are left to find their own group work members.

Nadiah Batchelor, a local third year student in the Bachelor of Business, feels that there is a growing perception that international students have a poor command of the English language, and are unable to communicate on the same level as the locals due to their backgrounds and difference in culture.

She elaborates that this view is not only adopted by students, but also the tutors of the courses.

Ms Batchelor has on many occasions observed that some tutors subtly convey this mindset in class with the way they approach teaching, particularly towards international students.

“They’ll keep emphasising to them in class ‘do you need help?’, ‘do you understand what I’m teaching?’, ‘do you need some help with English’?” she said.

Through Ms Batchelor’s experiences, the stereotyping apparently does not stop at the international students.

It seems coloured or ‘ethnic’ local students experience this as well.

Ms Batchelor feels that as a local half-Australian, half-Indonesian student, especially wearing a head covering, she faces the perceptions that she is “not from around here”, and that she is less capable.

“On my first day of a tutorial, I told the class that I’m Australian, but the tutor insisted to know where I was really from,” she said.

Nadia Casas, a second year student of Asian Studies and Politics, believes this way of thinking is incorrect, because in most cases, the international students are quite hardworking and knowledgeable.

This is because their social and cultural barriers with the local students allow them to focus more on their studies.

“They find it hard to socialise and be comfortable and confident with the way they speak with us, so I see a lot of them just spend their time in the labs studying” she said.

From getting to know several international students, she also found that some have completed their degree or some portions of higher studies back home in order to gain entry to Australian universities or to be more competitive in the workforce.

Griffith Senior International Student Advisor Liz Daus said that the issue is being dealt with by way of a great emphasis on internationalisation by the University.

She elaborates that the strategy aims to implement school-integrated international curriculum practices for both domestic and international students to value diversity, international perspectives and  heterogeneous group work.

For now only half of Queensland's Parliament House is in use without a Legislative Council. Source: Rebecca C's Flickr photostream, used with permission.

Queensland is unlikely to ever restore an upper house to the State Government the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe, said recently.

Mr Hinchliffe said Australian democracy has developed to the point where a Legislative Council would create more problems than it would solve.

“It is simply no longer a modern and effective part of the political system,” the minister said.

The Queensland Legislative Council was abolished in 1922, making Queensland the only Australian state without an upper house.

Recently debate has emerged over the issue with many arguing the return of the house would keep the Premier’s power in check.

Mr Hinchliffe said it was unrealistic to assume restoring Queensland’s Upper House would prevent corruption in government.

“After the Fitzgerald Inquiry and the reforms of the Goss Government we now have fewer recent cases of corruption than states with an upper house such as Victoria,” he said.

The minister said Queensland instead needed a modern restructure of the political system to make it more visible and engaging with the wider community.

“Given the provincial nature of Queensland Government it would be far more useful to be governed at a closer level through a committee based format,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

Lecturer for the Faculty of Justice at the Queensland University of Technology, Mark Lauchs, said it was highly unlikely the Legislative Assembly would ever vote for an upper house.

“The catch-22 is that if a government is corrupt it’s not going to elect a regulating body to monitor them and if a government isn’t they’re not going to see the need,” he said.

Mr Lauchs also said there would never be enough public support for the idea.

“People are never going to support this option as long as it requires the spending of more money to create more politicians,” he said.

He said an alternative would be to move members from the lower house to the upper house to save money and staff.

“This solution is equally flawed, however, as it requires wider electorates that risk the representation of rural communities,” Mr Lauchs said.

Queensland Greens spokesperson Libby Connors today said an upper house is crucial to end the ’winner-takes-all’ approach of the two major parties in parliament.

Mrs D’Ath with Minister for Broadband Senator Stephen Conroy, at the Bald Hills Telstra Exchange building. Source: Simon Rowell (used with permission).

“This will be a faster service available to households and businesses through the same optical fibre that is being rolled out now,” she said.

This follows Labor’s announcement that around 300,000 extra premises in Australia will receive optical fibre broadband during the proposed rollout.

However, Shadow Minister for Information and Communication Technology Jann Stuckey, said taxpayers should not trust Labor’s National Broadband Network (NBN).

“Labor’s NBN will only deliver some fibre coverage to listed towns, while many will also receive some wireless coverage,” she said.

“$43 billion dollars is a reckless amount to spend on a project that clearly states in the fine print it will not deliver what the minister promises.”

The LNP are urging Queenslanders to read the NBN’s fine print.

Liberal National Party’s Broadband Proposal

The Coalition will dump Labor’s NBN if it wins the election and instead, spend six billion dollars encouraging the private sector to extend broadband services.

They will deliver speeds of 12 megabits per second to 97 per cent of the population and, unlike the NBN, the infrastructure will be privately owned.

Despite this, Mrs D’Ath said the coalition’s broadband policy would be a step backwards.

“Tony Abbott’s policy would send our community backwards – he is a risk to our local economy, jobs and to quality education in the area,” she said.

Mrs D’Ath said the coalition’s broadband policy would result in thousands of fixed wireless broadband towers being built in suburbs across Australia.

“Dean Teasdale, the LNP candidate for Petrie, needs to come clean and explain how many more towers would be built in our electorate and where,” she said.

Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott revealed he is prepared to alter his election promises on the proposed broadband plan in an attempt to win over the crucial independents.

“I don’t want to pre-empt the discussions that I expect will be had over the next few days, just to say that I intend to be very pragmatic, but within the broad policy parameters which we discussed during the election,” he said.

The Independent MPs

Broadband was a major difference between the ALP and LNP’s election campaigns and, with a hung parliament, it is now a key factor in negotiations.

Former National Party members turned independents Tony Windsor, Bob Katter and Rob Oakeshott have all voiced support for Labor’s NBN.

Leading Independent Tony Windsor said he will fight for high-speed broadband for the bush.

“If there’s ever been one thing we need both sides of politics to agree on, [broadband] is it,” Windsor said in an interview on the ABC’s Q&A program.

“There are some significant regional issues that have been ignored and a broadband network is one of those.”

“If we get the fibre cable right, if we get the broadband system right, so there’s high-speed arrangements, it could revolutionise country living.”

On trial: the last carriage on south-east Queensland trains will be a ‘quiet zone’. Photo: Kira Donohue

In the three-month trial that began on August 24, the last carriage on all trains in Queensland’s south-east will be ‘silent zones’ and passengers will be prohibited from using mobile phones or music devices while using them.

Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said in a statement that posters and announcements in the carriage would tell passengers about the quiet zone.

But while Ms Nolan encouraged commuters to follow the noise guidelines, she drew the line at prosecuting potential offenders.

“This initiative can only be successful through the courtesy and consideration of all commuters,” she said.

“I urge those who wish to listen to music players, talk on their phone, or talk to each other, to please choose a regular carriage and leave the trial carriages for those who wish to travel in quiet.”

Permanent move?

A QR spokesperson said the new initiative had been well received by customers so far and if a success, the ‘quiet carriage’ would be permanent.

“Following the three-month trial, QR will talk to customers and employees to determine whether the quiet carriage will be implemented permanently,” the spokesperson said.

“We encourage our customers to provide us with feedback throughout the trial.”

‘Much needed’ change

Frequent Gold Coast-to-Brisbane commuter, Taylor Booysen, said the carriage would make a “much needed” change to the noise levels usually experienced by passengers.

“I think it’s a great idea and one that I hope they make permanent,” he said.

“Nearly every single train I hop on has someone who disrespects the other passengers by playing their music too loud.

“This will give passengers the chance to choose not to listen to that.”

He also offered a future improvement for Ms Nolan to consider.

‘Now if we could only get some quiet buses.’

QR has introduced a section on their website for customers and employees to leave comments and feedback.

The trial will run in all south-east Queensland trains from August 23 to November 22.

Research: one-in-five people will experience problematic drinking (Source: Indi Samajariva)

A new study shows Australians are among the world’s worst abusers of alcohol but a Queensland research group says governments are not prepared to fix the problem.

The study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) found one-in-five Australians will experience problematic drinking in their lifetime, and four-in-five people with alcohol disorders go untreated.

Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research Education Centre director Professor Jake Najman says alcohol abuse is a “massive national problem”, with consequences including child neglect, drink-driving and fighting.

“Alcohol abuse is the second largest preventable problem in the country, second only to tobacco use,” he said.

“But it [alcohol abuse] has continued unabated for the last 20 years.

“The governments aren’t prepared to take the steps necessary to fix the problem.”

Prevention

Professor Najman says prevention, by increasing the cost of alcohol, will help lower Australia’s rate of alcohol abuse.

“At the moment, we’re keeping the cost of alcohol low and availability high,” he said.

“In some instances wine is cheaper than Coke; cheaper than soft drink – it’s extraordinary.”

NDARC Professor Maree Teesson says one reason for the low treatment rate of alcohol disorders is the “terrible stigma” associated with it.

“People are much less likely to want to own up to having a problem with alcohol,” she said.

Despite the seriousness of alcohol abuse, Professor Teesson says treatment is effective.

“People need to know that alcohol abuse which is impacting on their personal, home or work life can be treated,” she said.

The study was published online in Addiction and was based on the results of the 2007 National Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey.

Sexual harassment is any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, physical, verbal or virtual, which makes a person feel offended or humiliated: AHRC. (Photo: Catherine Tucker)

Women’s rights advocate Melinda Tankard Reist says sexualising young women and girls has created a climate where sexual harassment “seems to be permissible”.

Ms Tankard Reist says sexual harassment begins in the schoolyard and the lack of education among young people makes them very vulnerable when entering the workforce.

She says the culture around sexual harassment of “it’s just a bit of fun” needs to change.

“Girls are harassed all the time – it’s part of life but this doesn’t excuse or justify it,” she said.

The acting Commissioner for the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission (QADC), Neroli Holmes, says sexual harassment can occur in a variety of social settings but is most difficult in the workplace.

Ms Holmes says sexual harassment is “just as common” but there has been reported change in its nature.

“Just as frequently now [sexual harassment] can happen between colleagues,” she said.

Ms Holmes the “typical scenario” of an employer or boss abusing their position of power to seek favours from a younger, more vulnerable employee “still does happen quite often”.

New employees

Ms Reist says employees new to the workplace are focused on settling into the new environment and systems are more likely to be victims of sexual harassment.

“Their vulnerability as young people should not be preyed on by those who should be more responsible,” she said.

A now 49-year-old project manager, who did not want to be named, says she was harassed by her manager at the age of 19 and says she felt “there was nothing I could do”.

“It is difficult for young employees who are harassed because they are less likely to know how to handle the situation,” she said.

A national telephone survey conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in 2008 found 22 per cent of females and 5 per cent of males have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

The 2008 AHRC survey also found there is a lack of awareness about what constitutes sexual harassment.

Both Ms Reist and Ms Holmes would like to see improved education programs in workplaces and school.

Ms Holmes says she hopes recent publicity of a $37 million sexual harassment case will give victims the confidence to speak up about sexual harassment.

‘A fine line’

Australians commenting on a virtual forum about sexual harassment say there is not enough awareness.

Business director Steve Traynor said on the forum there was a fine line between what was and was not acceptable.

A university student writing on the forum said a lack of education, monitoring and penalties for offenders were contributing factors.

Ms Holmes says if people think they are victims of sexual harassment, they should ask the person to stop and if necessary, make a complaint to their workplace superior or directly to the QADC.

Related Links:

Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission (QADC) – Making a complaint

Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) – National telephone survey 2008

The Line, Queensland Government -Where do you draw the line?

Melinda Tankard Reist – Crime Commission report reveals failure to act on child-on-child sexual assault.

The renovated store has an improved ambience to boost customer's moods. Credit: Alicia Ng

The original store at Indooroopilly shopping centre produced many issues that made customers feel agitated.

The store’s manager Brad said there was a “sheer lack of size” in the original shop.

The store had limited space and overcrowding was a significant problem.

The cramped atmosphere often meant the store would overheat.

Athlete’s Foot employee Mark Johnstone said that a drawback on the original sizing was that “when there was a group of people inside it would become hot.”

The store’s small entry way stifled air circulation. This meant that when the heat rose, the air inside the store became humid and trapped.

The layout of the store made it hard for workers to determine which customer was next.

Customer Donna Mary said it deterred her from shopping there.  She said the layout “made it easy for others to jump the queue.”

Staff admit this was a regular problem and noted that verbal arguments between customers would regularly arise as a result.

They believed the arguments were more prevalent in their store because of the size, structure and layout.

Studies into the relationship between environment and aggression agree with them.

Studies show that environmental factors such as crowding, noise and temperature are a major cause of aggression.

Manager Brad said the renovations had gone “really well overall.”

He said customer’s moods had lifted due to  “the increase of size and the improvement in the general atmosphere.”