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News - August 2008Violence is Out of Bounds
Volunteers distributed showbags and material to over 800 people with information on services available to women experiencing violence, as well as services available to men and the friends and families of women dealing with violence. The Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre (through its Family Violence Legal Assistance Service at the Bendigo and Maryborough Courts and its involvement in the Bendigo Family Violence Prevention Working Group) is well aware of this issue and its impact on individuals and the wider community. Accordingly, the Community Legal Centre was happy to work with other local agencies (including Victoria Police, Bendigo Community Health, the City of Greater Bendigo, DHS Loddon Mallee, Maryborough District Health, Women’s Health Loddon Mallee, EASE, Centacare, Zonta, the Bendigo/Loddon Primary Care Partnership, Drug Action Week and CASA Loddon Mallee) to promote the message that violence against women is unacceptable and to raise awareness about local services. Family Law & Violence Education in Maryborough
The CLC's Solicitor, Chris Casey, spoke about the Intervention Order process. Victoria Police's Joseph Cahir spoke about Police protocols and best practice, and Margaret Augerinos and Cate Shelvin from Bendigo's Emergency Accommodation and Support Enterprise (EASE) spoke about the impact of family violence on women and children. The session was very well attended by staff from the hospital and other local agencies. The Attorney-General Rob Hulls (in Maryborough with the Community Cabinet) spoke about the upcoming changes to family violence laws in Victoria. (L-R) Joseph Cahir (Victoria Police), Cate Shelvin (EASE), Jonathon Sparrow (Maryborough Hospital), Chris Casey (Loddon Campaspe CLC). Peter Noble (Loddon Campaspe CLC) and Attorney-General Rob Hulls. Photos courtesy Sheree Fisher (MDHS). New Community Legal Centre Reports
On the 14th of May the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre launched Financial & Consumer Credit Issues for Older Consumers in Central Victoria. And on the 2nd of July the Centre released Legal Services for Homeless People in Central Victoria. Financial & Consumer Credit Issues for Older Consumers in Central Victoria, written by LCCLC Solicitor Frances Gibson, investigates the issues affecting older Central Victorians, including access to banking and financial services, financial literacy and exclusion, stranger fraud, continuing credit contracts, equity stripping, truth in lending, telecommunications, utilities and farmers and rural counselling. In Legal Services for Homeless People in Central Victoria the Community Legal Centre’s Clayton Utz Fellow, Paula Glassborow, documents research undertaken by the Centre to determine the need for targeted legal services to homeless people or those at risk of homelessness in the Loddon Campaspe region. The report notes that legal services to homeless people or those at risk of homelessness must be flexible in terms of service delivery time and location. And they must challenge the systemic issues that generate homelessness, assist people to find sustainable housing and promote the human rights of homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. In August the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre published Responding to the financial abuse of older people - Understanding the challenges faced by the banking and financial services sector. This report looks into the Code of Banking Practice, the role of the Office of the Public Advocate, privacy law, confidentiality, the banker-customer relationship and issues around defamation. All three reports are invaluable tools for government and community sector agencies seeking accurate profiles of the issues faced by disadvantaged Central Victorians and can be downloaded by following the links below:
Seniors Rights Victoria Launched
The service is a partnership between the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre, the Council on the Aging (COTA), the Eastern Community Legal Centre and the Public Law Interest Clearing House (PILCH). To contact Seniors Rights Victoria, call Seniors Information Victoria on 1300 368 821 (Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm). The Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre’s Elder Law Solicitors, Sally Smith and Joe Edmonds, can still be contacted at our Bendigo office (5444 4364 or 1800 639 121 if calling from outside Bendigo). Older Residents and the Law - New edition out nowThe Victoria Law Foundation recently released the 2nd Edition of Older Residents and the Law - Accommodation, Care and Legal Rights in Victoria. This invaluable resource has been updated to account for major changes to the law since 1996. The resource is for older Victorians, their family and friends, and for people advocating on behalf of older people (aged care workers, social workers, lawyers, financial counsellors, aged care accommodation owners and operators etc). The author, Robert Phillips, is a solicitor with many years experience dealing with legal issues affecting older Victorians. The resource covers older residents' rights in relation to:
Orders can be placed through the Australian Book Group ($49.95 plus postage and handling). Migration Law Pilot ProjectCLC solicitor Paula Glassborow will deliver a service targeting the migration advice needs of the region’s new arrivals from Sudan and Burundi. Paula will visit Castlemaine fortnightly and will handle four appointments per visit. This is a free service and will run out of the Castlemaine Community House. For more information, please contact Paula at the CLC on 5444 4364.
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On the 28th of June the Bendigo Football League and affiliated netball clubs held the inaugural Violence is Out of Bounds football round. The round promoted the message that violence against women in any form is unacceptable.
On 20 May, the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre co-presented an information session on family violence and the law at Maryborough Hospital. 
On the 16th of June more than 200 people gathered in Melbourne to celebrate the launch of Seniors Rights Victoria. This state-wide service promotes the rights of older Victorians, especially those facing financial, physical, sexual, psychological and/or social abuse or neglect. Almost 20,000 older Victorians experience some form of abuse each year.