NEWS DESK
Unions call out response times Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au Caring for animals: Kingston Council ranger Monika Pocervina with two lost dogs returned to their owner in 2013. There was no cruelty involved in that case. Picture: Yanni
Animal cruelty ‘hotspots’ named KINGSTON ranked 21st of Victoria’s 79 local council areas for animal cruelty, according to a list of hotspots released last week by RSPCA Victoria. Of the 11,840 cruelty reports received by the RSPCA across the state in 2015-16, 192 concerned animal welfare in Kingston. RSPCA Victoria CEO Dr Liz Walker said that geographic analysis of cruelty reporting data would support the RSPCA’s efforts to target its prevention activity to the areas that need it most. “[Our] vision is to end cruelty to all animals – and we know that prevention is the key to ending cruelty,” Dr Walker said. “Over the next 12 months we will be using this data to help us identify the areas that would benefit most from community education and support.” Welfare concerns for dogs, cats and horses continued to make up the majority of issues reported to the RSPCA in 2015-16. Of the 192 reports received about Kingston, 102 related to dogs and three to puppies; 36 related to cats and two to kittens, and 27 related to horses. Issues reported in Kingston included 51 about poor hygiene, grooming and housing conditions; 43 were for underweight animals; 38 for sick and injured animals not receiving vet
treatment; 22 reported animals with insufficient food, 30 for insufficient water and 24 for insufficient shelter; 38 for abandoned animals and 25 for animals being beaten or wounded. “Even one cruelty issue is one too many, yet the number of reports we receive is steadily increasing every year,” Dr Walker said. “We know that the community is becoming more concerned about animal welfare – which may be part of the reason for the continued rise in report numbers. “What is particularly disturbing is the fact that many of the issues reported to us involve very basic animal welfare matters, such the way animals are being housed and fed. “RSPCA Victoria wants to partner with communities to find practical ways to boost animal welfare by improving local knowledge and support for animal owners, and will continue to enforce the law and rehabilitate those animals who have suffered harm.” Fifteen council areas received more than 300 animal cruelty reports last financial year, making up almost half of the total reports. Casey Council received 566 complaints, Geelong 554, Melbourne 479, Yarra Ranges 460, Bendigo 369, Mornington Peninsula, 366, Hume 362, and Frankston 359.
FIRE fighting response times by several CFA brigades in the south east suburbs of Melbourne are not up to scratch, the Inquiry into Bushfire Preparedness at state parliament was told last week. This damning claim has come from the United Firefighters’ Union which is at loggerheads with the CFA and volunteer firefighters over a contentious EBA. Response timelines were provided during last week’s inquiry into the state’s preparedness for the summer bushfire threat. The UFU said the required CFA response time for getting a truck to an emergency was eight minutes, with brigades from Mt Martha failing to meet this benchmark 69 per cent of the time, Skye 62 per cent, Rye 60 per cent, Dromana 53 per cent, Keysborough 43 per cent, Mt Eliza 35 per cent and Edithvale 27 per cent. The union said brigades in increasingly urbanised areas in Melbourne’s east were failing to meet the CFA standard up to 80 per cent of the time, while the Mt Martha brigade was the peninsula’s worst performer at 69 per cent. The union said the data, which covered the period 1 January 2015-1 January 2016, had come from the CFA. A spokeswoman for the CFA would not comment on the figures, saying she was checking their veracity. The News was referred to the March
2015 Victorian Auditor-General’s Report into emergency services response times, which claimed the CFA responded to emergencies at, or close to, target response times. However, this does not point to the performance of the specific brigades singled out by the UFU. Firefighters’ secretary Peter Marshall said the UFU was “not trying to denigrate the role of volunteer firefighters” by releasing the data. “We do, however, believe that the reality of the situation facing many regional communities and much of outer metropolitan Melbourne needs to be revealed to the public,” he said. “The simple fact is that when there is an incident in a medium urban area many brigades are consistently failing to meet the eight minute service delivery standard which is designed to ensure the protection of life and property.” Mr Marshall said it was “not good enough to turn a blind eye when lives are at risk”. “Service delivery standards are the pre-defined response times allowed for a brigade to respond to an emergency incident and have the best chance of preventing loss of life and protecting property. In 2009 the CFA asked for 684 additional career firefighters. Volunteer brigades around the state need the backup of full-time, paid firefighters. “The CFA’s own data shows the organisation’s alarming failures to meet response times. This is not the fault of volunteers. The previous Liberal government cut $66 million out of the CFA.”
Tough new laws for carjacking, home invasions Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au CARJACKINGS and home invasions were the subject of tough new legislation introduced into state parliament last week. The legislation amends the Crimes Act 1958 to create the new offences of carjacking, aggravated carjacking, home invasion and aggravated home invasion. They will attract harsher penalties and give police “the laws they need to keep the community safe”. The legislation, developed in consultation with Victoria Police, will include statutory minimum sentences for aggravated carjacking and aggra-
vated home invasion. And, to combat the rise of youth gangs, the legislation’s show-cause provisions will apply regardless of the age of the offender. Superintendent Amy Gledden, of the Victoria Police, Southern Metro Region – which covers Caulfield in the north to Carrum in the south. – said her division “continues to work with our partners and community to prevent and disrupt crime. “Any legislative tools that support this would be of great assistance.” Carjackings and home invasions have become more common in the southern suburbs over the past two years. They are often linked to the rise of youth gangs out “missioning” – or breaking into houses at night to
steal car keys – or bumping into cars and then, when the owners hop out to exchange names and addresses, bashing them and stealing their cars. Victims in both scenarios are left traumatised. The Bail Act 1977 will also be amended to include a presumption against bail for aggravated carjacking, home invasion and aggravated home invasion. This means the accused will need to justify why they should not be remanded. The new offence of carjacking will carry a maximum penalty of 15 years and aggravated carjacking 25 years. A statutory minimum non-parole period of three years will also apply to aggravated carjacking. Home invasion will carry a maxi-
mum penalty of 25 years and aggravated home invasion a statutory minimum non-parole period of three years. Home invasion is when a person, in the company of others, commits a burglary while armed or where there is a person in the house. To recognise the traumatic effect on victims, the Bill specifically introduces an element of “strict liability” which means it is irrelevant whether the offender knew if there was someone home at the time. Aggravated home invasion applies where at least three armed offenders commit a burglary where a person is present and the offender knew, or was reckless, as to whether there were people in the home.
Carjacking applies when an offender or offenders steal a vehicle using force, or threaten to use force. Aggravated carjacking occurs when the person committing the offence has an offensive weapon, or causes injury to another person while committing the offence. Police Minister Lisa Neville said although carjackings and home invasions were happening in small numbers across Victoria “they are appalling crimes which take a huge toll on their victims and impact communities”. “The community expects that police will have the powers and resources they need to target these criminals – and that’s exactly what we’re giving them.”
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