Sharkwatch Magazine

Sharkwatch July 2007

Joan Brady - A Celebration of her life

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Joan Brady. Joan of course, set up and ran for ten years the Central Queensland Financial Counselling Service.

Joan was not one to speak much about herself but we have been able to piece together some information on her life. Joan was born in 1932, in the midst of the depression and grew up in a small town called Alpha, west of Rockhampton in central Queensland.

Her family were very much a social justice minded working class family with a strong sense of community. In those days if you lived in the bush education wasn�t easy but through a series of scholarships she ended up in a private school with an encouraging head mistress. By the late 1940�s Joan had acquired an honours degree in english literature and political science and became a professional librarian.

She married in 1951 and like many women of her time she had to give up her job because of public service requirements. Sadly her husband died relatively early and she was left with eleven children to raise alone, aged from fifteen to three months. At this stage Joan moved her family to Rockhampton and worked initially in the school library.

Joan later worked for the Bureau of Statistics collecting the census as a field officer. She worked all over Queensland and took surveys on social and economic issues. In 1990 she founded the Central Queensland Financial Counselling Service and worked in it with her daughter, Margaret until the time of her death. In 1991 Joan was struck with serious illness and had a heart lung transplant. Illness like many other things did not deter Joan in any way from her passion�helping those less fortunate in the community.

Betty Weule, Manager Credit Line Financial Counselling Service, knew Joan very well for the last ten years. She prepared the following obituary.

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The death of Joan Brady, Financial Counsellor from Rockhampton, on 20th June will leave a gap in the lives of those who loved and respected her and in the lives of the many groups and individuals she worked with. No where will the loss be felt more than in the Aboriginal communities.

Joan was a very unique person - the smartest person I have ever met! Her whole life was a celebration of life - proof that any difficulty could be overcome, that loyalty was paramount and the only way to handle injustice was to fight it. Joan only came into financial counselling a little over ten years ago but when she discovered financial counselling, she felt that this was what she had been waiting for all her life and that the whole of her life to that point was in preparation for this work.

I have many memories of Joan going back over the whole of the ten years. She had a passionate thirst for knowledge - particularly in the bankruptcy area. I remember her phone calls from the intensive care ward of the Brisbane hospital after having Queensland's first heart and lung transplant asking me bankruptcy questions. Why? She was handling a complicated bankruptcy from her sick bed. When I asked how come the hospital allowed her to, her reply was typical of Joan. "They wouldn't want to try and stop me!". Or meeting her off the plane in Launceston - she was shouting questions to me as she came down the steps of the plane. I remember, too, long political and policy arguments in hotel rooms in various parts of Australia.

But I also remember my husband and I spending an intensely moving and spiritual time with her at Black Mountain, a very special Aboriginal sacred site, in central Queensland. I also remember, when my team here in Sydney wanted some training on working with indigenous clients, Joan jumped on the plane at her own expense and came down and ran the training for us.

Joan was cremated in Rockhampton on the 28th June, 2000. At the service, attended by large numbers of the Aboriginal community, clients and key people in the Labour Party, the state Member for Rockhampton, Robert Schwarten paid tribute to the impressive trail of achievements including the establishment of the Rockhampton Women's Centre, the Central Queensland Financial Counselling Service and Legal Service and said she had been a leader in the community and in the A.L.P. "She fought for Aboriginal and women's causes," he said. "Joan was a great mate, and I will miss her".

I, too, will miss her but her work and achievements will live on as a celebration of her life.

Updates and Issues

by Heather Webster

FUNERAL EXPENSES / DESTITUTE FUNERALS
Pauper�s funerals still exist, they are now known as �DESTITUTE FUNERALS�. In general they are given to people with no known family or assets. They are arranged by the police, if the person dies at home or in a nursing home or by the Social Worker if they die in hospital.

In the situation where someone dies and the family have no ability to pay for funeral expenses it is possible to have the state pay for the funeral. However it is important to realise how basic the service is. There is no formal service because a chapel would need to be hired and the priest/minister paid. The grave is not marked so it is difficult to visit in the future.

When a �destitute� person dies in hospital their body is taken to the morgue. The Social Worker institutes a search to try to find family or assets. This can take a long time (up to 3 months). Centrelink are notified and the final payment is put towards the cost of the funeral. The balance of any bank account, up to the cost of the service, is also used. This would be a very unsatisfactory solution in most grieving family situations.

CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
The child support agency are automatically given updated information by the ATO. The ATO check if any CSA payment is outstanding before paying a tax refund. If so the CSA payment is subtracted from the tax refund and only the balance if any remitted.

The CSA is automatically informed when taxable income is assessed and when alterations are made to PAYE forms. If a payer applies for a reduction in payments due to a reduction in salary the CSA will automatically process it. They do not check with the employer that it is bona fide unless the payee requests a check to be made and has a logical argument for doubting the reduction in income e.g. if the payer is still with the same employer.

CENTRELINK DEBTS
Centrelink are tightening their policy on repayments of debt. The normal repayment is set at 14% of their payment. Clients can apply to have this reduced in exceptional circumstances. When this is approved the client receives a letter stating the reduction will be for a period of 3 months after which a further review is required. It is suggested the client sees a Financial Counsellor.

Many clients are ringing us after the 3 month period when their repayment has reverted to 14%, desperate because they cannot afford this level of repayment. Centrelink has little sympathy as they feel they have given them 3 months to see a financial counsellor and work through their finances.

WHO CAN GARNISHEE.
If a debt has been sold the right to garnishee is sold with it. If the debt has gone to judgement the debt collector can garnishee the client, either in the original creditor�s name, if they are acting as their agent or in their own name, if they have bought the debt.

CRIMINAL RECORD AND HOME INSURANCE
Many home insurance policies have the question �does any member of the household have a criminal record?� If answered in the affirmative they may automatically decline the insurance, no matter the reason for the record. Rather than lying on the insurance form (which in the long term negates the insurance), a client should ring the insurance company and speak to the �HOME UNDERWRITER�. Discuss the reasons and issues with him/her, then if the underwriter thinks they can cover the family, apply marked to his attention on the application. Help in insurance matters can be obtained from the Insurance Council of Australia. Ordinary traffic convictions do not count as a criminal record.

PRIVATE TRUSTEES IN BANKRUPTCY.
1. It is unusual for a private trustee in bankruptcy to have a bankrupt who fulfils the requirements for early discharge. However a bankrupt can apply for early discharge from a private trustee and should be granted it if they fall within the guidelines. From ITSA�s experience private trustees are slightly less likely to grant early discharge, they may argue for instance that the bankrupt is a beneficiary in the will of an ill relative so may inherit money in the remaining term of the bankruptcy.
2. If not granted early discharge the bankrupt can appeal either through the inspector general (section 149 ZH1 of the Bankruptcy Act) or the administrative appeals tribunal (section 149 ZG1 of the bankruptcy act).

3. A client can submit a debtor�s petition to ITSA as long as it is before the sequestration order is completed by the Court. The earliest a sequestration order can be made is at the hearing of the creditor�s petition in the bankruptcy court. In fact the hearing is often adjourned. If a client does this they MUST inform ITSA, when they lodge their debtor�s petition, that there is a creditors petition and the date of the hearing. The Court must also be informed so the hearing can be cancelled. ITSA must know about the creditors petition so the bankrupt is only given one bankruptcy number otherwise, one bankruptcy order must be annulled.

4. A creditor can apply for a trustee to be changed. This only requires an ordinary resolution i.e. creditors with at least 75% of debts in total must agree (does not require more than 50% of creditors). Meeting requires a quorum.

LANDLORD�S RIGHTS
Recently a client rang with a failed business. He was well behind in paying the rent on his shop. The landlord changed the locks and was threatening to sell all the stock. The landlord has every right to change the locks but cannot sell the stock. Much of the stock could still belong to the suppliers if they use the retention of title clause (e.g. this stock remains the property of supplier until payment cleared).

The landlord does not have any right to the stock as he has had no input to it (A car repairer on the other hand can put a lien on vehicles he has repaired but the work remains unpaid as he has an interest in the �stock�). If the landlord wishes to lease his shop to another tenant he must allow the tenant to take the goods or if the tenant refuses he can put the goods into store.

He must sue the tenant for his rent. If the tenant refuses to do anything about the goods in store, the landlord has a problem. He can protect himself to a certain extent by sending legal letters requesting property be removed, then follow up letters stating that unless removed by�date the goods will be sold with the proceeds being used to pay his rent. Note this is a problem because it makes him a preferential creditor.

Love and Loans

A new resource kit is now available through the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW. The kit is titled, �Making Ends Meet. Women, Family Breakdown and Debt�. An associated booklet �Love and Loans, what Every Women Needs to Know About Credit and Relationship Debt� is also now available through the NSW Departments for Woman and Fair Trading.

The publications are the culmination of comprehensive research by community legal centres, financial counselling organisations, the finance industry and government departments. The kit is the first of its kind and provides practical material including fact sheets, sample forms and questions to ask when seeing solicitors and banks. The kit aims to provide resources for community workers to increase their skills and knowledge in the area of credit, debt and family law so that they can work more effectively with their clients who have separated from their partners.

Karen Cox a Solicitor with the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW was closely involved in the project. At the launch of the publications at the NSW Parliament House on 21 June, 2000 she said, �Education is clearly crucial. Education which addresses not only women�s need for information, but also the social and cultural context in which decisions about finances are made. Government, industry and community organisations need to find innovative ways to work together to ensure women are able to make real and informed choices about when to put their name on the little dotted line�. Karen also penned a very apt poem on this subject titled �The Joint Loan�.

My cup runneth over,
My spirit complete
Like love birds in springtime
A passionate heat

His dreams laid before me
And a contract in short
He begs me support him
The decision is fraught

The overdraft was overblown
The kids are eating soup
The lawn is overgrown now
The pigeon�s flown the coup

It seems almost surreal now
I can scarcely comprehend
How all my dreams were undermined
In one minute with a pen.

See an order form for the kit and a �Love and loans� booklet with this newsletter.

QUEENSLAND

Lola Mashado, formerly at Lifeline Brisbane has been head hunted by Kate Keating at Financial Counselling Services (Qld). With Graham Lockey being on the management committee at FCSQ this service has the benefit of many years of financial counselling experience and expertise.

The Financial Counsellors Association of Queensland have developed a draft accreditation policy which includes a minimum education standard required for accreditation. A Financial Counselling Diploma, or related, from a recognised tertiary institution is required. Additionally all accredited Financial Counsellors must complete 40 hours of appropriate professional development per annum.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Sadly another Financial Counsellor passed away recently, Jon Axtens, Financial Counselling volunteer 1996-2000 at Lismore and District Financial Counselling Service. Steve Snelgrove, Senior Financial Counsellor at Lismore has provided the following:

Jon joined Lismore and District Financial Counselling Service in 1996 as part of our first intake of trainee volunteers and remained a staunch and vociferous supporter of Financial Counselling until his untimely death in May 2000. Over the years Jon�s contribution was immense. He was our guru on letters and reports always willing to proof read any document and bring his knowledge and skills to the service.

He ensured our meetings ran to a tight schedule and knew how to keep our less disciplined members to the point. He used his Lifeline telephone counselling skills to assist many people who phoned our service while he was on shift. At the time of his untimely death he was working on a Financial Counselling directory. In his honour we have titled this �The Axtens Directory for Financial Counselling�. As anyone who ever received a letter from Jon will know he always stuck to his �principals�.

Thank you Jon for all your help. You will be greatly missed by all who knew you.

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Congratulations to John Haywood the new Manager of Financial Counselling at Credit Line Newcastle and Hunter. John was Co-ordinator of Credit Helpline NSW and is well known to NSW Financial Counsellors. He will be sorely missed.

Betty Weule the Manager of Credit Line Financial Counselling Services was recently chosen as Telstra�s New South Wales businesswoman of the year for the private sector. Betty Weule has been involved with financial counselling for over twenty years. Betty started Credit Line in 1980. This award is a wonderful achievement for Betty and it is also significant for financial counselling to have a Financial Counsellor included in such prestigious awards.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The South Australian Financial Counsellors Association annual conference is on Thursday 26 October and Friday 27 October, 2000. The theme for the conference is �The achievements and challenges of financial counselling�. Inquiries about the conference can be made to Anne Woodhouse at Adelaide Central Mission on 08 8202 5180 or email SAFCA@bigpond.com

VICTORIA

Readers from outside of Victoria may be interested to learn how active the peak body in Victoria, the Financial and Consumer Rights Council is. Extracts from the list of upcoming events from their �Devil�s Advocate� newsletter are;
July 20 - Management/Policy/Info Clearing house sub-committees. Western Rural Regions Financial Counsellors Network. July 27 - Southern Region Financial Counsellor�s network meeting in the morning and training in the afternoon. July 31�2 August FCRC Annual Conference. August 10�Banking Issues Working Group. August 8�FC network meeting. FC professional development. August 10�Agency Managers network. August 15�Utilities Working Group ��.. and so on.

This is a small sample of their activity. They are also currently advertising for a full time administration worker and a casual bookkeeper. The FCRC�s executive officer is Barbara Romerill and Jan Pentland is the Chairperson and can be contacted via 03 9614 5433.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Peter Carratt has commenced as a Financial Counsellor at Somerville Community Services in Darwin. Peter has 22 years of banking experience and comes well recommended.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The Financial Counsellors Association of Western Australia are planning their conference for 7 to 11 August, 2000.

WA Financial Counsellors are pleased to hear that Jacinta Laffer is returning to the Financial Counsellors Resource Project after being off for some time following the birth of her baby.

State and Federal Consumer Affairs Ministers have been meeting in Perth recently. One issue being considered is whether controls should be placed on financial institutions offering unsolicitored credit card limit increases.

TASMANIA

Anglicare in Launceston are still seeking a full time Financial Counsellor. All inquiries to Judy Cornwell on 03 6334 6060.

Tasmania was the first state with legal casinos back in the late seventies. Now the Wrest Point Casino in Hobart and the Federal Casino in Launceston have gone online with internet gambling. Currently it is only offered to people outside Australia, but there are moves within the Tasmanian government to make it available to all. The Attorney General in Tasmania is toughening up the enforcement procedures for the payment of fines, in line with a number of mainland states, such as the removal and sale of property and the suspension of licences and vehicle registration.

The Law Matters

What are the possible results of being found guilty of a criminal offence?

By Chris Joyce, Solicitor, Credit Helpline NSW

Last issue we discussed what is a criminal offence and what needs to occur to be found guilty of a criminal offence.

As Financial Counsellors we sometimes have clients facing court over the criminal offences they have committed. These offences often are Centrelink fraud, pass valueless cheque, obtain benefit by deception, drink driving and assault. In order to help them we need to know what kind of criminal sentencing options the magistrate/judge may have.

Criminal Sentencing Options listed in increasing severity

*proven but the Court is of the opinion having regard to: - the character, antecedents, age, health or mental
condition of the person charged, or
- the trivial nature of the offence, or
- the circumstances under which the
offence was committed, or
- to any other matter which the court thinks proper
to consider,
the court may release the offender without proceeding to conviction.

This is the best possible result as the client can say to anyone including any prospective employer that they have not been convicted of an offence.

*proven but without conviction placed on a recognizance (bond) with or without sureties. This basically means the same as the above but with the added proviso that so long as they abide by the terms of the recognizance for the stipulated period then they will not have a conviction against their name. As above they can state that they have not been convicted of a criminal offence.

*convicted and fined. This is a common sentence. Depending on the offence the fine can range from a low amount to a very high amount.

*deferred sentence and placed on a recognizance to be a good behaviour with or without sureties.
This is a quite serious result . This is sometimes called a suspended sentence or being placed on a good behaviour bond. Basically if they breach the bond then they will be called back to court and could be fined or sent to jail.

*community service order. This requires a certain number of hours of menial work to be performed. If the community service order is not abided by then the person will called back to court and in all likelihood sent to jail.

*periodic detention. This is where for example the person goes to gaol every Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. If the person does not live near a jail that has periodic detention then this is not really an option for the court.

*home detention. Unfortunately this form of imprisonment is not so common. Basically the person is not allowed to leave their home without permission. An electronic bracelet is placed on their wrist and when the phone rings the person is expected to answer it and log in with a wrist bracelet.

*full time gaol sentence. It used to be the case that a sentence would be imposed �with hard labour� or with no mention of it. There is no distinction in the two sentences now.

Irrespective of what sentence your client gets that client still has a right of appeal. In this regard however please note the relevant state or Commonwealth time limits, typically 21 days from sentence. It is also important to note that where a client is sentenced to imprisonment and appeals but is not given bail then the person is placed in the remand section of the jail. The remand section of the prison often has the worst kind of prisoners and is much more unpleasant than the general prison.

If a person commits an offence before they turn 18 then they are normally brought before the Children�s Court . The range of possible results in the Children�s Court is quite different to that in the adult courts.

FAMILY LAW PATHWAYS

By Richard Brading, Principal Solicitor, Wesley Community Legal Service

The opinions in this article are purely those of the author and not necessarily those of his employer.

Do you have clients with Family Law problems?

We probably all have seen clients who:

� Were in a financial dilemma as a result of a relationship breakdown
� Could not make ends meet due to their Child Support obligations
� Had a huge solicitors bill they could not pay
� Lost their children because they could not afford legal representation
� Felt they were ripped off by a former partner

At last the Federal Government is conducting a review of the whole Family Law process. The Family Law Act was a great advance on the previous law, but that was a quarter of a century ago. Those of you who are old enough may remember the divorce circus where people could not get a divorce unless they could prove some �fault� on the part of their spouse, with private detectives being employed to burst in through bedroom doors and other melodramatic behaviour.

The Family Law Act did away with the notion of �fault� so all a couple has to prove is intention to end the marriage and live separately and apart for a year. Divorce itself has been turned into an administrative procedure so just about anyone who can read and write can do their own divorce.

Child maintenance was removed from the Family Law process and handed over to the Child Support Agency. Despite the problems our clients sometimes encounter with Child Support, it is generally considered a vast improvement on the previous regime, where few custodial parents actually received any child support and those who did received an inadequate amount. Nonetheless it would be helpful to notify government of the areas where the Child Support system is causing problems.

Unfortunately the Family Law system has not proven user-friendly in the area of children and property settlements. This area has become increasingly complex and bureaucratic with an emphasis on forms and legal mumbo-jumbo. Some brave souls have ventured alone into the jungle and survived but the casualty rate is far too high. Dividing property and children are the issues which produce the highest level of dissatisfaction and is the area of greatest need of reform.

There was a public outcry when the Federal Attorney-General proposed �dumbing down� the Family Court by getting rid of some judges, registrars and other hangers-on, and replacing them with magistrates. The A-G backed off and tried a softer approach. He established a Family Law Pathways Advisory Group comprising a mixture of interests, basically bureaucratic, legal and counselling types. These hardy souls are required to advise the government on the future direction of Family Law.

So where might the Family Law pathway lead us for the next 25 years?

Probably nowhere if the lawyers have their way. Remember that Family Law work provides the evening meal for a lot of these people, even if your clients have to pay for it. The dumbed-down legal option is the most likely at the moment, as it requires little risk or imagination.

A visionary approach would be to take out the lawyers as much as possible and replace the adversarial structure of Family Law with a mix of counselling, neutral evaluation, investigation and mediation. In short:

Counselling
Counselling is critical to assist people overcome their own feelings resulting from relationship breakdown and to help them restructure their lives, families, finances etc. Counselling was introduced into the Family Law process in 1975 but its value was never fully recognised and the counselling process was undervalued and under resourced and led to a lot of dedicated counsellors burning out.

In particular, financial counsellors can assist separating couples in a variety of ways. Too often, however, the clients come for financial counselling after they are in a crisis. It would be wonderful if they sought financial counselling at an early stage so the counsellor could help them avoid trouble.

Neutral Evaluation
Neutral evaluation is needed to provide parties in dispute with impartial information about the likely result they might achieve through the family law process. An investigative function is necessary to ensure that parties in dispute provide a full and frank disclosure of their circumstances.

Mediation
Mediation has proven very successful and needs to be developed. Basically a court appointed mediator can assist parties come to agreement over basic disputes about money and children in a way rarely achieved by lawyers.

Realistically there will always be a demand for lawyers and an adversarial process in Family Law. However, this would be best limited to those who can afford it.
If we can convince government that the current lawyer-driven process is ineffective and inaccessible to low and middle income Australians then the government may be willing to consider a counsellor focused process.

Want your say?

Have a look at www.law.gov.au/familylawpathways or call 1800 250 056 for information. The closing date for submissions is 25 August 2000.

Note: Richard Brading has had many years of experience (and frustrations) dealing with the legal implications of relationship breakdowns at the coal face. If you have any comments please contact us via the contact details shown on page two.

Notes and Notices

ABIO OFFICIAL OPENING
The Australian Banking Industry Ombudsman Scheme officially opened it�s new offices at Level 5, 31 Queen Street, Melbourne on 4 July, 2000. This is the same street address as the Financial Industry Complaints Service and the General Insurance enquiries and Complaints Scheme. The Hon. Joe Hockey MP Minister for Financial Services and Regulation will officiate at the opening which will also mark the 10th anniversary of the scheme.

COMPARING MOBILE PHONE PLANS
Information house Market faxts in a content-sharing agreement with consumer magazine, Choice, is offering a Phonechoice web site that compares a range of telecommunications calling products and services:
http://www.phonechoice.com.au

OPTUS CONTACT NUMBER
Rosie Atkinson the AFCCRA representative on the Optus Consumer Liaison Forum advises that Optus now have a dedicated line for Financial Counsellors to use for credit related matters. Optus has requested that Financial Counsellors do not give the number to clients. Calls go straight through to a Sydney call centre staffed by 14 of their most experienced credit people. Phone 1300 303 509. Fax 02 9342 6840.

TELSTRA CONTACT NUMBER
In the last issue of this journal we advised of contact procedure for post disconnection matters. For situations where services are still operating, or temporarily operating, but not cancelled and not yet subject to collection action, call: 1800 816 025 regarding fixed services and 018 018 111 regarding mobile services.

CLC�S ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The Community Legal Centres National Annual conference is being held from 31 July to 3 August at the Red Centre Resort in Alice Springs. This years conference will explore the thin veneer of human rights and democracy in the current Australian context. For inquiries contact the NACLC, 408/383 Pitt Street, Sydney 2000 Australia, phone 02 92649595 or visit http://www.netgrrl.com.au/naclc/.

Diary of a remote worker

Harley Staines was the Financial Counsellor at the Coober Pedy Multicultural Forum for over two and a half years. In his time there he achieved much. His outreach and community education program to the Pitjantjatjarra Lands were a significant contribution as was the casework service he offered in Coober Pedy. Harley still works at Coober Pedy at the Department of Human Services, Family and Youth Services and is on the management committee of the Forum. What follows is an extract from his journal of a client visit to his office in Coober Pedy.

__________________________

The front door squeaked on its hinges indicating the passage of persons unknown. A drop of oil would stop the squeak quite readily but then we may not know if someone had entered and was waiting quietly for attention.

He was a tall thin man slightly stooped. His hair had receded and stood up from the crown, white and trailing from behind to collar length. His pale blue eyes gazed steadily from a weather tanned face and a faint smile was his greeting. His clothing was drab and dusty. He has the air of a person who did not have access to the amenities that many of us take for granted.

�Could you help us out?� he asked.
�I think so,� I said with good humour.
�I haven�t had anything to eat for a couple of days.�
�Do you think you could fill in a form for me?�

______________________

As he was leaving I suggested that he come back again to talk about what else could be done. �Why don�t you come back later and we will have a chat.�

________________________

He sat next to my desk. His steady gaze was upon me as we spoke. �Thanks for helping me,� he said, �I was feeling tuckered.�

He had been in town for a few days but he seemed to be a person who didn�t stay in one place for too long. He spoke of going fossicking on the field for opal with a degree of enthusiasm but he also said that he didn�t have any way of going out there. He had an attitude of enthusiasm for life that was engaging.

�Where did you stay last night?� I asked by way of inviting him to talk.

He explained that he had found a spot out of the wind and that he had some blankets and a few possessions which he found useful.

�Do you prefer to sleep out?�

He shrugged his shoulders and went onto explain that it was okay and that he spent quite a lot of his time during the day in one of the clubs where he had some company but he could not understand much of what was being said because the club was for a migrant group.

�They don�t seem to mind me being there.�

�We could change things around for you,� I said energetically. �You could have a place of your own, hot water, regular meals, some comfortable furniture and a bed to sleep at night!�

He looked at me with his steady gaze and his cheerful face then he looked away and his face lost expression. He beheld a horizon that was else where. After a few moments he came back � �But what would I do?�
______________________

Later in the day my colleague at work said to me over lunch.
�You remember that bloke you saw this morning?� �Yes�
�I just saw him bet $60 on a horse race!�.

In the Media

New bank for bush
Australia�s first new bank for the 21st century will be targeted at the rural community, in line with government and community concerns about banking service levels in regional Australia.

Elders Rural Bank gained Federal Government approval yesterday for a banking licence. This followed a recommendation by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. It will begin operations on July 1.

It will focus on rural Australia. It will have a presence in up to 30 areas where there are now no banks. It will be a joint venture between the Futuris Corp Ltd, the parent company of Elders Ltd, and the Bendigo Bank.

The Australian Financial Review, 28 June 2000, page 34.

US Government v Visa & Mastercard
The US government accused the Visa and MasterCard credit card networks of violating anti-trust law and blocking competition through exclusionary tie-ups with banks.

Visa and MasterCard, which control more than 75% of US credit card sales, did not truly compete with each other, the US Justice Department alleged. They also thwarted rivals, baring them from working with their member banks, it was alleged.

The Sydney Morning Herald, June 14, 2000.

US cards to invade local turf
The major banks and other domestic card issuers are preparing to defend their local franchises against an aggressive foray into the Australian market by the heavy weights of the North American card industry.

At least three US card specialists plan to launch local operations in the next 12 months. They are Capital One Financial, MBNA and First USA.

The Australian Financial Review, 9 June, 2000, page 68.

Child Care too expensive for poor families

Child care is rapidly becoming too expensive for poor families, according to research by the Brotherhood of St Laurence. According to the brotherhood, child care costs are rising at three times the rate of inflation. Even after allowing for inflation, costs have risen by 40% in eight years.

�Governments talk of the need for lower-income parents, particularly sole mothers, to support themselves through work or at least seek training. But people can�t be expected to juggle care for children, education and work if the supports aren�t there�, said Mr Siemon of the brotherhood.

The Sydney Morning Herald, June 19, 2000.

Banks face price fixing fines
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says the banks are engaging in unlawful price fixing in the highly profitable credit card sector and has written to each one informing them of the allegations.

The move is expected to have wide reaching implications for the major banks, potentially cutting into the combined annual $13 billion non-interest revenue stream of ANZ, Commonwealth, National Australia Bank and Westpac.

Non-interest income has become increasingly important to banks profits as interest rate margins have fallen.

The Australian Financial Review, 31 May, 2000, page 1.

CBA stake in debt recovery
Commonwealth bank has bought a one third stake in a debt recovery business for an unspecified sum and signed an exclusive outsourcing agreement with the company. The bank�s stakeholding gives it access to an industry that generates up to $300 million in revenue each year.

The Australian Financial Review, 29 June, 2000, page 22.

Teleconference - Remote Workers

by Kirsten Horne

On June 29, 2000 a teleconference was held for remote workers. Participants were from such locations as Coober Pedy, Darwin, Meekatharra (WA), Cairns, Alice Springs and Narromine (NSW). The issues discussed are shown below and are generally relevant to most Financial Counsellors.

Starting a new Financial Counselling Service.

The group identified and explored some of the problems faced when starting a new service (or continuing a existing service as the �new kid on the block�). The importance of becoming known and gaining the trust of the community were identified as paramount. Some suggested ways of achieving this included;

Knocking on doors.
Involvement in community education projects
Media involvement � radio & print media. Consider offering to do a column for local paper. It was noted that Radio National is often willing to give air time. Media users need to be careful about what is said. If possible training in using the media can be very useful. Try to be aware and careful of being used by the media for sensational stories - consider asking for questions beforehand.
Take care not to be seen to be taking over and always be aware of being the new person on the block.

Difficulties of Outreach

Confidentiality � it can be very difficult when you are faxing/phoning/emailing to remote communities with only one fax/phone/email address. By the time correspondence reaches the client many other people may know that the client is seeing a Financial Counsellor or entering into bankruptcy etc. Some suggestions for dealing with this included;
Advising the client of an agreed time to send correspondence to fax/phone/computer.
Leaving copies of your authority documentation and other commonly used documents at outreach locations so client only has to pick them up and fax them back to you.
Discussing the issue with the client for their input and ascertaining their level of concern.

Justifying the time and costs of long
distance travel to your management
committee or funding body.

The group agreed that there was great value in outreach work. The value of face to face counselling over telephone counselling was emphasised. Examples were given of clients travelling many hundreds of kilometres to get face to face counselling. However it is not always possible for clients to do this.

Showing full scale maps to funding bodies and management committees is a good way of clearly demonstrating the full range of where you travel during outreach. This is also a good opportunity to include requests for appropriate resources including mobile phones, reliable vehicles etc

Respite and debrief for the Financial Counsellor � caring for your most important resource.

Key points discussed were:

�Emotional attachment� not caseload is the prime problem. There can be a fine line between empathy and over involvement.
Don�t try and �save the world� � it is a recipe for burnout.
Our survival as Financial Counsellors depends on how we handle this issue- very important.
We need to remain aware that we are there to assist with financial difficulties and are not personal counsellors.
Are we trained for / or the most appropriate person for what our client is asking for of us?
It can be extremely difficult to draw the line when a client appeals to you personally for non-financial counselling.
It is important to have someone to talk to and not to take home unresolved anxieties/issues. Even if you don�t think that the issue is long lived e.g client threats which may have been made in anger or inebriation. Expressing your alarm or concern can lift the burden.

One counsellor recently had a young male client whose wife had just died and who wanted personal/grief counselling from the Financial Counsellor. The Financial Counsellor realised that despite the personal request, the Financial Counsellor was not the most appropriate person for the job and that a referral was needed. The group discussed the importance of having a good resource file and contacts for referrals. If time and resources permit then perhaps consider attending at the first appointment with the client and the personal counsellor to help make the transition easier.

It was acknowledged that making appropriate referrals can be difficult from remote locations where many services are unavailable other than by telephone.

Banking in the Bush

Indigenous people have increasingly been forced to use taxi drivers and shopkeepers as stand-in bankers following the withdrawal of financial services to the bush, an ANU researcher has found. The practice, known as �book-down� (sic), has left indigenous people open to fraud and exploitation, Neil Westbury, Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), said.

His research found that, without access to bank savings, many Aboriginal people were forced to cash cheques through unregulated local businesses, which may charge inflated fees or insist the money be spent with them. �People talk about economic development for Aboriginal people but if you can�t save your money, if you can�t access the services other Australians have, you can�t even begin to talk about development,� Mr Westbury said.

He believes that access to appropriate financial services lies at the heart of economic development in Aboriginal communities. �Equitable access to essential financial services means that people can manage and budget their incomes; arrange to pay third parties; purchase food, goods and services; maintain a level of financial and economic independence, and plan for the future,� he said.

Mr Westbury has done fieldwork for two reports on banking services in Aboriginal communities: one for CAEPR and one for ATSIC and Centrelink. While most Australians receive their Centrelink payments electronically, of those who still receive these payments by cheque, half live in remote northern Australia. In these reports, Mr Westbury highlighted that fortnightly Centrelink payments by cheque are inefficient and adding to welfare dependence and cyclical patterns of poverty.

He noted that the lack of savings facilities and high cost of living led to unhealthy �feast and famine� lifestyles. �When a cheque arrives in a community without banking services, the recipient faces an invidious choice: to either cash out its full value or enter into informal book-down (sic) arrangements with various traders which can rapidly lead to unmanageable debts,� Mr Westbury said. �The result is a vicious cycle where families have difficulty in maintaining a cash flow to purchase foodstuffs over the fortnightly period.�

Mr Westbury recommended that Centrelink develop new strategies for delivering payments including replacing fortnightly cheque payments with weekly electronic credit payments. These electronic accounts could be accessed by expanding the number of Rural Transaction Centres (new government service centres) and the services of existing indigenous credit unions. One indigenous credit union in the Northern Territory had successfully moved clients from Centrelink cheque to electronic transfer payments, resulting in more uniform spending patterns over a fortnight and better financial planning among account holders.

Mr Westbury recommended that Centrelink, in partnership with the banks and an indigenous organisation, pilot a project to improve service delivery to indigenous customers, through more culturally informed products and services, more indigenous employees and an education program to help people access banking services. There has been a positive response to this recommendation and a pilot project is being planned for Central Australia.

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