LETTERS
The Age
Tuesday December 22, 2009
One-size-fits-all is a mental health failureAS THE sister of the young man who died at the hands of his flatmate in 2005 ("Beyond care", Focus, 21/12) €” the incident that prompted coroner David Drake to state that Victoria's mental health system was (and is) in crisis €” I applaud the suggestion that the acutely psychiatrically ill need a safe retreat in which to recuperate.No such place existed for my brother, or for his flatmate. What did exist were alarmingly absent crisis assessment teams, brief and inadequate stays in acute care, and a sense that "community care" means "one-size-fits-all" €” accommodation in a dingy flat with another sufferer, and irregular visits and meetings with support workers and clinicians. To close institutions without providing safe, nurturing alternatives for the acutely ill was short-sighted and, essentially, mad.My brother and his flatmate were failed by an under-resourced and under-caring system. The dearth of appropriate accommodation and the lack of communication between the men's carers were the major factors contributing to the tragedy.I urge the State Government to take seriously the rights of the psychiatrically ill and to provide accommodation and care, as well as education and support for families, to avoid further violent deaths of those being treated "in the community".Cath Curwood, MacedonBeware the stigmaYOUR article "Mental illness common in male and female killers" (The Age, 21/12), runs counter to the Australia Press Council's encouragement of care in reporting on mental illness.The use of the term "killers", rather than "offenders", strikes an unfavourable and inflammatory note. Most people with a mental illness have no history of violence and only a small proportion of violent offences are attributable to mental illness.People with a history of psychotic disorders rarely experience symptoms all the time and, with appropriate treatment, can and do recover to live productive lives in the community. The argument that people with schizophrenia should be monitored for "signs of resentment, or having been wronged, particularly by family members" reinforces the stigma associated with mental illness.The issues raised are sensitive and deserve reasoned consideration. Care is required to ensure coverage does not stigmatise an already much-maligned group within our community.Michael Wells, acting Public Advocate, MelbourneCopenhagen deal leaves us well shortTHE Copenhagen accord's target of limiting the rise in global mean temperature to 2 degrees is supposedly linked to keeping the concentration of carbon dioxide (and its equivalent for the other greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere at or below a "safe" upper limit of 450 parts per million.But the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has consistently stated that 450 ppm gives only a 50 per cent chance of staying at or below the danger threshold of 2 degrees of warming.The best science tells us that 350 ppm of carbon dioxide equivalent is the real safe upper limit "if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilisation developed and to which life on Earth is adapted", as NASA's chief climatologist, James Hansen, said in 2008, with the rate of emissions peaking by 2015.If our leaders are to keep their word on the 2-degree threshold, we'll all need to start working hard towards a much lower level of greenhouse gas concentrations than 450 ppm if we are to have any chance of a safe future at all.Kimball Johnston, Lindisfarne, TasOur wasteful waterKENNETH Davidson (Comment, 21/12) points out that the State Government is making us pay more for water from a desalination plant than from the other options available. The other issue, which should be topical, is carbon emissions from how we source water.Watershed Victoria, the group that tried and failed for two years to get an explanation as to why desalination was chosen, estimates that the same volume of water could have been sourced at only a quarter of the carbon emissions had more sustainable alternatives been chosen.As an indication of the scale of the energy use, Melbourne Water's annual report gives current energy usage in our water supply as 209,122 gigajoules; once the desalination plant is operational it will be 19 times this, at 3,700,000 gigajoules (assuming 120 megawatts power consumption).Neil Rankine, secretary, Watershed Victoria, DalystonTurn on the sunCAN'T someone in Canberra do arithmetic? The Government is bleating ("Solar plan leaves $534m shortfall", The Age, 21/12) that the solar power rebate of $8000 for one-kilowatt systems has blown out costs.That scheme cost $8 per peak watt. On the other hand, the Mildura solar power station failed for lack of finance. That would have cost $420 million for a 154-megawatt system, only $2.72 per peak watt, a third of the cost, but it was left to languish. Even worse, other energy-saving programs were cut to cover the shortfall. Energy saving is usually far more cost-effective than generating more power.The Government's true attitude to greenhouse gas emissions is now clear. Penny Wong said that "Australia would do no more but no less than the rest of the world on climate change" €” in other words, the bare minimum. Our Government plans to do the bare minimum and do it inefficiently. I was hoping for better than that.Professor Peter Seligman, EssendonManaging forestsANTHONY Hull (Letters 21/12) is misleading and mischievous when he suggests that 9 per cent of Victoria's forests will be provided to processors of native forests. Victoria has more than 8 million hectares of forest and less than 0.065 per cent, or approximately 5000 hectares, is harvested annually.True environmentalists understand that managing our forests and landscapes for fire prevention and biodiversity values include appropriate access to commercial harvesting and regeneration of public forests.I would challenge anyone to suggest that 0.065 per cent annually is unsustainable and inappropriate. People like Mr Hull would do well to remember that the forest industry is Australia's only industry that is both renewable and carbon positive, despite their attempts to suggest otherwise.Philip Dalidakis, chief executive, Victorian Association of Forest Industries, MelbourneQualifications one key to child welfareCAROL Nader (Comment, 19/12) identifies that it will take much more than scrutinising the Children's Court to improve Victoria's child protection system. This includes the Department of Human Services addressing service gaps, recruitment and retention issues, concerns with supervision, and other workforce issues that dominated the Ombudsman's report on child protection services, released last month.But even more is needed. If the Victorian Government is serious about protecting our vulnerable children and young people, it will acknowledge the need for improving the expertise of those who work with them. This workforce is not regulated in the way that teachers and nurses are. This means there are no specific formal educational requirements or common standards of practice among those who work with the most vulnerable in our community.Recently there have been calls to raise the minimum qualifications of those who work in childcare centres and aged-care facilities as a way to improve the quality of care in these services. Similarly, better outcomes for vulnerable young people could be achieved with the professionalisation of the youth sector.Michael Emslie, CarltonAdversarial exampleIF WE needed convincing of the accuracy of the Ombudsman's recent criticisms, then surely Rebecca Boreham's rebuttal article (Comment, 21/12) will suffice. Littered with comments such as "allegations need to be proved", "primary source evidence", "clients' . . . basic legal rights", it provides ample evidence of an adversarial mindset €” clearly not the way to protect abused and neglected children.Greg Donoghue, MontmorencyQuestions 101BARNABY Joyce and Bob Katter aren't alone in being affected by their experiences at the Joh Bjelke-Petersen School of Eloquence (Letters, 18/12).In the late 1970s the school offered a new subject €” Asking and Answering Your Own Questions 101. Sadly only one student was attracted, a lad called Kevin. The subject was dropped after one year. Even so, it too continues to influence political discourse in Australia, to this day.Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills
© 2009 The Age