More government by coverup in NSW

Too bad about abused children, of course. DOCS is the notorious NSW Child Welfare Department

Hundreds of public school principals have been gagged from complaining about serious cases of child neglect because to do so is critical of the Iemma Government. The Daily Telegraph can reveal that a statewide survey of schools which revealed concerns about the Department of Community Services' performance was shut down by education bosses. Principals were warned they may be breaking the law by responding to the survey which was organised by their professional body, the Public Schools Principals Forum.

Last night Education Minister John Della Bosca's office accused the organisation of using the issue for "political sport", saying evidence would be taken by the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection headed by Justice James Wood.

Forum chairwoman Cheryl McBride, principal of Sarah Redfern Public School at Minto in Sydney's southwest, claimed education bureaucrats were "protecting the Government from further exposure to criticism over the DOCS debacle" in stopping the survey. "The Principals Forum is interested in one thing only - that is the safety and welfare of all children," Ms McBride said. Principals have revealed thousands of children turn up to school showing signs of severe physical abuse or extreme neglect and are angry many cases appear not to have been followed up.

Almost 200 responses to the survey were received by noon last Friday, when deputy directors-general Trevor Fletcher and Peter Riordan issued a memorandum warning principals not to respond. The memo said: "Principals (or teachers) - as public sector officials - should be aware that there are laws concerning the disclosure of information . . . "Given these laws, principals and other staff are advised not to respond to the Public Schools Principals Forum or any other online surveys about such sensitive matters," it read. It is understood about 50 principals defied the warning and forwarded their responses.

The survey covering about 60 per cent of schools across NSW - the fourth conducted by the forum since 2001 - reveals cases of multiple notifications involving seriously neglected children. Ms McBride said the forum had an "impeccable record in respect of privacy".

Premier Morris Iemma made child abuse and domestic violence his key election platforms when he was returned to office earlier this year. But Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner said yesterday the gag showed Mr Iemma's claims of openness and transparency in the inquiry into DOCS were a "sham". "This proves yet again what everyone outside the Government knows - we need a royal commission into DOCS," Mr Stoner said. "While kids continue to slip through the cracks, Mr Iemma's overriding concern is to keep a lid on negative publicity."

A spokesman for the Department of Education and Training denied it was gagging principals. "The welfare of our students is the paramount concern of the department," the spokesman said. "Disclosing details that could potentially identify a child at risk is illegal and irresponsible."

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Government by coverup in Queensland too

The internal Queensland Health probe into the death of Ryan Saunders will be restricted to the clinical decisions of Rockhampton Hospital staff with broader concerns over resourcing to be ignored. Premier Anna Bligh yesterday insisted the so called "root-cause analysis" into Ryan's clinical treatment was a sufficient response to the two-year-old's death. Ms Bligh rejected calls for a wider inquiry into the Rockhampton Hospital that have gathered momentum after The Courier-Mail revealed crucial witness testimonies of Ryan's treatment would not be taken.

"The investigation that's being undertaken into the tragic circumstances around little Ryan's death is an investigation into the clinical treatment of the child," she said. "It is absolutely clear this boy was very sick. That is why he was in hospital and why he was transferred to hospital. This is not a matter anybody is disputing." Ms Bligh, who has promised to personally intervene and act on Ryan's case, said the analysis would consider what treatment he received, who he received it from and at what point.

Ryan was originally transferred from Emerald Hospital with a suspected twisted bowel to Rockhampton for an ultrasound scan. However, the results were unreadable after a 20-hour delay in doing the scan. He died at 12.15 am on September - 30 hours after he arrived in Rockhampton.

One witness in the hospital at the time has told how he heard Ryan's screams throughout his ordeal, contradicting Health Minister Stephen Robertson's suggestion that the toddler's pain was only an allegation at this stage.

Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney said Ryan's ordeal combined with the experiences of others showed there were systemic problems at the Rockhampton Hospital that needed to be the subject of an open inquiry. "The people of central Queensland cannot trust Anna Bligh or her bureaucrats to run their own 'root-cause-analysis' and then leave it Anna to decide," he said. However, Ms Bligh dismissed the call, saying Queensland's health system had already been the subject of two commissions of inquiry and each case would be individually investigated.

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Lesbian child abuse OK -- of course!

If it had been a male teacher ....

A former teacher has escaped immediate jail after succumbing to her love for a troubled student and having lesbian sex in bushland in Perth. Elizabeth Anne Crothers, 50, received a two-year jail term, suspended for two years, in the Perth district court yesterday after a jury found her guilty on one count of indecent dealing and one count of sexual penetration. In WA, lesbian sex is legal at 16, but the age of consent rises to 18 when one of the couple is in a position of authority over the other - as in a teacher-student relationship.

Crothers was tried on 21 counts of indecent dealing or sexual penetration of a pupil in her care between November 1998 to March 1999. She admitted having a full sexual relationship with the teenager but insisted it happened only after the girl left school in March 1999.

A jury yesterday cleared Crothers on 19 charges but found her guilty on one count of indecent dealing and one count of sexual penetration. Those charges related to Crothers digitally penetrating the girl and allowing the teen to digitally penetrate her in bushland in Perth's hills in February 1999.

The girl told the court she shared her first sexual experience with Crothers who seduced her when she was a troubled student. Crothers, a mother of two, admits she was stupid to meet a student outside school. But she insisted it was not until 2000 that she began fondling and kissing the girl, engaging in mutual digital penetration and giving and receiving oral sex in a live-in relationship that lasted several years.

Judge Michael Muller said the pair were in love and Crothers had resisted a sexual relationship with the "tortured'' child until succumbing in an isolated incident. He found she had not groomed the girl for sex and encouraged her to leave school and home so Crothers could exploit her. "I cannot find you induced the girl to leave school to take advantage of her sexually,'' the judge said.

But he said the breach of trust was very serious. He sentenced the weeping Crothers to two years on each count, to be served concurrently, and suspended the term for two years. She had faced a maximum penalty of 10 years for the sexual penetration and five for indecent dealing.

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Researchers strike gold in meningococcal disease fight

Meningococcal disease can strike with frightening speed. Its victims can present with symptoms in the morning and be dead by nightfall. But now, a breakthrough by researchers might go some way to reducing meningococcal fatalities by making it significantly easier to detect the bacteria. It involves the use of nanotechnology, and more specifically, the use of small gold particles being injected into suspected sufferers.

Larraine Pocock knows more about meningococcal disease than most. But it hasn't always been that way. It wasn't until her 21-year-old son Troy travelled to England for a working holiday that she began learning all about the deadly disease. "We got a call from Chelsea Hospital - he'd been admitted and he was critical," she told AM. "We were to ring back in an hour, and I asked them what they thought it was and they thought it was meningitis, and I just realised how serious that was, so I rang back in an hour and he was actually on life support. "So, we rushed to Sydney to try and get to London, but he was to pass away that night."

Ms Pocock now runs a meningococcal foundation named in honour of her son, the Troy Pocock Foundation, based on the New South Wales south coast. She has welcomed the news that new technology might be able to detect the disease within 15 minutes, a far cry from the current testing procedure, which can take up to 48 hours. "Meningococcal disease attacks very quickly and you can be well at breakfast, and you can be actually dead by dinnertime," she said.

Meningococcal disease affects 700 people in Australia each year and 10 per cent of those who contract meningococcal will die from the disease. About 20 per cent of those who contract it will have permanent disabilities.

A prototype device has been developed for the new technology, which involves molecular-sized flecks of gold being covered with antibodies that will attract the protein present in meningococcal bacteria. Jeanette Pritchard is involved in the development of the new technology, which has been designed by Melbourne's RMIT University. She says it has already proven highly successful in tests, and could pave the way for a significant reduction in deaths from meningococcal. "The test result will show either a yes that bacteria are present in the sample, or no the bacteria aren't present," she said. "So, it will basically given an indication that yes, treatment needs to be administered." She says the technology is still in development, but could be in clinics within three years.

Ms Pocock says that while the development of the new technology is welcome, it's far from being a panacea. "We've still got to like raise the awareness for the parent or the teacher or the carer to, you know, take the child to the doctor or the hospital first," she said.

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