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Public Trustee has grim record
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Letters to the Editor should be sent to
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The Editor
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In its treatment of mental patient "Alice", the Public Trustee's office is running true to form (POST, 5/6 and 19/6). The Trustee's actions are similar to what they did to Subiaco photographer Viv James in 1984, selling some of his assets while he was unable to care for himself. Trustee staff gave as an excuse that Mr James had no money, but the Subiaco council welfare officer had a record of the building society passbook she had handed to Trustee staff. This fact was uncovered by the Ombudsman. The POST and human rights activist Brian Tennant gave good support, as did another Trustee victim, Irene Stephens, of Maylands. During the 1985 campaign exposing the Public Trustee's Office, it said Mr James had no books, and that no major inventories of his belongings existed. When these claims were disproved, the then Labor government made an ex gratia payment at the suggestion of the Public Trustee's Office. The investigations and joining of other victims revealed the Trustee policy of privately selling real estate. The secrecy provisions of the Act hampered investigations. Relatives of Mr James were traced, b ut none would take part in the investigations. Just what "relative" got the war medals, antique cameras, etc, was never revealed. The POST and Liberal Nedlands MP Sue Walker deserve public support for trying to get justice for Alice. Let us hope the government can keep focused this time on a genuine reform of the Public Trustee's Office, dragging it into the modern era of transparency and accountability, instead of hiding behind the 19th century's ideas of privacy and secrecy. Well done, POST. |
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