24 JULY 1998   ** A WEB NEWSLETTER FOR PSYCH CONSUMERS IN AUSTRALIA

The Madness Group in the U.S. is a "family of electronic services for people who experience mood swings, fear, voices and visions.. mutual support .. advocacy ... they provide a decentralized electronic forum and distribution device. People who experience mood swings, fear, voices and visions (People Who) exchange strategies for changing existing public mental health systems, and provide each other mutual support." Find them at http://www.peoplewho.org/Madness

The Australian and New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses have revamped their web pages, now they have a cønsumer/carer Web forum, organised as a message board.

" For some time now, mental health/psychiatric nurses have been aware of the voice and concerns of people with a mental illness and families and friends (eg. Burdekin Report 1993, Lets Talk About Action 1996, Attitudes of Health Professionals Project 1998 in Australia ... this page is set up to facilitate feedback from consumers and carers, to encourage expression of issues and concerns ".

The ANZCMHN home page is at http://www.healthsci.utas.edu.au/nursing/college/index.html, and currently the consumer forum URL is http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb101100.

Mental Health Legal Centre staff in Melbourne are running a research project on culture and disability pride, looking at issues of pride, dignity and respect of people with disabilities. There'll be a WORKSHOP for people with a psych. disability on Monday August 17th, 5 pm. at the MHLC office. (A Cønsumer Rights and Law Reform meeting will follow at 6:30pm. All are welcome!)

A light supper will be provided. For more information contact Katie: (03) 9890-9378. MHLC is located at 306 Johnston Street, Abbotsford ... (thanks Ria)

Mental health week this year will be conducted October 19 - 25. For enquiries in Victoria, check the Web page of the Mental Health Foundation, or phone 9427 0406.

Check out the Melbourne consumer consultants' group, possibly "the only group in Australia that has been set up to support cønsumers wishing to do paid work in the MH field. " at users.bigpond.com/saraclarke/melbourn.htm

At www.vicnet.net.au/~vmiac/sara.htm, there's an interesting Web article by a cønsumer with a dual disability

The former Advocacy worker at the VMIAC, Rod Salvage was dismissed by the peak Victorian cønsumer group in March. Rod has worked with VMIAC for 7 years. He consequently listed a case for unfair dismissal at the Victorian Industrial Relations Commission. This has recently concluded : the conciliation process between the CEO, Isabell Collins, and Rod has ended with no agreement. Rod was not prepared to take the case further to arbitration at the IRC. This newsletter continues to support Rod's perspective.

Rod Salvage commented last week that "well that is the Law". The VMIAC CEO commented "in fairness to Rod it would not be appropriate to discuss the details or comment on the reasons for his dismissal, they were serious; our lawyer said the matter had been settled, and advised that it was the most open & shut case he had ever seen. His lawyer was unwilling to go before the IRC after seeing the documentation. The VMIAC had no case to answer".

No mention of the dismissal of the advocacy worker, or the reasons for the decision has appeared in the VMIAC members' newsletter to date. Due to legal considerations, it is unlikely we will publish further details about this case.

THEMHS is an annual conference for mental health services and cønsumers in Aussie land & N.Z. THEMHS 1998 will be held September 7 - 9 at the Wrest Point Hotel (oh yes, near the Casino) in Hobart, Tasmania. with pre-conf. sessions on the 6th.

Cønsumer issues to be covered at THEMHS: "the national cønsumer Network, escaping poverty, mainstreaming, self-esteem, employment, peer programs, rehabilitation, the clubhouse model, migrant and indigenous " people ...

There will be a cønsumer day (forum) on Sunday September 6 ~ 9:15 am. to 5 pm. Registration for this day is $10, and a detailed program is available from the THEMHS office. THEMHS organisers are also offering a generous concession this year for the main conference sessions - registration at $50 per day. A cønsumer / carer feedback session is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

The national cønsumer Network will conduct its 1998 AGM during the conference in Hobart. In the next issue we'll include more details on THEMHS for consumers.

Future editions will include a story about the intriguing cønsumer initiatives in Caboolture, Queensland.

Across the world, the cønsumer movement is gathering momentum as users of psych. health services realise their own wisdom and resources. "an aussie cønsumer newsletter" is published on the Web by cønsumers, for cønsumers Down Under; the newsletter assists cønsumers to develop contacts across Australia.

We are independent of any cønsumer group, network or service provider. And this is an un-funded enterprise, so if you as a cønsumer can help us or suggest improvements, we need you. We particularly value news from states outside Victoria.

Watch this space .. we collect cønsumer stories and material. We will accept files and GIFs/JPEGs - up to 64K anyway.

Content is composed and edited in Melbourne; a new issue is usually published every two weeks. This newsletter is optimised for Netscape browsers. Printed copies are available ... ask us.