(VIC) Support workers are consulting the cønsumers
An innovative diploma course is being conducted for psych. disability support workers at the Swinburne Uni. of Technology, Melbourne. This course is for students of age 23 and more, and is driven by the sector's needs and increasingly also service users.

Some of the people undertaking the course are cønsumers and cønsumers are consulted in the second and third years. As students, they are afraid at first; their involvement has dramatic effects on the attitudes of other students. In the past , courses would implicitly develop a "them and us" approach (cf. medical model) ... in Swinburne PDS this has been deliberately avoided.

Course modules cover the psych. services system, industrial considerations, psychotropic medication, the roles of Government agencies such as Centrelink and the disability support pension, the CAT teams, the NMHP, housing issues, counseling methods ..

Frank Hytten, who helped develop the course, said "we're using a values base different to the medical model ... (the PDS course) reflects recovery and cønsumer values while developing workplace competencies expected in this sector". He can answer questions about PDS - phone (03)9214 6519.

Another PDS course is currently available at Kangan TAFE. The Swinburne PDS training is being offered part-time over 4 years and their approach is evidence of a larger awareness in the training of people who work with cønsumers.

(VIC) The future of Melbourne's Mental Health Legal Centre is under a black cloud.

The vital and independent legal centre -- a pioneer and "watchdog" in legal rights advocacy, education and legal services for mental health consumers-- is being reviewed for its "efficiency and effectiveness" by the Kennett State Government, and the results should be known by April.

The Mental Health Legal Centre is one of 41 Victorian community legal centres to be subjected to the review-- which is certain to be driven by an economic rationalist agenda, which does not value community management and responsiveness, views local autonomy as "fragmentation," promotes competitive tendering and amalgamation of services and drastically cuts funding.

There has been talk about tendering out of services and mergers of the community legal centres. It is the latest in a series of proposals by the Kennett Goverment which threaten the whole makeup of the community sector. Any cønsumer voice in services would be likely to be virtually stifled under the envisaged changes. Loss of community "ownership" of such services and a likely loss of their volunteer base would also be a major blow to disadvantaged people.

The loss of or drastic changes to the Mental Health Legal Centre would be a severe blow to consumers, according to concerned consumer advocates. Some of the key achievements of the centre, affirmed by consumer advocates include:

• Monitoring, dissemination of information and advocacy regarding significant recent changes to the Mental Health Act.
• Informing consumers of their rights, with special bulletins and pamphlets, especially regarding medication and involuntary admissions.
• Legal representation for a number of consumers in legal matters related to their mental health.
• Community education about mental health legal issues and cønsumer rights, with many educational events and publications for consumers and their advocates.

(NATIONAL) Federal Treasurer Costello foreshadows proposal to eliminate "poverty traps" experienced by disabled workers, as part of the tax reform agenda. Workers currently on part-pensions may be allowed to keep a larger proportion of their earnings under Disability Support Allowance provisions -- changing to 25 cents in the dollar to be removed from the pension payment, instead of $50 cents in the dollar, once the income hits a certain level. The move, mooted as an incentive for disabled workers to work harder and become more self sufficient, would make pensioners working part time potentially much better off.

Mental health consumer advocates have been calling for such changes for years, ideally allowing people only capable of part time work to have an income up to at least the equivalent of the minimum wage.

The proposed clearing up of "poverty traps" is a long overdue move and, if the government goes ahead with it, is certain to be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of disabled part-time workers, including many mental health consumers working part time.

However, support for this reform would not necessarily translate into support for a GST -- which would be likely to harm low-income earners and welfare recipients -- nor would it remove the need for vigilance by disability advocacy groups about any further tightening of pension eligibility criteria or unwarranted attempts to force people off the pension.

Changes to the criteria in recent years have already made psychiatric illness/ disability a bit of a grey area.
report by a community observer; the announcement was carried in a front-page report in The Age on Monday February 16

(VIC) Tenancy rights for people living in supported accommodation and group homes are set to be TOTALLY REMOVED under changes to the Victorian Tenancy Act, currently before State Parliament.

Tenancy rights -- including access to the right to appeal evictions or rent increases at the Residential Tenancies Tribunal -- are an important and hard-won safeguard for people with psychiatric disability living in residential programs of group homes, and removal of these rights is sheer discrimination.

The move will also affect people with physical and intellectual disabilities.

A number of advocacy groups have protested the moves claiming them to be in contravention of international conventions on disability human rights Australian governments have signed --apparently to little avail. The government is maintaining that accommodation for people with disabilities is a special case, because support is provided as part of the package and there might also be security and safety issues requiring quick removal of a resident.

VicServ, the peak body for psychiatric disability support and accommodation services in Victoria is also pursuing the issue, and believes that individual agencies will still want to maintain the strong tenancy rights for consumers. A number of community disability groups are forming a coalition to fight the changes. -- report by another community observer.

(NATIONAL) On May 2,1998 Australian consumers will join a global Walk, inspired by the United States project "Walk the Walk" on that day for people whose lives have been touched by mental illness.

Globally, mental health activists and consumers/survivors and ex-patients ( CSX ) of the public mental health system are mobilising their resources to create an offshoot of this project, called the Million Mad March, by and for CSXes.

The Million Mad March in the USA will take place in Washington DC, over 2 days. The first day will be dedicated to a day-long consumer/survivor conference (focus to be worked out). On those days, Australia's own Mad Million will hopefully March in every capital city,(except NT & ACT) and a CSX conference in Sydney or Melbourne will open the event.

The march contact for Victoria is Rod, phone (03)9350 3035 AH. If you want to help with March organisation, please contact him. March organisers are needed in the other States too. The E-mail contact for the Australian marches is MadMarch.au@madnation.org .. also check the MadNation Web page

(NATIONAL) THEMHS is an annual conference for mental health services AND cønsumers in Aussie land & NZ; THEMHS 1997 was conducted in Sydney during August. There were several cønsumer events, including the AGM of the Aussie MH Consumer network, and papers given by Australian cønsumers. THEMHS 1998 will be held at Wrest Point Hotel (yes, near the Casino) in Hobart, Tasmania. Cønsumer issues to be covered : "the national Cønsumer Network, escaping poverty, mainstreaming, self-esteem, employment, peer programs, rehabilitation, the Clubhouse model, migrant and indigenous (people).. " Submission of abstracts - the deadline is 20 March

Click for an interesting essay by Allan Pinches on the interaction of psychiatry and spirituality.

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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 by cønsumers, for cønsumers Down Under. This document is composed and edited in Melbourne; a new issue is usually published every second Friday. This cønsumer newsletter is 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. Watch this space .. we collect consumer stories and material. We will accept files and GIFs/JPEGs up to 64K . Our postal address is aussie cønsumer newz, PO Box 469, Carlton South, Vic. 3053 Australia. Printed copies of this newsletter are available - ask us.