Category: New South Wales

Mediation News in New South Wales

Cost of Failing to Mediate First

Cessnock City Council Sign in New South Wales Author: Stephen Alexander - The City Council for Cessnock in New South Wales, Australia learned the costly lessons of failing to mediate first.

The City Council removed the airport manager from the airport for alleged problems associated with safety, noise and maintenance. The government agency reportedly demanded $1.68 million AUD, including the repair costs for the aerodrome.

The agreement with the airport manager, Aviation and Leisure Corporation (ALC), had a provision to mediate disputes before pursuing litigation. However, the City Council first took the case to the courts without mediating the dispute.

Recently, the New South Wales Supreme Court ordered the City Council to pay costs associated with the litigation to ALC for a little over $50,000 AUD. The government agency itself has spent around $200,000 AUD so far.

That Court ruled the decision to pursue litigation before mediation “in breach of the agreement.” Moreover, “the parties should be held to their bargain.”

The two sides signed an aerodrome management agreement in August 2007. The owner of ALC, Peter Roberts, claims he tried to discuss the issues with the City Council and was concerned about the costs to the community.

The efforts to mediate will continue until late September.

Mediation In Australia Involuntary

Fallen cross in Austrailia

Author: Stephen Alexander - In Australia, the victims of sexual abuse are prevented from suing the Catholic Church directly in New South Wales. Under a 1936 state law, anyone with a dispute with the Catholic Church is forced into mediation.

This state law applies only to the Catholic Church, as the Anglican Church in Australia is subject to the court system. The law was designed to separate the church’s trust property from its pastoral duties.

A draft bill entitled Justice for Victims would permit victims of sexual abuse to sue the Catholic Church’s trust instead of relying on forced negotiations with the Catholic Church. Currently, involuntary talks with the Catholic Church leaves victims with only a few thousand dollars in compensation.

When mediation is involuntary and no remedies outside that process are possible, victims of sexual abuse are left feeling abused once more. A victim, who as teenager was allegedly abused for six years by a Passionist Brothers’ priest in Northern Sydney, said that mediating with the Catholic Church was “very insulting” and “dis-empowering.”

When mediating a dispute is involuntary, victims are left feeling inadequately compensated for actual expenses incurred, according to the group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.