oneperth.com.au | Perth news

CHRIS THOMSON

Edith Cowan University, already WA’s capital of funky architecture, is again set to rock the block with a stunning new student services hub.

The $54 million, five-storey hub is planned for the west of ECU’s Joondalup campus near the university library.

The project will include meeting rooms that appear to be suspended in mid air, an outdoor forum with theatre and screen, and an open marketplace where wares will be traded at set times.

ECU believes the building will usher in “a new generation of university life”.

Plans crammed with beautiful young people make the campus appear more like a Nevada desert resort than a dowdy place of higher learning.

A recommendation for the hub’s approval will be debated by a state government planning committee on Friday afternoon.

ECU expects the building will open in early 2015.

CHRIS THOMSON

The all-female St Catherine’s College across Stirling Highway from the University of Western Australia’s Winthrop Hall is gearing up for a massive overhaul.

The pictured 237-unit project is set to upgrade facilities at the college which has operated at 2 Park Street, Crawley since 1928.

The 9935sqm project encompasses five buildings, two of which will have roof gardens.

If approved by a development assessment panel on Wednesday night, as recommended by state government planners, the new college will also have a 10-metre lap pool located beside an existing set of squash courts.

The project includes 50 x 30-60sqm units, 186 x 25-30sqm units and a 196sqm residence for the head of college.

The college, affectionately known as St Cat’s by residents and alumnae alike, is not affiliated with any particular religion.

According to the St Cat’s website, women from all over the world call the college home while studying in Perth.

STAFF REPORTER

A Perth man has played a big part in founding the first Maasai night school in East Africa – and managed to teach a few tricks of the trade along the way.

Kyle De Souza is a mining engineer with contracting company Rock Team.

His work with the Maasai people in Kenya began at the Shade Riruta orphanage in Nairobi.

There he helped build a new classroom for children who had been abandoned or whose parents had died from AIDS or starvation.

After a month at the orphanage he received a phone call from community members seeking his skills in woodwork, engineering and project management to help complete the school.

“The Maasai Land is the term used to describe the area … in the Great Rift Valley where Maasai people still live relatively traditionally,” Mr De Souza said.

“Here we started the first Maasai men’s education program which allows men who herd cattle during the day to get an education at night.

“We run schools for them during the day, between 8am and 4pm, and night classes between 6pm and 10pm, and currently have more than 40 students enrolled in the program.”

Some students have to walk two-and-a-half hours each way to get to school.

But Mr De Souza said the students always showed up.

“We have also started a women’s program which seeks to empower women by giving them the skills to sew their own clothes and sell them,” he said.

“The women normally do bead work all day, so we are working on starting a website, called United Maasai, where we help to market the products produced by these women internationally.”

Curtin University graduate Mr De Souza said the Maasai school was expected to be completed before Christmas.

He said it would include essentials such as electricity, a library extension, concreted floors, windows, lockable doors, tables, chairs and hygienic areas for children to eat.

The school now has 45 students and two full-time teachers.

“Mining engineering is the broadest engineering discipline of all,” Mr De Souza said.

“The technical and practical knowledge from labouring underground for two years and working as an engineer for that time gave me the tools to undertake building a school and managing the project work associated with it.

“When the challenge was set to start a school dedicated to Maasai men, I thought to myself, ‘if I can start a mine, I can start a school’.”

He said practical aspects of the school construction were used to teach students how to cut wood and how to add and subtract.

Mr De Souza’s family immigrated to Australia from India in 1995 and shares a long-standing involvement in charity work.

CHRIS THOMSON

APRIL 2 UPDATE: A union official has extracted $136,622 from the State School Teachers’ Union of WA after the union was found to have breached his employment contract.

Former teacher Ken Davis was awarded the payout after the union last year denied him the chance to renegotiate his expiring four-year contract – despite earlier agreeing to do so.

The case put the union in the reverse position of defending its own treatment of a worker, in stark contrast to its usual role of standing up for staff in stoushes with bosses.

In the WA Industrial Relations Commission Mr Davis contended that if he had been allowed to negotiate with the union, his reappointment for four years would have been likely.

Industrial commissioner Stephen Kenner agreed. He noted the union had brought no evidence of any performance or conduct concerns from Mr Davis’ first term of employment.

Mr Davis started work at the union in a short-term role in 2005 before signing a four-year contract in 2007.

GENERAL SECRETARY

He then stood unsuccessfully for the union’s general secretary position in the 2010 union election.

Later that year he was told he would get the chance to renegotiate his contract when it expired in January 2011.

Contrary to the union’s promise, he did not get that opportunity.

Between January 2011 and January 2012, he earned $45,467.02 as a relief teacher and doing sporadic work with the National Tertiary Education Union.

At the NTEU’s office at Edith Cowan University he is now on a two-day-a-week contract that runs until the end of June. As a ‘recruitment and campaign organiser’ he gets paid $1100 a fortnight.

His earlier attempts to find work as a Parliamentary officer, with the Corruption and Crime Commission, and at various public and private schools, were unsuccessful.

NO REPLY

Mr Davis told the tribunal that late last year he applied for two positions with the State School Teachers’ Union but did not get a reply.

He told Mr Kenner his financial loss was more in the order of $287,444.

Mr Davis today told oneperth.com.au he had mixed feelings.

“I do class it as a bit of a win,” he said.

“[But] in many ways I’m sorry it came to the situation it did come to in that I would have preferred to keep working for the members.”

CHRIS THOMSON

EXCLUSIVE: Camp Australia – which runs 400 care facilities for 50,000 children nationwide – has been fined $52,500 for inadequately supervising minors at seven schools in Perth’s western, southern and northern suburbs.

In his decision published today, State Administrative Tribunal Deputy President David Parry noted the private company had contravened Western Australia’s child care legislation 13 times between January 2010 and June 2011.

The breaches occurred during Camp Australia childcare sessions at Christchurch Grammar School, and Cottesloe, Freshwater Bay, Swanbourne, Rockingham Beach, North Morley and Richmond
primary schools.

The fact the breaches continued for between 108 and 341 days was considered by Judge Parry to be an aggravating factor. The average period of contravention at each school was almost six months.

SKILLS SHORTAGE

Camp Australia told Judge Parry the breaches were caused by a severe skills shortage, after 59 per cent of its staff turned over in 2010 and 36 per cent in 2011.

The company said that pausing services at the seven Perth schools while there was no supervising officer present would have had a ‘catastrophic effect’ for families with working parents.

At an earlier tribunal hearing, Camp Australia had admitted it failed at various times to ensure a supervising officer was present at the seven schools.

It also admitted to not immediately telling the Department for Communities when the supervising officers based at six of the schools resigned.

NO NOTICE

At the latest hearing, the department argued Camp Australia should be required to display a notice at the schools to tell parents of the tribunal findings.

Judge Parry considered this was not needed because the fine achieved the “protective purpose” of the tribunal case.

Before he retired late last year, Cottesloe Primary School principal Greg Teede provided a testimony for the Camp Australia website.

“Camp Australia has provided a successful and effective out of school hours care program at Cottesloe Primary School since 2009,” the website quotes Mr Teede as saying.

“Camp Australia staff continually demonstrate high standards of professional conduct and actively interact with students who attend the out of school hours care program sessions.

“The sessions range from meal preparation through to learning activities, sport and play.”

“Cottesloe parent feedback indicates a high level of satisfaction in the provision of care for the children and the quality of the overall program.”

STAFF REPORTER

Curtin University announced today it would redouble its efforts to launch a Bachelor of Laws degree through its business school.

The university’s council has given the plan the nod.

Curtin Vice-Chancellor Jeanette Hacket – a legal eagle herself – said a full course plan would now be prepared for approval by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.

“Curtin will work closely with the Legal Practice Board to ensure the proposed Bachelor of Laws exceeds statutory requirements,” Professor Hacket said.

“We will also seek to have full industry accreditation for the Bachelor of Laws from the outset, before any student intake occurs.

“It is proposed that Curtin’s Bachelor of Laws would provide students with flexible study pathways and a variety of double degree programs specially focussed on the needs of industry.”

Professor Paul Fairall has been appointed as Foundation Dean-Designate of Law to oversee the establishment of the new program.

He was previously the Foundation Dean of Law at the University of South Australia, advancing that institution’s law school from the proposal stage to student intake in the space of one year.

Professor Fairall said he hoped to establish similar success with Curtin’s Bachelor of Laws.

He said running a Bachelor of Laws through Curtin’s business school – the state’s largest – would complement existing courses.

Associate Professor Chris Finn, who worked closely with Professor Fairall in South Australia, has been appointed to help develop the law program.

If the course gets approved, Curtin would join the ranks of Murdoch University, the University of Notre Dame and University of Western Australia which currently offer law degrees.

CHRIS THOMSON

EXCLUSIVE: An Associate Professor of Edith Cowan University’s School of Computer & Security Science was last year sacked for alleged serious misconduct relating to accusations he did not credit co-authors.

Before he was fired on January 11 last year, Associate Professor Dongguang Li (pictured) had worked at ECU since September 1995.

A Fair Work Australia decision published today reveals Dr Li’s employment was terminated on the alleged grounds of serious misconduct.

This was after ECU accused him of plagiarising five papers and misleading the university as to their authorship.

In today’s decision, Fair Work Australia Deputy President Brendan McCarthy considered ECU had mischaracterised the plagiarism allegations.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Mr McCarthy considered the allegations were related more to who held intellectual property over the papers.

Before Mr McCarthy, ECU contended Dr Li had published papers solely under his own name when clearly others had been involved in the research.

Dr Li claimed he had been solely responsible for researching and writing the papers and that the research and papers had been stolen from him.

He also argued that some of the papers published in his name had not been intended to be published or were published without his consent.

“I do not consider Li’s conduct to be acts of plagiarism but rather a failure to follow academic authorship standards and protocols,” Mr McCarthy noted.

However, he did consider Dr Li was not the sole person involved in researching or developing the papers.

ACTS OF PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT

Mr McCarthy therefore found that Dr Li had committed acts of professional misconduct.

However, when ECU held a Misconduct Committee hearing into the matter Dr Li was not present.

This occurred because he had gone to China in contravention of an ECU direction that he remain in Perth while the matter was being investigated.

Mr McCarthy considered Dr Li should have stayed in Perth, but that the hearing should not have been conducted until he returned.

He therefore found ECU did not give Dr Li a proper opportunity to explain his conduct.

“I find that Li did engage in conduct … constituting misconduct of such a nature that there was a valid reason for his dismissal,” Mr McCarthy noted.

BOTCHED HEARING

However, Mr McCarthy found the dismissal was unfair because the Misconduct Committee procedure had been flawed.

“I do not consider that reinstatement is appropriate in this case,” Mr McCarthy noted.

“I regard the relationship as being soured to the point of it being unrecoverable.”

Mr McCarthy ordered ECU to pay Dr Li compensation of two months pay.

“But for the inadequacy of the Misconduct Committee procedures, I would have found that the dismissal was not unfair,” Mr McCarthy noted.

“Had Li been able to provide his explanations I doubt that the result would have been different, namely that his employment would nevertheless have been terminated.”

CHRIS THOMSON

EXCLUSIVE: A reprimand against one of Australia’s top teachers has been upheld after the WA Industrial Relations Commission found she had tapped a Year 7 student on the head with her fingers.

In 2002, Stephanie Scott was one of 16 secondary teachers to win a National Excellence in Teaching Award. She is pictured receiving the accolade from then Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson.

However, in December 2010 a WA Department of Education inquiry found she had made intentional physical contact with the head of a female Year 7 student during an interschool cricket carnival.

In 2011 Ms Scott was reprimanded after the inquiry found that a “relatively minor” level of force had been exerted by her hand.

Before the Commission recently, Ms Scott was represented by the State School Teachers Union of WA which argued the reprimand was unreasonable.

DEMEANING AND PATRONISING

The Department countered by stating a student’s head was a “no-go area” and that tapping a student there was demeaning and patronising.

Ms Scott, an educator of 35 years standing, was teaching at Three Springs Primary School in the state’s Midwest at the time of the incident.

During the initial inquiry she drew the Department’s attention to the lack of confidentiality in the disciplinary process.

‘MOB MENTALITY’

She complained the proceedings had given rise to a ‘mob mentality’ among members of the Three Springs parent population and possibly some school staff in the small and isolated town.

In a decision published yesterday, Commissioner Stephanie Mayman agreed and rebuked the Department.

“Taking into account [Ms Scott's] number of years of experience and the area in which she lives … I do wonder whether in fact this is the way in which matters of discipline ought be raised with the teaching profession,” Commissioner Mayman concluded.

She found the decision to reprimand Ms Scott was reasonable, but criticised the department’s handling of the disciplinary process.

“Given … evidence … as to the concern regarding the ‘mob mentality’ in Three Springs it seems to the Commission that the [process] was most inappropriate when there were students potentially at risk on the school premises,” Commissioner Mayman noted.

SAFE AND HAPPY ENVIRONMENT

At the time she won her national teaching award, Ms Scott’s nominators said she was as “an energetic, motivated teacher who provides a safe and happy environment in the school for a mixture of mostly Aboriginal and some non-Aboriginal children”.

The nominators said “she endeavours to promote social justice throughout and all students find her approachable no matter what the problem is.”

Parents were “comfortable” with her communication, the nominators added.

“She creates an environment built on trust, mutual respect and basic courtesy,” they said.

STAFF REPORTER

High profile economist Craig James has become the third TV regular appointed in recent times as an adjunct professor to the Curtin Business School.

Mr James (pictured) is chief economist at CommSec and has started a three-year appointment.

He said he was looking forward to working with Western Australian students during the state’s unique economic period.

“The Western Australian economy is incredibly strong and is currently out-performing all other Australian states,” Mr James said.

“Western Australian companies are attracting strong global investment.

“Many of the students at CBS are going to finish their studies and go on to play major roles in shaping the future of these companies.”

Mr James threw in some free advice for WA investors.

“Certainly, the world is experiencing massive changes with a debt crisis raging in Europe and emerging nations, led by China, taking over leadership of the global economy,” he said.

“So the simple message for investors is to stay alert.

“Pessimism can swiftly change to optimism in the current environment and Western Australian investors need to embrace the opportunities that arise.”

Mr James is a regular media commentator and the daily spokesperson for CommSec on several national news bulletins.

During his tenure he will present public lectures and advise the university on international and domestic economic issues.

He joins fellow celebrity number crunchers Bernard Salt and John Nicolaou as recently-appointed adjunct professors at the Curtin Business School.

STAFF REPORTER

Three Curtin University students have placed fourth in the world in an international robotics competition held at a recent ‘Techfest’ in Mumbai.

After winning the Australian qualification round, Computer science student Toby Scantlebury, engineering student Zachary Oliver and maths student Todd Hurst competed against more than 20 universities from Sri Lanka and India for the robotics crown.

Mr Oliver said his team’s robots were designed to navigate around a black and white grid using an infrared line sensor.

“The challenge was for the robot to gather blocks to deliver to another automatic robot that would then go through a maze to deliver the blocks to set points,” he said.

“The robot did this by detecting blocks placed on the grid using its three infrared range sensors which could tell it how far away the blocks were.

“Using two grippers, it grabbed the blocks and moved them around the grid to complete the competition.”

Curtin University and Swinburne University of Technology were the only two Australian institutions to win a place in the competition’s finals.

Having run for 14 years, the annual Techfest promotes technology, scientific thinking and innovation.