Thursday, 18 February 2010 – 7:00am to 9:00am

$40 per person which includes breakfast

Karralyka Centre, Mines Rd, Ringwood East

Kristina is the creative director and founder of international fashion stationery label kikki.K Swedish Home/Office Style, with 25 retail boutiques in Australia & New Zealand, and an online store that services the world. When Kristina decided to set up a home office almost ten years ago, she couldn’t have known where that decision would take her. 

For booking or more information, please contact Hutchinson Legal on (03) 9870 9870 or BizMaroondah at www.bizmaroondah.com.au.

The team at Hutchinson Legal would like to thank you for your continued support throughout the year, for celebrating Con’s newly appointed role as a partner with us, and for your contributions to the Maroondah Hospital Emergency Department (which were raised at the Annual FUNction and via the ‘Mow the Mo 4 Maroondah Hospital’ fundraising event).

We hope that you and your family enjoy celebrating the message of Christmas. We trust that the coming year will bring you every encouragement and much joy.

The fund raising event has all funds raised by way of donations going directly to Maroondah Hospital Emergency Department

Mr Con Nottas, the newly appointed partner of Hutchinson Legal said, “Next year it is hoped that other businesses and individuals in Maroondah will join in this event as it seeks to raise funds for one of our local hospitals”.

Staff from Hutchinson Legal will be sponsored to grow and then shave their moustaches and beards.  Some may even be tempted to dye their original moustache for the occasion.  At this stage staff from Quattro Hair Fashion in Eastland will donate their time and ensure that the shaving (and the dying) is performed professionally and appropriately.

‘We are always keen to promote good local causes’ said Martin Reilly of Hutchinson Legal.  ‘But in any event, many of our clients making applications to the Victims of Crime Tribunal use the valuable services of the Emergency Department so this is a way we can contribute to their on-going care’.

If you would like to participate in the campaign or be a sponsor please call Tristan at Hutchinson Legal on 9870 9870.  All donations will go to the hospital and are tax deductible.

At Hutchinson Legal we offer the opportunity to our clients when drafting their Wills whether they wish to be cremated or buried.  Often the response is: ‘I am not sure’ or ‘I don’t care’.  Some people, however, may now be interested in the environmental impact of such a choice.

While cremation has a decided advantage over burial in that land is scarce and cemetery lots expensive, cremation has been criticized by some natural burial advocates for its high energy use, production of greenhouse gas emissions and generation of airborne pollutants.

A report by the consultancy company GHD compared the greenhouse gas emissions from cremation and burial (GHD, 2007).  The study estimated that greenhouse gas emissions from cremation were 0.16 tonnes (160kg) of CO2 per person.  GHD estimated that burial produces fewer emissions, at 0.039 tonnes (39kg) of CO2 per person at the time of internment.  For comparative purposes, the average car produces about 4.5 tonnes (4500kg) of greenhouse gases every year (Commonwealth of Australia) which means that in South Australia, where the report was commissioned, the burial of people for the state produced the same greenhouse gas emissions as running 38 cars for a year, and cremation produced the equivalent emissions of running about 267 cars for a year.

The report also concluded, however, that the maintenance of burial sites in conventional cemeteries resulted in 10% greater environmental footprint for burial than for cremation due to the fossil fuels in mowing lawns and maintaining gardens.

Be that as it may, some advocates are considering the environmental impact of having a natural burial – that is being put in the ground without a coffin with the body wrapped in a shroud by the base of a tree so that the body can decompose naturally into the soil.  The government of South Australia it seems, through its Greenhouse Strategy ‘Tackling Climate Change – South Australia’s Greenhouse Strategy 2007-2010′ (Government of South Australia, 2007), and some leading Members of Parliament, is keen to set a framework for the changes needed to address the issues of climate change which includes natural burial.

Be that as it may, careful consideration of the environmental impact of burial or cremation may now help clients in making more decisive choices.

• Secured in a commercially designed holder fixed to the vehicle; or
• Can be operated by the driver without touching any part of the phone.

Drivers may still use earpieces that are connected to the phone via a chord but whilst you are using such a device, you must ensure that you do not hold the phone in your hand, press any buttons on the phone itself, or touch any part of the body of the phone.

Using Global Positioning System (GPS) while driving is also prohibited unless it is secured in a commercially designed holder fixed to the vehicle.

Using a mobile phone or visual display unit as you drive is considered distracting and may create a dangerous if not fatal situation. With these new rules, the government aims to reduce the road toll by 30 percent by 2017.

Learner driver and P1 drivers are prohibited from using mobile phones at all while driving.

After your Learner’s Permit and before your Probationary Licence.

If you obtained your learner permit on or after 1 July 2008 and you are applying for a probationary licence, there are requirements that you must have been driving on your learner permit for a minimum of twelve (12) months, and have completed at least one hundred and twenty (120) hours of supervised driving in a variety of conditions, including ten (10) hours at night. Your driving experience must be recorded in your official learner logbook, and must be signed by you (as the learner driver) and your supervising driver. Learner drivers over twenty-one (21) years of age are exempt from this, although it is wise to obtain as much driving experience as possible.

Two-tiered Probationary Licensing System

The new two-tiered probationary licensing system is now in place. P-Platers are first awarded a P1 licence (red p-plates) upon passing their driving test. They must maintain a good driving record for a year before being awarded with a P2 licence (green p-plates) which is for a period of three (3) years. Drivers over the age of 21 will skip the P1 period and go straight to the P2 licence.

If you are driving on a P1 Probationary Licence:

• You must display red P-Plates at all times.
• You must not have any alcohol in your blood when driving.
• You must not use a mobile phone, hand held, hands free or messaging of any kind.
• You are not permitted to drive a high powered vehicle.
• You cannot tow a caravan or trailer (unless for work at the request of the employer, under instruction with an experienced driver sitting beside you or you are using the vehicle in connection with agriculture, horticulture, dairying, pastoral or other like pursuits like commercial fishing).
• You are not allowed to carry more than one peer passenger (with some exceptions).
• If you pass your drive test in an automatic vehicle, you will be restricted to driving automatic vehicles while you hold  a probationary licence.
• You must carry your licence at all times while driving.

If you are driving on a P2 Probationary Licence:

• You must display green P-Plates at all times.
• You must not use a hand held mobile phone while driving.
• You are not permitted to drive a high powered vehicle.
• You must not have any alcohol in your blood when driving.
• If you pass your drive test in an automatic vehicle, you will be restricted to driving automatic vehicles while you hold a probationary licence.
• You must carry your licence at all times while driving.

We trust that this information is of assistance particularly for those of our clients who will be on our roads this holiday.

There are numerous events planned for the day which may be found at http://www.whiteribbonday.org.au/White-Ribbons-48.aspx

If you have been dismissed, some questions that you may wish to consider include:

• Was the dismissal unlawful? It is illegal for an employer to dismiss you for a prohibited reason or without the minimum notice or pay instead of notice. Examples of prohibited reasons include temporary absence from work due to illness or injury, non-membership of a trade union, being absent from work during maternity leave or other parental leave or filing a complaint, or participating in proceedings against an employer.
• Was the dismissal unfair? Unfair dismissal occurs if Fair Work Australia finds that the person was dismissed, and the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, and the dismissal was not a case of genuine redundancy. It is not an unfair dismissal if the employer is a small business owner and they follow the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code when dismissing an employee.
• Was the Redundancy genuine and did you get all your entitlements? A person’s dismissal is a ‘genuine redundancy’ under Commonwealth workplace laws if the employer no longer needs the person’s job to be done by anyone due to changes in the operational requirements of the business and if the employer followed consultation requirements in the award or agreement that applies. It is not a genuine redundancy if it is reasonable for the employee to be redeployed in the employer’s business, or the business of an entity associated with the employer. If you have been made redundant, you may be entitled to redundancy pay, also called severance pay, but this depends on the terms of your agreement or award.
• Does your final pay include all that you are entitled to? Employees should receive outstanding wages, including penalty rates and allowances, accrued annual leave entitlements, accrued or pro-rata long service leave (if applicable), and redundancy pay entitlements (if applicable) in their final pay.

Seek legal advice if you are concerned that you have been unfairly or unlawfully dismissed, or that you have not received your rightful entitlements.