Diddums doesn't do well ... Schools become an exciting battleground as parents sue ... Racial profiling as coppers frisk African teens for weapons ... Ted's prison building boom goes bust ... Sylvia Varnham O'Regan's Yarraside Yarns
Rose Ashton-Weir and Mum: Geelong Grammar's fault Rose didn't get into Sydney law school
EIGHTEEN-year-old Rose Ashton-Weir is suing her former school, Geelong Grammar, for failing to provide her with the academic support she needed to get into Sydney University's law faculty.
The case is before VCAT and is making waves, in part because of the wide ambit of the claim and the potential floodgates it could open if she or her mother - who is suing for loss of income - were successful.
The Twittersphere got excited, with most Tweets unsympathetic of the deprived lass:
Melbourne High School is also being sued after an tragic accident on the school's army cadet course left 18-year-old Anne Louey severely burned.
She is suffering from post-traumatic stress, depression and shock.
Jason Newman, a partner at TressCox in Melbourne, says straightforward negligence claims against schools are common, although they are generally settled and not often reported in the media.
This case has generated interest because of its unusual circumstances – Louey fainted and fell into a fire after slicing her finger with a pocket knife while cutting a pumpkin at cadets' camp.
The Geelong Grammar case also has unusual elements. Ashton-Weir's exact cause of action is not yet clear. There seems to be a bit of negligence and possibly discrimination.
Geelong Grammar discriminating against someone with a hyphenated-name would be a first.
Weir's Mum, Elizabeth, said her daughter was a strong student who struggled with maths and was not properly supported.
Apparently, she was also confused by teachers telling her not to use big words.
There may be an additional contractual claim against GG by the mother, depending on what she believes the school promised to provide.
A school discrimination case was heard in Melbourne in 2008 when Tayla Ives sued Kilvington Girls Grammar after receiving a low VCE result.
Ives, who had been diagnosed with learning difficulties, alleged the school unlawfully discriminated against her by not setting-up programs for extra assistance.
She had hoped to attend Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts but after getting an ENTER score of 11.25, those hopes were dashed.
The case settled out of court.
In 2006, Brighton Grammar was sued by Melbourne mother Yvonne Meyer, who said the school had promised to teach her son to read and had failed to do so. That case also settled.
If Ashton-Weir is successful the assessment of damages would be interesting challenge.
She lost the chance to go to Sydney University law school. What is that worth, given that it's difficult to know if she would have completed a law degree or gone on to become a successful high-earning lawyer?
The hearing will resume in August.
* * *
AFRICAN teenagers living in Melbourne say they are the victims of routine police harassment, bullying and violence, and there have been calls for change as tension escalates.
The coppers deny claims of harassment or racial profiling and say an increase in "engagement" is due to the stop-and-search campaign, designed to reduce the number of knives, guns, knuckledusters, spears, etc. on the streets.
Advocacy groups say a reporting system similar to that in the UK should be implemented in Victoria, whereby a record is made each time a person is stopped.
It's amazing this doesn't happen now.
In New York there has been a huge stink about the racial overtones of the cops' "stop & frisk" program.
It was reported earlier this month:
"A federal judge has granted class action status to a lawsuit that alleges the New York police department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional and amounts to systemic racial discrimination."
It might be an interesting test of Victoria's racial discrimination and human rights protections if someone was frisky enough to bring it on.
* * *
AS I reported last time, Victoria's prison development spree is not without its share of hiccups - and things are only getting worse.
The Ararat prison - due to be completed in seven months' time - has been derailed because St Hilliers Construction went into administration on May 15.
In NSW the government has terminated a public housing contract with St Hilliers, with the delightful Minister for Finance, and former Freehills partner, Greg Pearce, branding the company "dishonest" and its managers "grubs".
As less than half the 358-person Victorian prison is built Premier Ted Baillieu, who is anxious to get new jails filled as quickly as possible, will have to renege on his original completion date while he fishes around for a builder who won't go belly-up.
Tweet me at @sylviavarnham