Stink in Hobart

Government House sewerage gushing into Taswegian botanical gardens ... Will solicitor general Sealy resolve the stand-off? ... Whips out as NSW legal aid lawyers grab CLE points for S & M seminar ... Leather pride versus communicating with Asian clients ... News flashes 

Government House Hobart - HE's pipes have burst

WORD has reached me that there's been a festering imbroglio between Government House in Hobart and the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. 

A "privately owned" sewerage pipe from Gov House, which runs under the RTBG, had ruptured resulting in Vice Regal excrement burbling in the gardens. 

Neither Gov House nor the RTBG wanted to pay and Southern Water didn't want to know about it. 

It was an issue ready made for solicitor general Leigh Sealy to flip a florin to decide who has to foot the bill. 

At the time of writing the stand-off is unresolved. 

Former Supremo Peter Underwood, who now occupies the pile on Lower Domain Road, no longer has the sound advice of the legally trained official secretary Anne Parker. 

She has been replaced by Rhodesian born author David Owen, creator of the character Pufferfish, a prickly Hobart police inspector. 

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WANT some CLE points for a seminar on the law and S & M? Of course, that's possible if you work at NSW Legal Aid. 

Eva Karagiannis, from Legal Aid's family law division, forwarded colleagues details of tonight's seminar (August 29). 

It sounded alluring because of a possible exploration of the issue of consent in the S & M world. 

The seminar has been organised by the Sydney Leather Pride Association and Eva herself was Leather Person of the Year in 2008. 

Siobhan Mullany from Legal Aid, who has had an organisational hand in this matter, notified her lawyers on August 16 that the cost of the seminar is $15 and would be of "particular interest to those with a Local Court practice". She added: 

"Do you get CLE for this, I hear you ask. I just rang the Law Society. They don't accredit seminars. It is up to the lawyer to determine if it has appropriate content. This one does in my opinion. I would count the points. 

It is directly relevant to our work in criminal law and will be discussing the issues relevant to determining those matters in court. 

It is up to you to count them if you agree." 

Alternatively, just stay in for the regular Wednesday seminar. This evening it's on "Improving Client Communication - Asian Cultures".