Monday, 20 April 2009

Trekking handbook not shown to school student before fatal expedition, The Australian, 20 April, 2009.

Trekking handbook not shown to school student before fatal expedition

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 20 Apr 2009: 5.
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An email from [David Iredale], written to his friends on December 8, 2006, two days before the boys began their trek, states: "I have all the maps and navigation sheets which were given to me by Mr [Jim Forbes], so they are reliable.
A friend of David's from his earliest school years, fellow class member Phillip Chan, now 19 and studying law at the University of NSW, spent all of Friday being cross-examined at the inquest.
He recalled agreeing with David Iredale's sentiments about their map's misleading statements on water supply: "Plenty of water my arse."

AT least one of the three students from the private Sydney Grammar School involved in an ill-fated mountain trek for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award was never shown the handbook explaining how the scheme works.
The handbook providing detailed information for participants in the scheme, which is designed to build character among young people, states there should be a minimum of four boys on any trek in order to qualify for awards.
It recommends a minimum group of five to seven for remote-area treks, such as the one in the Blue Mountains that led to the death of 17-year-old David Iredale on December 11, 2006.
The story of the staggering indifference of the 000 operators, who the state Coroner heard last week took five calls from David as he was dying from heat exhaustion but failed to even take his name or telephone number, has overshadowed the culpability or otherwise of the school.
Sydney Grammar, which took months to respond to police inquiries for information, is expected to come under intense pressure this week as chemistry teacher Jim Forbes, the school's Duke of Edinburgh Award co-ordinator, faces the inquest.
While the NSW Ambulance Service has apologised unreservedly to the grieving Iredale family, the school has denied any knowledge of the trek.
But evidence tendered to the inquest shows the boys' frustration that Mr Forbes forgot to bring them a promised and potentially life-saving GPS device.
An email from David the other boys sent two days before they left assures them everything will be all right because maps and navigation sheets for the trek had been provided by Mr Forbes.
Clearly written on their map, at the location of the campsite near the base of Mount Solitary where they spent their first night, are the words: "Lots H2O here."
An email from David, written to his friends on December 8, 2006, two days before the boys began their trek, states: "I have all the maps and navigation sheets which were given to me by Mr Forbes, so they are reliable.
"They are all correct and I have been assured by Mr Forbes that this is a fairly easy trail to follow so we won't have any problems on that front."
A friend of David's from his earliest school years, fellow class member Phillip Chan, now 19 and studying law at the University of NSW, spent all of Friday being cross-examined at the inquest.
He recalled agreeing with David Iredale's sentiments about their map's misleading statements on water supply: "Plenty of water my arse."
The inquest resumes today.
Credit: John Stapleton
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Saturday, 18 April 2009

Tracking technology could save lives, Weekend Australian, 18 April, 2009.

Tracking technology could save lives

Overington, Caroline. John Stapleton. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 18 Apr 2009: 9.
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"He said, `Have you got any of the mango ice-cream that you made?"' Mrs Iredale's statement says. "I said, `Yes, I'll leave you some'. He said, `I could do with some right now'."
Serious questions about [David Iredale]'s bushwalk are being raised at the inquest into his death: was the bushwalk sanctioned by Sydney Grammar and, if so, was it properly supervised, as part of the Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Did they discuss the trek withthe program's co-ordinator at Sydney Grammar, Jim Forbes? Did David contribute to his own death by heading off alone? But thebiggest question, really, is: why, in 21st century Australia, where 90 per cent of adults have a mobile telephone, and 60 per cent of calls made to 000 come from mobile telephones, was it not possible for operators to pinpoint David's location? Such tracking technology has been available since 1995. Australia doesn't use it. A person who calls 000 from a mobile phone might be at the scene of an accident, lost at sea, or disoriented, but operators depend upon them to give a street name, or else the computer won't let the call proceed. The ramifications of such outmoded technology are obvious: during the Victorian bushfires in February, people called on their mobiles from cars on smoky roads, driving blind, and the operators heard them dying, and couldn't do anything because they didn't know where the calls were coming from.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority's Wayne Debemarkdi said of the mobile phone tracking technology: "We don't have it, and it's a problem. You can use your mobile anywhere, and people do tend to use a mobile when there is a serious emergency, but the operator doesn't know where they are.
MARY Anne Iredale spoke to her son David on the morning before he died during a bushwalk in the Blue Mountains. The Sydney Grammar student had called her from his mobile to say he had no water.
In a statement tendered to the Coroner, Mrs Iredale said she asked her son: `Are you OK?' He replied, `yes, we're fine'."
David said he was heading for a river to get water for himself and his friends.
"He said, `Have you got any of the mango ice-cream that you made?"' Mrs Iredale's statement says. "I said, `Yes, I'll leave you some'. He said, `I could do with some right now'."
They didn't speak again. David, 17, was soon lost, dehydrated and becoming confused in the pounding December heat.
He did exactly as he had long ago been taught to do. He called 000 from his mobile, in the hope -- and, probably, in the belief -- that somebody would help him. They didn't.
In fact, as the Coroner's Court has heard this week, David got a mouthful of sarcasm. "You just wandered off into the middle of nowhere did you?" one operator said, when the disoriented boy tried to explain that he didn't know where exactly he was.
As he was staggering about in the heat and the dust, trying hard to make the perilousness of his situation understood, to get his voice heard over a line that kept breaking up, another said: "There's no need to yell."
On that day, December 11, 2006, David died, having been unable to convince the operators that he was in desperate need of help.
It was as shocking a case as Australia has seen of the futility of calling 000, if you don't know where you are. If you call from a mobile, they don't know where you are, not if you can't tell them.
Serious questions about David's bushwalk are being raised at the inquest into his death: was the bushwalk sanctioned by Sydney Grammar and, if so, was it properly supervised, as part of the Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Did they discuss the trek with theprogram's co-ordinator at Sydney Grammar, Jim Forbes? Did David contribute to his own death by heading off alone? But the biggest question, really, is: why, in 21st century Australia, where 90 per cent of adults have a mobile telephone, and 60 per cent of calls made to 000 come from mobile telephones, was it not possible for operators to pinpoint David's location? Such tracking technology has been available since 1995. Australia doesn't use it. A person who calls 000 from a mobile phone might be at the scene of an accident, lost at sea, or disoriented, but operators depend upon them to give a street name, or else the computer won't let the call proceed. Theramifications of such outmoded technology are obvious: during the Victorian bushfires in February, people called on their mobiles from cars on smoky roads, driving blind, and the operators heard them dying, and couldn't do anything because they didn't know wherethe calls were coming from.
Something similar happened in NSW five years ago, when a 19-year-old called 000 to report the Waterfall train disaster and was dismissed as a hoax caller.
Last April, a man had to cling to a bucket in rough seas near Forster, on the NSW north coast because he couldn't get the 000 operator to understand that he was offshore, and therefore, he couldn't give her a street address.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority's Wayne Debemarkdi said of the mobile phone tracking technology: "We don't have it, and it's a problem. You can use your mobile anywhere, and people do tend to use a mobile when there is a serious emergency, but the operator doesn't know where they are.
"With the old system, the landlines, we could see straight away."
NSW ambulance spokesman John Wilson said: "Sometimes they can tell us roughly which area the mobile telephone tower is in, and that could be miles away from where the person is. The technology is there, but we don't have access to it.
"The federal Government would have to bring in legislation, to say, yes, we need this, because it would make it a lot easier for everyone if we had it."
In a statement, ACMA said there were "various technologies" that would allow 000 to identify a location but there were "advantages and disadvantages to each of these".
There were problems, they said, with "performance, reliability, costs, accuracy and complexity".
The other question that needs to be answered is why the operators didn't move heaven and earth to save the boy, even if they couldn't be entirely sure exactly where he was.
In part, it may be because of a culture that has been allowed to develop among operators, where many calls are a hoax, a hang-up, or a prank. Data from Telstra shows that 11 million calls -- or more than 30,000 a day -- are made to 000 every year. Of these, fewer than half actually need police, ambulance or the fire brigade. Sometimes, it's people wanting to know how to turn off the oven. The calls peak during school holidays, when kids think it's hilarious to ring up and make mischief.
----- The last words of David Iredale to triple-0 operators -----
David: "I'm stuck. I can't walk far at all. I don't have a map."
Operator: "Where's the nearest street?"
David: "I'm in the bush, I am lost, I don't know."
Operator: "Well I have to know the street so I know where to send the ambulance."
David: "I'm about to faint."
Finally
David: "I'm on a rock ... can you send a helicopter?"
Credit: Caroline Overington, John Stapleton
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Friday, 17 April 2009

Dying schoolboy lost in bush ridiculed by 000 operators The Australian 17 April 2009



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/lost-schoolboy-ridiculed-by-000-staff/story-e6frg6no-1225699718405

Dying schoolboy lost in bush 'ridiculed' by 000 operators

AFTER becoming hopelessly lost in the NSW Blue Mountains, schoolboy David Iredale made six desperate calls to the 000 emergency service.
But even though he told them he was struggling to stay conscious, the ambulance officers who took the calls treated him dismissively, with one even ridiculing his predicament.
The 17-year-old, who had become separated from his two bushwalking companions, is believed to have died soon after making the calls, but his body was not found for more than a week.
Yesterday, at the inquest into his death, the head of the Sydney call centre for the NSW Ambulance Service Peter Payne was forced to admit the three operators who took David's calls on December 11, 2006, were sarcastic, abrupt and uncaring towards the Year 11 Sydney Grammar student. The operators also failed to accurately record vital information given to them by David and failed to pass those details on to the police.
Call operators talked over the boy when he was trying to describe his situation and put him on hold with no apparent explanation several times. One of David's calls lasted for more than five minutes and another for four minutes, but in none of the five calls he made to the Ambulance Service -- he had initially made one call to police -- did an operator ask for his name or his phone number.
His calls were also incorrectly recorded as not requiring further action.
When David told an operator he had "no idea" where he was, the female call taker sarcastically replied: "OK, so you wandered off into the middle of nowhere?"
David's mother Mary Anne Iredale wept quietly in the public gallery of the court as Mr Payne acknowledged the gross failings of the operators who spoke to her dying son.
Under sustained cross-examination from counsel assisting Jeremy Gormly SC, Mr Payne admitted that the behaviour of the women operators on the day had been worthy of disciplinary action and agreed that sarcasm from a triple-0 operator was "inappropriate".
The court heard that one of the operators spoke to David twice within a space of eight minutes but transcripts of the calls appear to indicate she had no memory of the first call.
On his second call to this operator, the boy told her: "I am lost, I need water, I have not had water for a long time", but she cut over him, demanding once again to know what suburb he was in.
Another operator put him on hold for more than 20 seconds and then came back and asked him the same questions she had asked before.
Mr Payne blamed a lack of appropriate training for the women's insistence on obtaining a street address above all else, even though the boy repeatedly said he was lost in the bush.
The NSW Ambulance Service, which has unreservedly apologised to the Iredale family for its failings, drafted new protocols to deal with emergency calls from remote, isolated or difficult locations in 2008 and yesterday provided another revised copy of the protocol to the court.
The inquest continues.
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Thursday, 16 April 2009

Police not told teen was in danger, The Australian, 16 April, 2009.




Police not told teen was in danger

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 16 Apr 2009: 7.
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Detective Senior Constable John Fasano told the inquest yesterday that police were under the impression [David Iredale] and his two bushwalking companions had enough provisions for their trip, and were unaware David was in a dangerous condition.
Senior Constable Fasano said the conduct of the emergency operators left much to be desired. He agreed they failed to ask for David's name, phone number or the identity of his companions. He said the words the boy had used on the phone -- "bushwalk, hot, fainting" -- would normally be followed by questions about water, shade and whether he needed assistance. He agreed that an operator's conclusion that David did not appear to be in great distress was incorrect.
David's parents, Stephen and Mary-Anne Iredale, said yesterday they were grateful for the apology.

POLICE searching in the NSW Blue Mountains for a schoolboy who died after he got lost might have found him on the afternoon he went missing if the information provided to 000 operators had been passed on.
The inquest into the death of 17-year-old David Iredale in December 2006 was told yesterday the boy made six desperate phone calls to emergency services operators on December 11, but police were not told of the information he gave on his whereabouts until December 15.
His body was found on December 19, in a dry creek bed about 200m from a walking track.
Detective Senior Constable John Fasano told the inquest yesterday that police were under the impression David and his two bushwalking companions had enough provisions for their trip, and were unaware David was in a dangerous condition.
On December 11, David told the 000 operators he had dehydration and heat stress and was close to fainting. And he provided relatively detailed descriptions of where he was.
Senior Constable Fasano said the conduct of the emergency operators left much to be desired. He agreed they failed to ask for David's name, phone number or the identity of his companions. He said the words the boy had used on the phone -- "bushwalk, hot, fainting" -- would normally be followed by questions about water, shade and whether he needed assistance. He agreed that an operator's conclusion that David did not appear to be in great distress was incorrect.
"He was well aware he was in trouble, he was lost, he realised he had a medical condition," Senior Constable Fasano said after theemergency calls were played to the court.
Senior Constable Fasano said part of the police search had involved driving up and down firetracks and sounding sirens, but as it turned out David was in no fit state to respond to this style of search.
If the ambulance operators had sent the details of the voice calls David made, police with local knowledge would have been able to identify the landmarks, he said.
The extent of the knowledge and involvement of the boys' school, Sydney Grammar, in the ill-fated venture will be scrutinised duringthe inquest.
A note left by the bushwalking path near steep cliffs known as The Col records the tale of the three boys, who set out on an adventure they believed would help get them their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
The inquest heard it had become a tradition among bushwalkers to leave messages in an exercise pad that enthusiasts left at the spot.
The December 11 note reads: "Got to the top!! Haven't had H20 for a whole day. River coming up! Enjoy the view!"
Shortly after the note was written, David became separated from his two mates.
On Tuesday, counsel for the NSW Ambulance Service unreservedly apologised to the boy's family for the failure to pass information tothe police.
David's parents, Stephen and Mary-Anne Iredale, said yesterday they were grateful for the apology.
Credit: John Stapleton
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Monday, 13 April 2009

Sacked Fiji judges warn expats on treason, The Australian, 13 April, 2009. Page One.

Sacked Fiji judges warn expats on treason

Merritt, ChrisAuthor InformationView Profile. John Stapleton The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 Apr 2009: 1.
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"He is effectively a dictator -- that is a strong word, but that is the situation," said Ian Lloyd, one of the three Australian judges on Fiji's Court of Appeal who last Thursday ruled that military leader Frank Bainimarama's seizure of power in a 2006 coup was illegal.
"On one view, you could be regarded as being treasonous because this regime is illegal," he said. All three Australian judges fear that those judges who remain loyal to Fiji's constitution are risking a confrontation with the military. The Australians -- Mr Lloyd, Randall Powell SC and Francis Douglas QC -- warned that this could come tomorrow when Fiji's courts reopen for the first time since the coup.
"They just cannot be dismissed like this. They are still judges. They can only be dismissed for misconduct," he said. "I am not saying they should make themselves martyrs by going into court."
THE Australian judges who triggered Fiji's latest political crisis have branded the Pacific nation's president a dictator and warned that any expatriate judges who accept job offers from him could be seen as treasonous.
The attack on president Josefa Iloilo was unleashed yesterday after he had sacked the country's judiciary, torn up the constitution and reappointed a prime minister whose regime the judges had declared illegal.
"He is effectively a dictator -- that is a strong word, but that is the situation," said Ian Lloyd, one of the three Australian judges on Fiji's Court of Appeal who last Thursday ruled that military leader Frank Bainimarama's seizure of power in a 2006 coup was illegal.
Mr Iloilo responded to the ruling by sacking all Fiji's judges, declaring a 30-day state of emergency and, on Saturday, swearing Mr Bainimarama back into office as prime minister. Press censorship has also been imposed.
Mr Iloilo promised to appoint his own judges to replace those he had sacked. But Mr Lloyd warned that "any expat now thinking of taking a position will effectively be swearing allegiance to an illegal dictator".
"On one view, you could be regarded as being treasonous because this regime is illegal," he said. All three Australian judges fear that those judges who remain loyal to Fiji's constitution are risking a confrontation with the military. The Australians -- Mr Lloyd, Randall Powell SC and Francis Douglas QC -- warned that this could come tomorrow when Fiji's courts reopen for the first time since the coup.
The Australians, who normally practise as barristers in Sydney, ruled that Mr Iloilo had unlawfully purported to validate the 2006 coup that brought Mr Bainimarama to power.
Mr Douglas, who was sworn in by the president only last Monday, said he agreed with Mr Lloyd's assessment that Mr Iloilo was now a dictator.
The three Australian judges handed down their controversial ruling on Thursday after walking past a contingent of between 50 and 80 uniformed troops who had arrived at the court building in Fiji's capital, Suva.
"They weren't in the court itself, but they were in the precincts of the court," Mr Lloyd said. "They were scattered around the corridors and guarding the
Continued -- Page 2
From Page 1
stairways. "It may have been to protect us, but we didn't really think we needed protection from the public," he said.
All three judges said yesterday that the President's decree sacking the judiciary had no legal effect.
"We are still judges," said Mr Douglas. And they believe that applies to all the magistrates and judges who have purportedly been sacked by the President.
Mr Lloyd, who was the last of the three to return to Sydney, said Australian consular officials in Fiji had urged him to leave thecountry immediately and to keep a low profile until he boarded a flight to Sydney on Saturday.
But before he left, he said he had learned that Fiji's Chief Justice, Anthony Gates, wanted the country's judges to appear in court tomorrow, despite their purported dismissal.
Chief Justice Gates, who holds joint British and Australian citizenship, had told Australian expatriate judge Tom Hickie that the best course of action would be to turn up for court on Tuesday "and see what happens".
About six expatriate Australians are part of Fiji's judiciary, including Chief Justice Gates, Justice Hickie and high-profile judge Jocelynne Scutt.
Mr Powell, Mr Lloyd and Mr Douglas urged the Law Council of Australia and the federal Government to take whatever steps they could to ensure the welfare of Fiji's judiciary.
"They need as much help from outside as they can (get)," Mr Douglas said.
Mr Powell said he would not be surprised if Fiji's judges continued to sit on cases.
"They just cannot be dismissed like this. They are still judges. They can only be dismissed for misconduct," he said. "I am not saying they should make themselves martyrs by going into court."
He said he believed anyone who sought to take their place would strike extreme problems.
"I am still a judge of Fiji for another two years but as a practical matter I will not be allowed back into the country -- as least while themilitary is in charge."
Mr Lloyd said Mr Iloilo, 88, appeared to be carrying out Mr Bainimarama's instructions. Mr Douglas said he was extremely disappointed at the President's reaction and it meant an opportunity to return Fiji to democracy had receded.
Fiji has been under pressure to hold elections soon, but Mr Iloilo said they would now not be held for five more years.
Editorial -- Page 7
Credit: Chris Merritt, John Stapleton
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