Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading
The Honourable Peter Lawlor
25/09/2010
Unsafe thermometer pacifier recalled
Parents are being urged to check their children's pacifiers following a nationwide recall.
Minister for Fair Trading Peter Lawlor said the Wisdom Brands Digital Pacifier Thermometer had been recalled because of fears the teat could become separated.
"If the product is used as a soother, teat separation could present a choking hazard.
"Although we are not aware of any incidents, I'm urging parents who have bought this product to stop using it and return it immediately to the supplier for a full refund," he said.
The Wisdom Brands Digital Pacifier Thermometer was sold through all Aldi stores from June to the end of July 2010.
The product should be returned to Wisdom Brands, for more information consumers can call:
1300 055 676 or email
info@wisdombrands.com.au.
Mr Lawlor said Queensland enforced strict product safety standards for pacifiers and the product was found during an Office of Fair Trading spot check.
"The product was test ed in accordance with the mandatory safety standards and as a result, the pacifiers failed this test.
"Aldi and Wisdom brands were notified and the product was removed from sale," he said.
For more information about baby safety, visit www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or phone:
13 QGOV (13 74 68).
New Dog Attack: Sixth dog attack in Ipswich in the past month
There has been another dog attack which has caused serious injury to another dog.
It occurred at Eyre Street Leichhardt.
Police have been contacted over the incident.
A dog was attacked by a number of other dogs in a yard this morning.
Both the police and Ipswich City Council officers are in attendance.
The injured dog has been transported for veterinary attention however it is in a serious condition.
A number of dogs has been seized and impounded.
There has been another dog attack which has caused serious injury to another dog.
It occurred at Eyre Street Leichhardt.
Police have been contacted over the incident.
A dog was attacked by a number of other dogs in a yard this morning.
Both the police and Ipswich City Council officers are in attendance.
The injured dog has been transported for veterinary attention however it is in a serious condition.
A number of dogs has been seized and impounded.
Consumer Ripoff: Office of Fair Trading warns public against SEQ tree lopper Elevisi Moli
Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading
The Honourable Peter Lawlor
23/09/2010
Dodgy trader alert: Fair Trading warns about tree lopper
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning Queenslanders about the suspected unlawful business practices of a tree lopper who has been door-knocking neighbourhoods for work.
Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor said the OFT had good reason to believe All Qld Tree Services was ripping people off, particularly vulnerable pensioners.
"Earlier this year the OFT launched an investigation into the practices of All Qld Tree Services. Those investigations are continuing and relate to serious breaches of the door-to-door provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1989. In the meantime I encourage Queenslanders to be very wary if approached at home by this company," Mr Lawlor said.
Elevisi Moli is the proprietor of the Kingston, Brisbane-based business.
Mr Moli and a group of several workers are known to travel around Queensland peddling their services to residents at home.
It was previously reported in the media that an elderly Maryborough woman paid the company $10,500 to have the branches on a tree in her yard trimmed.
The OFT has also received a complaint from an 83-year-old Bundaberg man who says the group pressured him to go to the bank and withdraw $8,000 to pay for two trees to be cut down and others to be trimmed.
"The investigation has so far identified that the amounts charged by All Qld Tree Services far exceed the expected price for the amount of work undertaken. The company reportedly only accepts cash and pressure tactics are used," Mr Lawlor said.
"It has now been identified that Mr Moli trading as All Qld Tree Services has recently operated in the Northside of Brisbane, and last week approached an 87 and 79 year old couple and demanded cash to remove one tree"
Mr Lawlor said dodgy itinerant door-to-door traders charged too much, messed up the work and pressured people before doing a runner.
"Some approach residents by pointing out flaws in their home that apparently need fixing," Mr Lawlor said.
"They'll often offer to drive the person down to the ATM to get their cash. When there's a group of tradesmen in your home demanding money, it can be very intimidating."
Under the Fair Trading Act 1989, door-to-door salespeople must:
• produce an identity card with the trader's full name and address
• only contact customers between 9am-6pm from Monday to Friday, and 9am-5pm on Saturdays. Calls on Sundays or public holidays are prohibited
• provide a written contract clearly stating the breakdown of costs, including GST and the total price when the goods or services are more than $75
• provide a 10-day cooling-off period when the goods and services are worth more than $75. During this time no payment, including deposits, can be accepted and no work can be commenced.
• provide a form outlining the consumer's right to cancel a door-to-door contract
• provide a form to actually make t he cancellation within the cooling off period
Members of the public can report suspicious activity of a trader to the OFT by visiting www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or calling 13 13 04.
Traders caught breaching the Fair Trading Act face fines of up to $54,000 for individuals and $270,000 for companies.
Neighbours from hell destroy Queensland families
TheSundayMail.com.au
Backyard battles go beyond the pale
NASTY neighbourhood disputes could be taken out of the hands of
overwhelmed councils as the State Government tackles the spiralling
social problem plaguing our suburbs.
With some councillors admitting defeat over backyard battles,
Attorney-General Cameron Dick says the Government may intervene in a
wider range of disputes.
Under draft laws, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal
will act as a ``neighbours court'' to help resolve fights over trees
and fences, two common causes of neighbourhood warfare.
``If this new approach proves successful, the Queensland Government
could consider applying it to other neighbourhood issues such as noise
and odour,'' Mr Dick flagged yesterday.
One veteran councillor has urged the State Government to intervene in
such disputes, saying councils were out of their depth and
floundering.
Ipswich councillor Paul Tully said: ``In my 31 years in council this
has been the biggest issue.
``Some of these persistent perpetrators are very adept at pushing
boundaries and know evidence is very difficult to gather. Councils
find it very difficult to catch them in the act.''
Brisbane City Council alone received 16,272 calls and complaints about
noise last financial year, including 8445 about domestic animals,
latest figures show. Dispute Resolution Centres across the state also
mediated 135 neighbour matters last financial year, 140 in 2008-09,
and 128 in 2007-08.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the council found itself
under fire from all sides when it came to neighbourhood disputes.
``We don't want to be in the position like the United Nations
everybody shoots at them. That's literally how it feels at times,'' he
said.
More work was needed on establishing and enforcing clear boundaries of
acceptable behaviour, he said.
Brisbane Opposition Leader Cr Shayne Sutton said: ``It's not just an
issue about noise, it's the type of noise, how loud the noise is, how
long the noise is maintained. Both the State Government and the
council needs to be at the table.''
The growing problem was a symptom of changing lifestyles, said Local
Government Association chief executive Greg Hallam.
``Some of these disputes are intractable. We don't have the same
good-neighbourly attitude or ethos we had 20 or 30 years ago. People
are far more transient, far less tolerant,'' Mr Hallam said.
Desperate residents inundated The Sunday Mail with emails and calls
about their disputes following a report last week about backyard
mechanic Andrew Bretherton.
Mr Bretherton's neighbours resorted to taking secret photographs of
his work on dozens of vehicles on his acreage property in the upmarket
Brisbane suburb of Brookfield.
Across the state residents said they were being driven mad in similar
cases, and that councils and police had been unable to deal with the
problem.
On the flip side are neighbours who complain at the proverbial drop of a hat.
Former attorney-general Linda Lavarch flagged the possibility of
introducing a neighbours court to settle disputes in 2006.
A government report suggested the court as one option in 2008 after
concluding residents faced an ``absence of strong enforcement measures
and actions by authorities''.
Fresh dog attack as spate of incidents continues in Ipswich
A new serious dog attack has occurred in the Ipswich suburb of Flinders View.
It happened last evening when an elderly person and his dog were attacked at Melrose Drive Flinders View.
The victim was walking his dog on the footpath in Melrose Drive with a friend.
As they walked past a house, the offending dogs ran from rear yard through an open gate.
One dog knocked him over and bit him on the buttock whilst he was on the footpath.
The other dog attacked the victim's dog causing punctures and lacerations.
The victim picked up his dog and held it away from the attacking dogs and continued to fight them off until the owner came from house and called them off.
The victim has taken his dog to the vet for treatment to wounds and then attended a doctor in relation to his own injuries.
The dogs are Mastiff Cross types and both are registered.
The dogs had allegedly escaped through the driveway gate that was accidentally left open.
An inspection of the fencing showed the dogs could not have escaped the property unless the gate was open.
The dogs are confined to the property.
Ipswich City Council is considering possible legal action against the offending owner.
It happened last evening when an elderly person and his dog were attacked at Melrose Drive Flinders View.
The victim was walking his dog on the footpath in Melrose Drive with a friend.
As they walked past a house, the offending dogs ran from rear yard through an open gate.
One dog knocked him over and bit him on the buttock whilst he was on the footpath.
The other dog attacked the victim's dog causing punctures and lacerations.
The victim picked up his dog and held it away from the attacking dogs and continued to fight them off until the owner came from house and called them off.
The victim has taken his dog to the vet for treatment to wounds and then attended a doctor in relation to his own injuries.
The dogs are Mastiff Cross types and both are registered.
The dogs had allegedly escaped through the driveway gate that was accidentally left open.
An inspection of the fencing showed the dogs could not have escaped the property unless the gate was open.
The dogs are confined to the property.
Ipswich City Council is considering possible legal action against the offending owner.
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