[Jimmy-T]

Bennifer wrote:

Given the level of fraud that she committed and the theft from multiple strata plans, it is absolutely ridiculous that any action taken against her is then kept secret.

The fact that there are other victims of this alleged criminal makes it very difficult for the authorities to be entirely open about their actions or intended actions, as publicising one case might jeopardise others.

If it’s any consolation, the last strata manager/r.e. agent I heard of who was prosecuted for embezzlement went to jail (much to her surprise).

Don’t assume because you haven’t heard or been told anything, that means nothing is happening.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Replying to your own posts is a bit like talking to yourself, but then I do that too.

My block was today advised to close the gym, on the advice of NSW Health, who said we needed a Covid Wrangler (or something like that) if we wanted to keep the gyms open.

A couple of hours later, NSW Health revised their advice and said the gyms could stay open.

I think right now everyone is tending to err on the side of safety and we just have to accept that – but that shouldn’t mean shutting your facilities down just because your committee can’t think of a way of making them safe.

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[Jimmy-T]

You could get your committee to write to his committee, asking them to take action against their resident.

When they refuse (which they probably will, since he is on it) you could try mediation and Tribunal action under Section 233 of the Act (dispute between stratas) the dispute being that they aren’t fulfilling their duty to control the behaviour of their residents.

I don’t know if this will fly, but at least it’s something to consider.

Meanwhile have a look at this EPA brochure about noise and this one about vehicle noise and this web page about all kinds of pollution and see if you have grounds for complaints to the EPA (which I would do anyway since they may know a way of curbing this that we haven’t considered).

Good luck

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[Jimmy-T]

There are provisions under the Act to have individuals removed from the strata committee.  Have a look at Section 238.  Committee members using their influence for their own benefit and not for the benefit of the whole community would be valid grounds, I would think

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[Jimmy-T]

Enough of Strata wrote:

May I suggest that Jimmy Thompson, (should he be willing) arrange a meeting of Flat Chat members who have an interest in getting change effected, and want to turn the heat up on this issue …

I wouldn’t get directly involved in this or any other issues (even if you’d spelt my name correctly) as I would have no life of my own.

However, gatting fellow victims togehter is a good idea and you can invite other FlatChatters to contact you directly via the message service and take it from there (with the occasional update in these pages).

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[Jimmy-T]

As  general rule, stick to the facts and stay away from personal attacks on individuals.

Establish a clear paper trail and present a clear-cut and irrefutable case that specific laws have been breached.

Avoid  allegations of personal character flaws, cronyism, and other emotive and subjective angles.

NCAT is rife with cronyism – they are rarely impressed by arguments that this is one of the great evils of society.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Owsley wrote:

I’ve been searching for a way to hold them accountable. I can get an EGM organised to reverse the resolution for the Special Levy or take them to the OFT and CTTT. But to me there are important issues of probity, transparency, governance and fairness, not just in this matter but in others as well.

OK, here’s your first issue.  Do you want to reverse the decision or hold them accountable – these are different but related issues?  Your fellow owners may well support you in the former but be reluctant to to get involved in the personal politics of the latter.

My advice would be to get the 25 percent of owners’ signatures to call the EGM, have an agenda that has two items: 1. get more quotes, 2. Decide on a special levy or a strata loan to pay for the winning quote.

Sort all that out and you will have a platform for fixing the problems with the committee, probably at your next AGM.  Try to do it all at once and the very real financial issues get lost in the fog of strata war and you will probably lose.

If you think there is a chance they will push ahead with contracts, initiate action at Fair Trading and NCAT to reverse the decision and apply for an interim order to halt any further work until another meeting has been held.

But once again, making this too contingent on personal attacks will probably blow up in your face.

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[Jimmy-T]

Firstly, the new rules apply to commercial gyms and they are increasing the safety measures rather than closing them.

The last time I spoke to anyone at Fair Trading about this, they said they really didn’t want to intrude into people’s homes and felt that strata residents know their own circumstances better than anyone.  And bear in mind that exercise is seen as one of the best ways of building your immunity against any virus, including Covid-19.

In the block where I live, the key has been to maintain social distancing and cleaning.  You have to book the weights gym and there is a maximum of two people allowed at a time (including personal trainers).

In the aerobic gym (treadmills, stationary bikes etc), there is a maximum occupancy of five,  Why the difference?  Because the machines keep you socially distanced in a way that moving around a weights gym doesn’t.

Both gyms are deep cleaned for an hour every day, immediately after the morning peak.  Hand sanitizer, antiseptic wipes and even rubber gloves are freely available in both gyms and expected to be used.

I know of a couple of strata gyms in large blocks like ours that stayed open even when commercial gyms were closed, because they instituted similarly strict regimens.

If you’re worried about your gyms, talk to your secretary or building manager (if you have one) about their thinking.  I’m sure some blocks are just keeping them open and leaving it up to individuals to self-police, which isn’t an ideal situation either.

But to answer your question directly “can they close our gyms”.  If “they” is either the government or the strata committee, the answer is yes, they can.  But it will be NSW Health that issues the instructions (as they did with lifts).

Your problem might be if you have a committee that decides it’s easier and cheaper to close the gym as a safety measure, than institute sensible restrictions.

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[Jimmy-T]

kaindub wrote:

Mind you , the strata manager may charge you for the privilege, but it’s $34 odd for the first hour.

True.  But this scheme is self-managed, so the issue may be the Flatchatter getting their hands on the records, if indeed there are any.  There is a whole can of compliance worms waiting to be opened here, and inevitable resentment and bad feeling within the community.

I think it might be more productive to forget what’s happened in the past and implement a self-management scheme like StrataBox mto get everything on track for the future.

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[Jimmy-T]

That’s the wornderful thing about conspiracy theories – people take a lack of evidence as “proof”.

There has never been any suggestion, apart from for those flimsy theories that have no basis in fact, that Joanne Lees or Peter Falconio were involved in drug running (although Bradley Murdoch definitely was).

Plenty of people travel that road at night after being advised not to do so.  If you had ever visited any of the accommodation or facilities available at that time (I have) you would know why they decided to keep going.

A revolver doesn’t eject shell casings and someone who took the time to hide a body wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave a shell from an automatic lying around. Where was the gunshot residue going to be found?

The “Jelly Man”, not mentioned in eight previous interviews with police, may just be a local drunk. The Aboriginal communities on either side of the road there are “dry” and when you go up any track far enough you will encounter a sign that says if you are found with alcohol in your vehicle, it will be impounded (I know becasue I have seen them with my own eyes). So, if the Jelly Man ever existed, there are plenty of logical theories why people would be manhandling him into their car and not wanting to engage with passers by.

The other, more usual reason for not confessing to being a drug courier is that you aren’t one.

And, pray tell, what are your conspiracy theories about a struck-off and jailed former coke-head lawyer trying to make a name for himself (and a buck) by cobbling together some BS theories about a tragic case in which one young person’s life was lost and the other’s destroyed.

Want some facts about the man behind this so-called documentary? Look here.

This series was originally made for British TV, where these conspiracy theories meet a more gullible audience, partly due to their complete lack of understanding about the vast extent and nature of the Outback.

We should be a bit smarter than that.

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[Jimmy-T]

I think your only reasoanble approach is to get a strata lawyer to look at the whole precess of how this chancer managed to acquire common property.’

I suspect the original by-laws giving himself the exclusive use of the common property were highly suspect.

The subsequent action of simply subsuming it into his own property is highly dubious too.

If you play your cards right, you could get the property back and have the developer ordered to pay costs.  And that’s why you need a lawyer, because he will certainly have one.

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[Jimmy-T]

I think the owners corporation has a responsibility here and your landlord could take action under a section 232 (2) for “failure to fulfil a function”.

It’s not up to you or your landlord to tell them how they can do this – they need to spend whatever time, energy and money it takes to fix this.

Meanwhile, get your landlord to send them a bill every time your cables get chewed.  If they pay up, the landlord can pass the money on to you.

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[Jimmy-T]

I could make the usual jokes about it being unAustralian to not want barbecues on balconies but this is just about the ultimate expression of resindent not givin a flying frankfurter about their neighbours.

After 20 years of having my flat stunk out by people burning off the fat from their barbecues, rather than cleaning them, overcooking the cheapest cuts of meat, stinking fish and those mystery bags of death (aka sausages), I have given up.  In my block of about 130 units, approximately 20 have barbecues on their balconies.  Yet, in strataland, this contitutes a majority.

Here’s my latest thought – the balcony is common property, the owners corproation can decide what is and isn’t allowed on the balcony.  Ask them to stop the foul smoke coming into your apartment and, when they say they can’t or won’t, run a section 232(2) case at NCAT, asking for orders requiring them to fulfil their obligations under the Act (i.e. control offensive and nuisance behaviour on common property).

There really is no excuse for this.  Some people don’t mind barbecue stink but those who find it offensive  and for whom smoke is a health issue should be given precedence over those who want to burn meat as if they were living in a house with a garden.

If you go to NCAT, I will turn up and support you. How’s that for a promise?  And given the way the Tribunal behaves these days, you never know, you might get a result.

But be prepared for a nasty backlash from the “me first” carnivores.

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[Jimmy-T]

First of all, you might want to take some pictures or video of the dog off the leash.

Next, your best move may be to have your by-law changed to say dogs must be on a leash when on common property as some owners will argue that thei dog is “under their control” whenever they are around.  This may be true … until it isn’t.

Meanwhile you might consider taking action under Section 158 (below) of the Strata Act which relates to controlling animals that have been permitted under the by-laws but which turn out to be a problem.

For instance, you could apply for orders that the dog be kept on a leash whenever it’s on common property because it “unreasonably interferes with the use or enjoyment of another lot or of the common property.”

You could apply for the dog to be leashed on the grounds that  the Tribunal can issue orders that will “terminate the nuisance or hazard or unreasonable interference.”

You will, of course, have to apply for mediation first and you could either take action against the dog owners or the owners under 158 and the strata committee under section 232(2) for failure to fulfil their responsibilities.

158   Order for removal of an animal permitted under by-laws

(1)  The Tribunal may, on application by an interested person, make an order against a person who is keeping an animal on a lot or common property in accordance with the by-laws for a strata scheme, if the Tribunal considers that the animal causes a nuisance or hazard to the owner or occupier of another lot or unreasonably interferes with the use or enjoyment of another lot or of the common property.

(2)  The Tribunal may order that the person—

(a)  cause the animal to be removed from the parcel within a specified time, and be kept away from the parcel, or

(b)  within a time specified in the order, take such action as, in the opinion of the Tribunal, will terminate the nuisance or hazard or unreasonable interference.

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[Jimmy-T]

Send them a bill for the damage to your property.  That might have them scuttling off to check strata law.  You shouldn’t have installed anything on common property without permission but then they shouldn’t have removed it without due notice.

But you are not alone, as this clip from Frasier testifies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72-jyaGMSkc

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