Two separate appeals by Queenslanders against decisions to deny them blue cards, enabling them to work with children, have had mixed results in the Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal (QCAT).
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QCAT considered the cases of Sabu Fraser Wailu, whose blue card was revoked after he was charged with assault after an altercation with his sister (who later dropped the charges), and “COJ”, a woman with a history of drunken violence.
COJ cannot be named as it would identify her young daughter, who was a victim of her violence.
QCAT member Graham Quinlivin rejected Mr Wailu’s appeal against the cancellation of his blue card.
Father-of-four Mr Wailu, 43, who worked as a ranger for the Torres Strait Island Regional Authority, had his blue card cancelled after he was charged with assault causing bodily harm in June, 2012.
Mr Wailu had a history of domestic violence convictions, the most recent of which was in 2007.
Still, the Commissioner for Children and Young People issued him with a blue card in 2009 after determining the risks posed by Mr Wailu had been mitigated by good behaviour and changed life circumstances.
That status was again updated when Mr Wailu punched his sister during an altercation on Mer Island last year.
Mr Wailu’s blue card was cancelled in October 2013, before his sister dropped the charges in January 2014.
Mr Wailu argued the incident was unrelated to his previous behaviour and was not indicative of any violent tendencies.
Mr Quinlivin agreed with the CCYP in its apprehension.
“What is clear to the tribunal is that the applicant seeks to attribute the blame for the incident in June 2013 to his sister,” he wrote in the decision published this week.
“He seeks to limit his own responsibility for the incident. There is no evidence to indicate how he would act if placed in a similar situation in the future.
“His history of violent responses suggests that he does not react well to such situations.”
But Mr Quinlivin said the door was not permanently closed for Mr Wailu.
“There is a tension in this case because there are aspects of the applicant’s case, which suggest that he is a good person who has made some serious mistakes but is endeavouring to do something about them,” he wrote.
“He may benefit from counselling regarding his behaviour with respect to the management of stress and the abuse of alcohol.
“I encourage the applicant to reapply for a blue card in the future when he can demonstrate that he has addressed the issues that have been identified.”
It was better news for COJ, with QCAT member Louise McDonald setting aside the CCYP’s decision to deny her a blue card.
COJ had a history of violent behaviour while intoxicated, including a disturbing incident in which she violently attacked her 12-year-old daughter and threatened to kill herself.
The offences, between 2007 and 2009, resulted in fines and good behaviour bonds.
In her appeal against the blue card refusal, COJ said she had quit drinking, started attending church and had stopped associating with her former social network.
“The tribunal considers that the balance of the evidence indicates that COJ has had a major life change since 2012 and has cut alcohol out of her life,” Ms McDonald wrote in a recently published decision.
“…The tribunal accepts that alcohol has been the major contributing factor in each of these offences.
“The tribunal is however satisfied that COJ’s transformation has been sufficiently radical to displace any concern generated by this.”
