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Centralian Advocate, Friday, August 30, 2013 — 39

LAWYERS & NOTARIES

with

John Stirk

The Law and You

Fred’s Bad Performance

Fred decided that his career in the

quarry lacked challenges. He saw

an advertisement in the Centralian

Advocate offering a position as

Project Manager with Unable

Construction. Fred obtained the

job description and attended an

interview. He was successful.

Six months after he started work, his boss told him that his

performance was not up to scratch. Fred was a little puzzled at this,

as there had been no previous issues raised about his capacity.

Someone from the head office in Darwin flew to Alice Springs and

told Fred that they would be Performance Managing him.

After receiving daily emails from the office in Darwin about what

needed to be improved, Fred visited his doctor and was told that his

blood pressure was elevated and he was diagnosed from suffering

from stress. His doctor recommended he have a week off.

He lodged the doctor’s certificate and went home. A few days later,

he received a letter from the Darwin office advising him that his

employment was terminated.

Fred and Barney visited their local lawyer to find out what could

be done. Fred was told that he could bring an application with

Fair Work Australia. He was also advised that he could bring a

Workers Compensation Application notwithstanding the employer

had terminated him as it appeared that the work environment had

caused his stress injury.

The way in which employers manage their employees has to be

done both fairly and transparently. Performance Management is not

something found in employment agreements. There is a thin line

between bullying and harassment and improving working capacity.

Those questions of degree need to be successfully navigated.

Unless Fred consented to the Performance Management Program,

it is arguable that the employer cannot even impose the process.

NEWS

Best investmentNeil Rilatt

A FRIEND asked me theother day: ‘‘Are there anyincentives for replacingyour fridge?’’

Naturally, he was talkingabout an upfront discountto assist with the cost of anew refrigerator — the kindthat used to be availablethrough Alice Solar City.

His current fridge is aBuy, Swap, Sell specialwhich has a hard time mak-ing ice cubes and neverstops running.

‘‘'Sure there are,’’ I replied.‘‘If you replace your fridge,

you’ll probably spend $250less on your power bills nextyear. And the year after,and the year after that.Think of it like a long term-deposit.’’

An old, worn domestic re-frigerator with dodgy sealsand failing parts can chewup a good 1500 kilowatthours a year, twice what itused to when new.

The annual cost? Morethan $380. A modern fridgeof mid-to-high range effici-ency, in comparison, cancost a $130 or less to runeach year. On top of that,you’ll prevent more thanhalf a ton of CO2 annuallyfrom being released into theatmosphere.

Those are pretty good in-centives, in my opinion.

And it doesn’t just workfor fridges — installing solarhot water or changing yourinefficient lighting to LEDsare all investments in thefuture that will start payingyou off immediately.

The end of financial sup-port for energy efficiencymeasures does not mean theend of incentives to performsuch actions. Yes, they’llcost you up front, but thereturn on investment forenergy efficiency measuresis better than locking yourmoney away in a high inter-est back account.

Countless homes andbusinesses have taken en-ergy efficiency measuresand gone solar not in spite oftheir finances, but tostrengthen it.

Energy efficiency andself-generation is no longerthe domain of greenies andenvironmentalists; today,‘‘green’’ is the new economicconservative. Providingmore of your own powerneeds gives you lower oper-ating costs, more resiliencein the face of price increasesand greater independencefrom political changes.

n Neil Rilatt has recently es-tablished Solice Energy Sol-utions, a private energy effici-ency consultancy offeringenergy audits, thermal imagingservices and more.

September is always abusy time for gardeningOFFICIALLY spring begins on Sun-day and September is undoubtedly thebusiest month on the gardeners’ cal-endar with most areas of the gardenneeding attention in the next fewweeks.

Make planting a priority as Septem-ber is the best month of the year forintroducing so many new plants.

Climatic conditions are generallyideal and plants will quickly settlesending out new root systems andtoughening up before summer.

Spring/summer vegetables, herbs,flowering annuals, citrus and all ever-green ornamental trees and shrubs,particularly native plant species,should be planted over the next fourweeks for best results.

When purchasing, look for plantsthat have been grown here in AliceSprings as they are conditioned tocope or at the very least purchaseplants that have been acclimatised.

As container grown fruit trees androses increasingly become availablethey should also be planted. For bestresults prepare the planting hole nowfor planting in a few weeks.

When purchasing container grownroses and fruit trees ensure they havewell developed root systems.

A range of fruiting and ornamentaltropical species can be planted lateSeptember through to early Novem-ber. These are best planted once allcold nights have passed.

As a general rule the sooner plantsare able to settle and establish newroot systems prior to the advent of thehot weather the more capable they willbe of coping with summer.

Remember fruit trees, citrus, grapevines, asparagus and vegetable gar-dens all require the soil being workedover prior to planting.

Blend gypsum into the soil if yoursoil has a high clay content. Mix incompost, organic matter, cheap pott-ing mix or well rotted cow manure toincrease the organic content of the

soil, improve the water holding capac-ity and to stimulate microbial activityin the soil.

To this add an organic fertiliserensuring plenty of slow release nutri-ents are readily available. The organicfertiliser is a valuable food source forthe billions of microbes in the soil,these microbes converting the ferti-liser into plant nutrients.

September is equal to the bestmonth for planting citrus. Newseasons stock can be found in yourlocal nursery and planted now.

In the native garden its time to plantwith vigour and to prune native plantsafter flowering is complete or alternat-ively allow seed to set and collect. Withsome species fresh seed gives bestgermination rates.

With a progression of native plantspecies coming into flower it’s the idealopportunity as in flower you reallyknow what you are purchasing.

By following the flowering seasonyou can be guaranteed you are pur-chasing plants that will give you aprolonged flowering experience.

Native species respond well to prun-ing as compact growth is promotedand many potential pest problems areremoved. Pruning off seed heads en-sures the plant’s energy is devoted togrowth and overall health.

In the citrus orchard, if maturecitrus have yellowing foliage feed witha complete NPK fertiliser and maybeconsider adding a little extra nitrogenparticularly for those lemon andgrapefruit trees.

Test the soil below citrus to checkpH levels as high pH or alkaline soilscan result in the foliage yellowing.

Bring the pH levels back to near

neutral and necessary nutrients willgenerally become available. Do this byintroducing straight sulphur or sul-phate of ammonia as it is simplynitrogen and sulphur and dissolveseasily, working into the soil.

R e g u l a r l y l i q u i d f e r t i l i s epassionfruit vines to assist with fruit-ing and continue to tip prune topromote new growth to produce morelaterals on which the fruit forms.Consider also applying an applicationof potash as this will assist floweringand importantly also fruit set.

Roses will also respond well to beingfertilised now. This will promotehealthy growth and improve bloomquality and ensure a longer floweringseason. Give a side dressing of a slowrelease organic fertiliser early thisSeptember to promote quality bloomsand a flush of spring growth.

As roses commence blooming lateSeptember deadhead on a regularbasis to promote a longer floweringseason. Roses peak in the first tosecond week of October, thus the needto fertilise at least six weeks prior.

On the pest front watch for aphidsas their numbers multiply rapidly astemperatures rise. A variety of sapsucking and all manner of leaf and budmunching grubs and caterpillars tendto breed up in the garden bylate September.

In the vegetable garden it’s anoptimum time to plant beetroot, capsi-cums, carrots, dwarf and climbingbeans, marrow, okra, parsley, potatoes,squash, sweetcorn and zucchini.

Asparagus crowns, cress, chives, par-snips, radish, silverbeet, spinach,spring onions, Asian greens, loose leaflettuce, strawberries and tomatoesmay also be planted.

Harvest late winter maturing cab-bages, broccoli and cauliflower to limitproblems with aphids and sprayweekly with the safe biological controlDipel to manage leaf eating grubs.

On the bucket listBrian Crisp

Cape Leveque in the Kimberleys, Western Australia

THE remote Kimberley region ofWA has been named the top desti-nation in Escape’s list of 100 places tovisit before you die.

The list highlights everything fromgreat beach holidays and festivals tosporting events, island getaways,weird destinations and music-inspired breaks.

The list has the normal ‘‘big ticket’’travel items but is meant to inspireAustralians to think further beyond.

And to mark its launch online,Brian Crisp has picked his ultimatetop 10 from the 100.

The choice of the Kimberley will nodoubt be controversial but Crisp saidit deserves its place as the ultimatenumber one.

‘‘It is largely undiscovered by Aust-ralians,’’ he said.

‘‘It is hard to get to because of itsremoteness, but I guarantee if you dovisit you will be blown away by itsspirituality and stunning naturalassets.’’

Australians are travelling now ingreater numbers than ever beforeand recent ABS statistics show thatwe are heading along a more adven-turous path, with Nepal the fastest-growing destination for Australiansin the past year.

Brian Crisp’s top 10 things to dobefore you die:

1. The Kimberley. Every Australianshould visit. It is so rugged, remoteand beautiful it will change youforever.

2. Alberta, Canada. The mountains,the snow, the lakes and the bears – allbreathtaking.

3. Sail the Mediterranean. The StarClipper experience is amazing. It

is the best way to go island hopping.

4. Walk with lions in Mauritius.When the lions come boundingtoward you, remember to stay still.

5. Cuba. The music, the people andthe culture combine to make dreamscome true.

6. Turtle Island, Fiji. If money is notan option then this is the ultimate inrelaxation.

7. Iguazu Falls. It makes the list forits sheer beauty.

8. Holi Festival, India. The colours,the people and curry, curry, curry.

9. Wimbledon. It is tradition andthe best of England all rolled up intotwo weeks.

10. Nashville. I love country musicand Nashville is the home of countrymusic. It was always going to be in mytop 10.