QLD: Some thoughts on Murgon

Murgon is a one-horse town located somewhere between Brisbane and Cape York. No, that isn’t a lie. Okay, it isn’t very helpful.

Here’s a better description.

Murgon is located in the South Burnett Shire. It is inland from Gympie, which is the gun capital of Queensland. Murgon is around 100 km from Gympie. It is also around 40 km from Kingaroy, the peanut capital of Australia and home to a huge number of orthodox and not terribly orthodox Christian denominations.

Speaking of which, Murgon is the home of perhaps the most unorthodox denomination in the southern hemisphere. There’s a bloke from the nearby town of Tingoora who meets with his disciples at the Murgon hall. His message is quite simple really – that he is Jesus Christ. He has a girlfriend with whom he is living in ... er ... sin. Her name’s Mary Magdalene. At least that’s what it is now that she’s changed it.

But for my purposes, Murgon’s most important feature was that it was my home for some four months. It was also my place of work.

In the short time I was there, I grew quite fond of the place. I also grew fond of the people I worked with. Hopefully that fondness was reciprocated.

I worked in what was regarded as the toughest and least desirable location for a solicitor seeking employment in the QLD legal profession. This assessment was made by just about every other QLD lawyer I spoke to. Here’s a sample of the typical and more polite reactions:

“You poor arsehole.”

“Fuck, they sent you there?”

“Mate, they’re all fucking deadbeats over in Murgon. And the clients from there are fucking worse.”

“Murgon, eh? Fucking hole of a place.”

“I wouldn’t last there 4 months.”

Well I did last there 4 months. The people were lovely. The clients were interesting. And I enjoyed the experience immensely.

More later.

Words © 2011 Irfan Yusuf

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QLD Victims of Crime

Queensland has a (relatively) new scheme for compensating victims of crime. Unless corresponding schemes in Victoria and NSW, the QLD scheme isn’t so much compensation as reimbursement. To quote from their official guide:

The Queensland Government provides financial assistance to eligible victims of crime to pay for or reimburse the costs of goods and services you need as a victim to recover from the effects of a violent crime.

If you were the victim of an act of violence that happened on or after 1 December 2009, you can obtain your financial assistance without first having to go to court. If the act of violence happened before 1 December 2009, you will not be able to bring a claim until:

•The offender is convicted in the District/Supreme Court; or
•You’re notified that the offender cannot be convicted.


Violent Crime

The “violent crime” has to have occurred in QLD and must have resulted in your suffering physical or psychological injury.

A violent crime is an act of violence that causes injury to at least one person. It includes:

•Assault
•Sexual assault/rape
•Grievous bodily harm
•Domestic/family violence
•Kidnapping/deprivation of liberty
•Stalking
•Murder/manslaughter
•Death caused by dangerous driving.


Injury

This basically refers to any of the following:

•Disease
•Intellectual impairment
•Mental illness/disorder
•Bodily harm
•Adverse impacts arising from sexual assault
•A combination of these injuries, including resulting pregnancy.



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