To many people, the mysteries of website navigation are often lost in the jargon, puffery and technological expertise veiled in a mysterious language of click, giga, mega and bytes.

Talking in an easily understood manner, our club’s Webmaster gave members an interesting discourse of how to access the mine of information on our website. For anyone who has a rudimentary idea of ‘site navigation’ the whole world of North Melbourne Rotary Club is there to be seen.

Without lapsing into the foreign language of ‘computerspeak’ Andrew gradually unveiled the depth and complexities of how ‘The Web’ is the library of information, information, and even more information, but best of all, relevant information.

With many of the beginners timorous keystroke ventures now receding as he spoke, our members were able to discover how to ‘Get the most’ from what is truly an excellent resource. Some tough questions were asked and answered with alacrity.

After a resounding accolade for his presentation he was asked to reprise it again in the very near future.

Paul Spadane gave an interesting insight into the prison system in Victoria and in particular those run by private commercial companies.

Once considered to be suspect in their potential for effectiveness, current trends have indicated more effective management and proactive rehabilitation and reductions in recidivist behaviour Talking about management systems, Paul gave insights about individual prisoners who needed protection within Port Phillip is about 300 from a total prisoner population of 764 within the facility. Measures taken to combat illicit drug use and rehabilitation include random urine testing.

This enables the incidences to be controlled and measures taken for a high percentage of success.

The local Wyndham community have instituted - a Business Awards training programme and Paul was very proud that the facility had not had any escapes or unnatural deaths since becoming operational.

Members gave him some tough questions to answer and gave him a resounding accolade for his presentation.

The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) is the peak body for Muslim organisations in Victoria. In Victoria it represents more than 90,000 Muslims, through its 28 member organisations located throughout metropolitan Melbourne and rural Victoria. Sherene is the Vice President of the ICV.

Their vision is to build a better community for all Australians through the empowerment of Muslims in Victoria. The aim is to fulfil this vision through representation of Muslims through advocacy, consultation and cooperation with governments, other faith communities, service providers, the media, and the general public.

Promotion of accurate, informed and positive understanding of Islam, Muslims, and issues important to Muslims is the primary goal including: -

• Advocacy with respect to the civil rights of all Australians. Promotion of understanding, cooperation, tolerance and respect between all faiths.
• Empowerment and encouragement of the Muslim community to continue to be actively, responsibly and positively integrated into mainstream Australian society.
• Provision of special services to improve the welfare of disadvantaged groups in the Muslim community.
• Development of capacity within the Muslim community in areas of expertise to facilitate this vision.
• Facilitation of cooperation, unity, and positive working relationships within the Muslim community, and between the Muslim community and the broader community.

Sherene stressed that part of these services the ICV also provide facilities for Islamic worship, including Friday and Eid prayers, and a venue suitable for meetings, seminars, classes and community gatherings, at their premises in Melbourne’s Central Business District.

The publication ‘Aged Care Homes’ co-authored by Val Nigol and Anthea can help avoid the false starts and unrealistic expectations. Published last year it sets out all those things that need to be addressed in a logical and easily followed format.

Once the problem presents, by following this comprehensive guide to Australian Aged Care, while not solving problems that will present, it will give logical paths to probable solutions. While some of those solutions may be hard to accept, being able to understand the reasons for them will help to make positive progress and solutions more palatable.

Popular conceptions exposed in the mass media only focus on sensational aspects and are often poorly informed. The current Accreditation System which controls Aged Care Facilities, both their facilities and the High or Low care that they offer, are stringently controlled and regularly audited. True, some operations are exposed in the media but they are often not accredited.

Many of the checklists in the book are comprehensive and command close attention, not to do so will lead to assumptions and the attendant frustrations.