Television Documentary on Bushwalking.

The Scripture Union Bushwalkers is writing to request that the Confederation consider approaching a television network (possibly the ABC) in the near future to suggest the making of a short series of documentaries called "The Bushwalkers".

Such a documentary series could showcase the activities of Confederation and feature at least some of the affiliated clubs. The series could help promote minimal impact bushwalking and walking with clubs. It would also hopefully encourage more young people to take up bushwalking.

We expect there would be a strong "market" for a documentary series on bushwalking. Over the years there has been a strong following in Australia for programs on leisure and the outdoors (eg. Getaway, The Great Outdoors) and on observation of and interaction with the natural environment (eg. Bush Tucker Man, Harry Butler in the Wild). In addition short documentaries have featured strongly on the ABC in recent years. Consider for instance the series on Bondi, Kings School, and learning to dive.

There would be no shortage of material for a short TV series on Confederation and club bushwalking. Events, topics and activities that could be highlighted include links between bushwalking and growth of the conservation movement (eg. Blue Gum Forest campaign), small party expeditions in remote areas, the annual NavShield Rogain, day walks popular with clubs but less known to the general public, Bushwalkers’ Wilderness Rescue, and clubs’ canyoning and/or abseiling activities.

It would seem fitting if such a series could be made before the end of 2001, the year in which Australia celebrates 100 years of Federation. It would also be good to draw attention to the activities of Confederation in the lead up to our 70^th "birthday". Getting "the show on the road" would take some work and probably the formation of a committee, but the benefits could be considerable and the exercise a lot of fun.

Scripture Union Bushwalkers trusts that Confederation will give serious consideration to this request. Our club is enthusiastic about the prospects of a TV documentary on "The Bushwalkers" and hopes that many other affiliated clubs would look at lending their support.

Tony Miller Chris Owens

Scripture Union Bushwalkers President

Confederation Delegate Scripture Union Bushwalkers

Bushwalking Leadership Legal Considerations.

This section examines the Australian and NSW legal system in relation to outdoor and experiential education. It focuses on liability and negligence and the available insurance protection. Leaders should be aware of the current laws in this area, and of any potential changes to those laws occurring through the setting of precedents. The ideas presented in this section must not be thought of as legal advice. For all questions about the law, consult a lawyer!

A legal liability is a liability arising from the operation of the law, creating an obligation on the part of one person to compensate another for injury or damage sustained by that other. The liability may arise either in tort, in statute or in contract. In tort, the liability arises out of a breach of duty of care, which a person owes to all other people. In contract, the liability arises out of a breach of obligation which one person owes to another with whom the contract is made. In statute, the liability arises out of a breach of a statutory duty.

In tort, the duty is always fixed by law, in contract, the obligation is sometimes fixed by the terms of the agreement between the parties to the contract, and sometimes fixed by law. In tort the duty may arise under common law for example, the common law duty of care which a person owes to society generally) or under statute (for example, the statutory duty to guard against dangerous machinery). In contract, the obligation (apart from that which a party accepts as a term of the contract) may arise either at common law (for example, the common law duty of a bailee in respect of goods in his or her charge) or under statute (for example, the implied condition of warranties as to fitness or quality, under legislation governing the sale or supply of goods).

The matter that commonly concerns most Leaders is their exposure to legal liability arising from an accident causing injury to participants involved in their program. To establish this we need to understand the legal framework in place that deals with such matters. The law is divided into two separate and distinct areas; Civil Law and Criminal Law.

The area of Civil Law provides for compensation in matters where there are accidents causing injury. It is concerned with assessing fair compensation in terms of the pain and suffering that the injured person experienced through the fault of another person. Damages when awarded to the injured party are monetary damages paid by way of compensation.

It is conceivable that as the degree of negligence increases you can cross the line from civil to criminal negligence, to a situation where the court views the actions or conduct of the party at fault to be so grossly culpable that criminal proceedings may be brought against the party at fault. Whereas civil liability usually deals with the award of compensation to the injured party, criminal liability can give rise to penalties imposed on those deemed culpable including both the sponsoring organisation and the individual staff member. (The Club and the Leader).

In most cases where a leader is found to be liable, it is in the area of civil liability. Civil liability arises when the Leader is deemed to have acted contrary to, or failed to act as, an ordinary, reasonable and prudent person would have in the same situation.

Before a person can be found to be liable in either a civil or criminal context, they must first be shown to be negligent. To establish negligence it must be proved that the four premises of negligence were present and took place. The four premises are as follows.

1. A duty of care must be owed to both the participants in the program and any third party who may be affected by the participants actions. Undeniably, operators and leaders of outdoor experiential education programs owe a duty of care to their participants regardless of any legal form they may have signed prior to participating.

2. it must be shown that there was some kind of breach of that standard or duty. Such a breach can be either an act or an omission, which is contrary to that of the perceived behaviour of the reasonable, prudent person.

3. The breach must lead to injury: real physical and/or psychological damage that is legally recognisable and compensable. It must be shown that the negligent act contributed or led to the injury.

4. The injury that was occasioned and the damage that occurred must have been reasonably foreseeable, ie the type of accident and the damage which occurred must have been of such a nature that an ordinary person could have reasonably foreseen it.

In summary, you are negligent if you owe a duty of care which you breach, that results in a foreseeable accident causing injury to one or more of the participants or to a third party.

Liability insurance policies offer protection to all persons who may incur a legal liability and not just in terms of liability of an operator to an injured participant. The different types of policies available provide indemnity to the insured for his or her legal liability, which may arise at common law, under statute or under contract. There are many different types of liability policies. Cover may be provided in a policy covering one particular type of risk or in a ‘combined’ or’ package’ policy offering protection against several eventualities. The operator must be aware of the risks that they should be insuring for, and the type of policy needed to cover them.

The policies considered below fall into two main groups: compulsory insurances and optional insurances. Compulsory insurances are those which are made compulsory by statute. Optional insurances are those where the obligation to insure is not imposed on the insured by law. There are, however, instances where to insure is assumed or imposed under contract. For example, in contracting with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service for access and usage of their parks, it is required that the operator takes out a public liability policy which is classed as an optional insurance. The basic cover offered by each class of insurance is summarised in brief below

Walking with Children..

Taking the kids out bushwalking is definitely a time for planning. Anybody who has taken out a tribe even to the city on a summers day will know the parental catchcry, ‘expect the unexpected’. I had been to Wentworth Falls once before and while the maps say ‘easy’ (for the National Pass); my six year old earned a few piggy backs on the return journey.

I’m a train person, it seems more in line with the ethics of a bushwalk, but it does mean more work on the adult’s part. (Do I really need to add one more car on an already crowded and dirty road?) Be prepared for a long journey to the mountains, but how easy it was to provide paper and pencils, something chewy, a few games of I-spy, and a chance to instruct a little on a few topics, ie , litter, feeding native birds (don’t), how close can I go to the cliff edge (not at all!), etc.

The excitement of ‘going bush’ was met with the seriousness of responsibility. They each had to carry their own pack with their lunch, and water. I made them carry (yes, the six year old, too) a litre each, and the eleven year old two litres. We also had belts with bottles for easy access, which we refilled as needed.

Going across the highway to Wilson’s Park, we went down Darwin’s Track taking about ¾ of an hour, including stopping for water. This put us at the top of Wentworth Falls, whereupon we turned right, and in five minutes witnessed the breathtaking views from the top of the 600m high cliffs. This is, in itself, worth the one and a half hour train trip, and seemed in our case, to put wings on the children’s feet as they raced the cliff track to see more.

We went for two hours in on the ‘undercliff track’,(one hour in is plenty), stopped for lunch, and then turned back. This way there was no danger of overtiring and coming back late and unhappy. We saw plenty of bush, cliffs, hair-raising drops, ferns, and a few tourists.

Budding Crocodile Dundeettes and Dundinas could go further into the national parks, while some might just want to see a little bit of our great outdoors. Either way, it is up to the parent to make the journey meaningful and enjoyable for each individual child.

Walk the Walk.