Well, good morning everybody, and thanks for joining us today. The Residential Tendencies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 sets out the rules for renting and when it comes to rooming accommodation, it covers such things as boarding houses, student accommodation and in some circumstances assisted living accommodation. Today we'll have a look at some of those rules and how and when they apply. So again, thanks for joining us today's webinar on rooming accommodation tendencies. My name is Mark Fidler and I'm a Senior Community Education Officer with the RTA. Joining me today is my colleague Deb Bond. Morning Deb. Morning everyone. Deb will be assisting me today with some polls and also collating your questions as they come through for us to look at as we go through today's presentation. But before we start, I would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of this country and their continuing connection with land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to all traditional owners and to elders past, present and emerging. So today's session will be focused on the topics listed on the slide. We'll have a look at your questions as they come through and have a final question and answer session at the end. I'll also attempt to address some of the questions provided to us as a part of the registration process and thanks to those that did make submissions. And I can see a few names in the attendee list that did put submissions in. So hopefully we'll get those questions answered for you. Today's webinar will be recorded and it will be made available on our website. And one thing to note is that the RTA cannot provide legal advice, legal advice, and you are encouraged to seek your own independent advice to make informed decisions. And we do want to make today's session as interactive as possible. So please ask questions or make comments throughout. To do so, use the chat function in the toolbar. At the end of the session, there will be a quick survey that comes up. We would appreciate you filling it out as your feedback will allow us to identify how we can improve our communication and education activities. Now, just to start, we will run a quick poll to get an idea of who has joined us today. And I'll hand over to Deb to start that now. Hi, everyone. So I've just launched the poll now. We're interested in knowing whereabouts you're from. So what part of the housing sector you might identify with? We're guessing we have a lot of people, maybe from rooming, but there might be people from other areas. So let us know. And we also want to know whereabouts in Queensland you're from. So whether that's Southeast Queensland or another region. So we'll just give a little more time for people to complete the poll there. OK, so it looks like we've got a good mix here. So few from rooming, some from community housing, a few property managers and agents, a few landlords and mostly from Southeast Queensland, but also a couple from Central Queensland and North Queensland. So thanks, everyone, for joining us today.  Thanks, Deb, and thanks, everyone, for your input there. So moving forward and getting into what we're here to talk about today. So just as a little bit of information, the residential tendencies and rooming accommodation act does cover the three main types of tendencies. Obviously, you've got your general tendencies, which are your flats, houses, townhouses and granny flats or secondary dwellings as we now know them. Moveable dwellings. So they're for tendencies in caravan parks, whether you're renting a van or a site or both in the park, and obviously rooming accommodation. And this is where you're renting a room only and have shared facilities. So these are in such things as boarding houses and purpose built student accommodation, as I mentioned before. So the focus today, as we've said, and the reason that you're here is on rooming accommodation. So we'll look at what's covered, what's changed and what are the rules. So to define rooming accommodation, it includes, as we've said a couple of times now, boarding houses, supported accommodation services, where a person pays for a room and supports services. So we, for example, meals or personal care, student accommodation, such as off campus accommodation, and also a place or house where the lessor or agent lives on the property and rents out four or more rooms. Now we'll touch on that a little bit more in a moment. Some rooming accommodation facilities, for example, boarding houses and supported accommodation are considered residential services and are also covered by the Residential Services Accreditation Act. Now we don't govern that particular act, but it's important to be aware. So these services need to register with the Department of Community, Housing and Digital Economy in order to operate in Queensland. Three levels of, there are three levels of registration and accreditation, and they are level one that provides accommodation only, level two provides accommodation and a food service, and level three provides accommodation, a food service and personal care. But for more information on what rooming accommodation is covered under our act, please refer to the rooming accommodation coverage fact sheet. And there's going to drop a link into the chat with that fact sheet, so you've got the details. And if you are looking for the definition of a residential service and the registration and accreditation of those things, you do need to contact Business Queensland. And again, we'll pop a link into the chat for that. Now we did have a question from one of our participants. And I can see that Kim is on with us today. In what is the difference between general tendencies and rooming accommodation? So as we just discussed, rooming residents generally don't have access to a whole property as someone in a flat or a unit might be, but they have their room and they share other facilities. Now we will touch a little bit more on some of those differences as we go along Kim, so bear with us. The other thing to note too is that rooming accommodation providers, they can choose to opt in to a general tenancy. So that would mean that you're using all of the legislation around general tendencies as opposed to rooming accommodation. You can't go the other way, but you can opt in to a general tenancy if you wish to. So what's not covered by our legislation in regards to rooming accommodation? Now, I won't go through all of this in detail. There's plenty of information on the fact sheet that Deb has dropped in, but there are a couple of things to note here. So Angie asked, and I'm not sure if Angie's with us, but Angie asked if renting a single room in your residence is covered. And the answer ultimately is no, unless you have four or more rooms rented or available to be rented. So if you're providing a room and you don't have more than four, then it may be that the resident in this situation is a border lodger or that you have them signed to a general tenancy agreement with some special terms around what access they have to the property. Accommodation for holidaymakers is not covered. The first 13 weeks of supported accommodation is not covered. But if the tenant or resident remains after 13 weeks, then it can become an agreement to which our act provides. Another query that we received was in regards to specialist disability accommodation properties and whether the rent or the rent portion of those can be covered. And yes, they can be if they don't fall under any of the other pieces of legislation mentioned on the slide there. And one thing to note, if a bond is taken from a university student on campus or from a border lodger, it must be lodged with the RTA, but the tenancy isn't covered under our legislation. So documentation at the start of the tenancy, there's effectively three forms required. Now I'll go into a little bit of detail on each of these, but in effect, you've got your rooming accommodation agreement, and this includes your standard terms and potentially any special terms. And one thing to note, and this is similar with general tenancies, but a copy of the agreement must be provided to the resident prior to them committing to the tenancy or paying anything in relation to the tenancy. So and that agreement should be effectively filled out in full, except for potentially the name and the start and end date of the agreement. But the intent of this is to ensure that the resident is aware of what the terms of the agreement are, along with what house rules they'll need to abide by in that sort of thing. If you are taking a bond, you need to provide an entry condition report. And obviously the bond lodgment form needs to be submitted to us as well if you are taking a bond, but we'll touch on that lodgment process a little bit in a minute. So you can see there on the screen the R18 and the condition report, but I will just jump in to our website and actually have a look at those forms. Now, the reason that I want to take you through this quickly is for a couple of things, obviously, to show you where the forms are on our website. So forms for room accommodation. It's important that you are always using either forms from our website or the latest version of our forms. Now, they do change from time to time and obviously with the recent legislative changes. We've updated all of our forms. So in order to make sure that you have got the most current form and aren't using it, we encourage you to use it from our website. Now, a couple of things, and I don't need to go through all of this today, but there's a couple of things that I do want to note. If your tenant or resident has a representative in order to receive notices, then please ensure that the details are filled out in item four on the 18A. And also on item five, really important to make sure that if you are agreeing to receive notices by email, that this area is filled out correctly and accurately. So we don't want notices going missing because of incorrect email addresses and those sorts of things. A couple of other things, the breakdown of rent on item nine. Now, if you are providing services that other than accommodation, please ensure that the breakdown is provided in item nine. Now, if a resident is away for more than two weeks, they can request that their rent be reduced by the cost of the food service or if they're absent and are not receiving personal care services, they can also request a rent reduction in that circumstance. So it is important that you show that breakdown and everyone is aware of what they're dealing with. And then finally, and scrolling through here quickly, the special terms page. So if you do have any special terms, make sure that they're stated in here and remember that they can't contradict the act or attempt to evade the purpose of the act. And then signatures. And the reason that I raised this is that a lot of people are now using electronic signatures to have their form signed and that's fine. The key is just to ensure that as per the legislation, all parties do end up with a fully signed copy of the agreement at the end of that signing process. So the other important form that we want to have a quick look at is the, I can find it, the 1A, sorry, the R1. Now you will note that both the forms that we've just had a look at have got an R in front of them. So that's to indicate that they are a rooming form. Any of the tenancy-related rooming accommodation forms will have an R in front of them. So your R11 for the breach notice, R9 for your entry notice. But all of the bond forms, your form two for lodgment, form four for refund, they're generic across all of our forms of tenancies. So you won't find any difference in those forms. Tenant, if the bond is taken, the agent must or the provider must provide a copy of this form, fully filled out and signed, and then give it to the tenant to fill out their side. Now in rooming accommodation, there's no provision for an exit condition report. So it is important that the entry condition report is filled out correctly and thoroughly and includes any provisions or inclusions within the room. And then we also recommend take photos throughout the entry process as well. So you've got a record of what and how the properties be presented to the tenant. So in relation to the bond lodgment process, most people will be familiar with the lodgment process. If you are a provider and have asked the resident to pay the bond to you, it must then be lodged with the RTA within 10 days of having received it. Now this can either be done by sending a check and a form two to the RTA or by using our web services. So web services has been in place now for quite some time. So the tenant can lodge the bond using web services and if they do, generally you'll have a notification within sort of 24 to 48 hours that that's been done. If you are taking the bond and lodging itself, obviously those notifications will be to the tenant similarly. If you are looking to lodge multiple bonds, we do now have a web service that you can make a bulk lodgment. So if you're submitting multiple forms, you can do that through our bulk bond lodgment web service and make one single electronic payment. So once the tenancy starts, the tenant will be or the resident rather will be required to abide by the house rules. And there's a couple of types of house rules, prescribed and other. So the prescribed rules are set out in the regulations that are read in conjunction with the legislation. Providers or managers must display the house rules in a prominent place in the premises and residents must follow the house rules. Now for the most part, prescribed rules mirror the resident's obligation under section 253 of the legislation. So what does it mean by prescribed rules? The legislation sets out what each rule requires. Without going through the full list, I will touch on a couple of examples. So in regards to common areas, what the legislation says is that these may include a television, a room, a bathroom, kitchen, sorry, a television room, a bathroom, kitchen, hallway or a yard. Provider or agent must take reasonable steps to ensure the common areas and their facilities are kept safe, clean and in good repair. The resident must ensure that they and their guests leave common areas clean after use. So it just sets out fairly simply what the requirements are. Now it's also important to note that the legislative changes that came into place on the 1st of October, 2022 do have an impact on a couple of these house rules. So in relation to doors, locks and keys, the legislation says that the resident must not tamper with or change a door lock on the premises or make copies of keys without provider or agent's permission. It's important to be aware here now that there are provisions for a resident requesting that the provider change the locks for the purposes of protecting them from domestic violence and the provider must make that change. And for more information on the domestic and family violence provisions in our legislation, have a look at the link that Debbs just dropped into the chat. And the other one to note here now is that in regards to animals. So currently the legislation says that the resident must not keep an animal on the premises without permission. Now you'd be probably aware that on the 1st of October, 2022, new laws came in around negotiating to rent with pets. So residents can request a pet. I won't go into too much detail about the new pet guidelines but please refer again to the link that Debbs going to drop into the chat. We have a lot of information on our website in regards to the pet process. And if you do have any questions, pop them into the chat and we'll have a look at them as we go along. So the other house rules that I spoke about, these can be set by the provider and can be set in relation to the things listed on the screen. So as an example, they may make a rule that smoking is only permitted in a particular spot on the premises. They may make a rule that there might, must not be any loud noise or parties after a particular time. So the important thing with this, these rules in this process is that the copies of the house rules should be a part of the agreement and provided to the resident prior than committing to the tenancy.  There are also steps that need to be followed if a provider wants to add a rule or change a rule. So to change a rule or add a rule, a notice must be provided to the residents advising of the proposed change and stating the date which the change is to take effect. Notice must be given seven days before the proposed commencement date and the residents can object to the change. Now for a lot more and in-depth understanding of that process, again, we've got a fact sheet on that and Deb will pop that in the chat. So it's important to get everything right from the start. So just to recap, double check your dates, amounts and contact details. We do see a lot of disputes about incorrectly stated rent amounts or time periods. So make sure that you're checking and double checking everything. If the parties are agreeing to notice this by email, ensure that all the email addresses are correct. Keep copies of your paperwork and any notices. You need to comply with the act as we've discussed today and check any time frames. Communication is a key to resolving a lot of disputes. So keep those lines open. And again, if you're not sure of any legislative requirements, please reach out to us for assistance. A couple of things in regards to the rights and responsibilities of the parties. So as the tenancy goes on, both parties have rights and responsibilities throughout. The lessor or the provider must ensure that health and safety laws are met. And this covers things such as smoke alarm, safety switches, pool safety certificates if there is one and those sorts of things. Dealing with maintenance requests is important. Residents must notify you of repairs that need to be done and they should be dealt with in a reasonable time. And the other thing to be aware of is that minimum housing standards will come in as of the 1st of September, 2023. So this should be kept in mind when dealing with any maintenance requests currently. The other thing that the RTA has become aware of recently is concerns around CCTV cameras in rooming accommodation premises. Now, a rooming accommodation provider must take reasonable steps to ensure the resident has quiet enjoyment of their room and common areas. Provider must not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort, and privacy of the resident in using their room and common areas. So the resident has a right to quiet enjoyment and if the purpose and location of security cameras infringes on their reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy, it may be a breach of our act. If a resident feels that their right to quiet enjoyment is being infringed on, they should speak to the property manager in the first instance to see if they can resolve the issue. So just be conscious. If you do have, and there are cameras set up, make sure that tenants are aware or the residents are aware at the time that they move into the property. But otherwise, the other thing to ensure is that you are providing your residents with a reasonable time to be able to access yourself to get in touch and those sorts of things as well. So the tenant respond, sorry, not the tenant, the resident responsibilities, just as the less or agent has responsibilities, so does the resident. So as per the list, these things are fairly straightforward, certainly in regard to rent payment, cleaning, and not causing any use by the use of the premises. The tenant is required to notify the agent of any repairs that need to be done, both routine or emergency. And there must be contact details for the tenant. And again, as I mentioned a moment ago, time or options for the tenant to be able to contact the provider in relation to these things. So a couple of things that I wanna touch on in regards to during the tenancy and just quickly. So again, I'll just jump back into the website. So entry, the entry notice, the form nine, so it provides for a limited number of reasons to enter the property. So you can do an inspection for cleaning, obviously repairs or maintenance and those sorts of things. So again, important to make sure that this form is filled out properly. And if the tenant has agreed to receive it by email, that it is delivered to them correctly. Now, a couple of things, the provider can enter without notice if the tenant orally agrees, or if the agreement provides for a service other than accommodation and entries needed to provide that service. So that's around your food provision and your personal care services. And also in an emergency or to complete urgent repairs. Now, if you are entering without notice for those particular reasons, we do recommend that you document the entries just in case there's any issues that pop up. But again, the forms, the timeframes that are required to be provided are available. And as I mentioned earlier, we do recommend using the current version of the forms off our website. And then the other thing, obviously, that can occur through the breach, sorry, through the tenancy process is the breach process. And we'll just have a quick look again. There's a couple of things I want to point out with this. If you are issuing a notice in regards to rentable fees, just ensure that the forms filled out correctly. Again, be careful with your amounts and dates if dealing with rent arrears. So if rent falls due during the breach period, it can't be added to the breach, but the tenant is still required to pay as per the agreement. And the other thing is to be aware of how long your tenant has been in the premises. So if they breach in relation to rent within the first 28 days, then the rectification date, sorry, the time to rectify is shorter than it would be if they'd been there longer than the 28 days. So when it comes to ending the tenancy, the tenants' obligations are to leave the premises as near to as it was at the start, fair wear and tear. Now, as I mentioned earlier, there's no exit condition required, exit condition report required. So we do encourage the parties to work together at the end. So if you've taken photos at the start, then you can use to show any inconsistencies at the end. I mentioned the requesting a pet process earlier. If the tenant is approved to have a pet, it's also important to note that any damage caused by the pet is not considered to be fair wear and tear. And the other thing to note through the ending a tenancy process is that bond refunds can only be processed into Australian bank accounts. So if you do have residents ending their tendencies and maybe leaving to go overseas, please ensure they have capacity to receive their refund. And again, we'll just have a quick look at the form 12 because I want to point out that this is where some changes have been made in regards to our legislation. So since the 1st of October, a fixed term agreement can now be ended by using end of a fixed term. And this is the end of a fixed term here. The periodic agreement can only be ended with grounds. So you must have a reason that is listed within part four here, to end a periodic agreement. So the tenancy only finishes at the end date of the agreement. So our time frames and everything are down here. End of fixed term, provide 14 days. You breach processes and everything still in place, especially if you've got a periodic tenancy. And then any of the reasons, know if the property needs significant repairs or renovations, you can end a periodic tenancy with one month's notice. I'd encourage you to have a good look on our website in regards to the changes. One thing that has changed, and for those of you that are managing predominantly student accommodation, and we did receive a question from someone in regards to this. So is there anything relevant regarding purpose-built student accommodation? The one thing that is relevant is that a tenancy can now be ended because the resident is no longer a student. You need to provide a month's notice and it's not considered a break lease. So as an example here would be that a student enrolls in predominantly student accommodation and enrolls in their course and they start, but after a few months they drop out to work full-time. So even if they had a fixed term agreement for six or 12 months, if you become aware that they are no longer a student, you can issue the notice and end the tenancy in that circumstance. So everything else we've discussed today applies equally across all types of student accommodation, across all types of rooming accommodation, my apologies. So from our end, please make sure that you've signed up for our monthly RTA news email so we can keep you informed of any topics or changes. We do produce a range of educational resources, including recorded webinars such as this one on a lot of our legislation and key topics. And we also have a talking tenancies podcast series. You can access both of these through our website and the links are on the screen there. For student accommodation providers, keep an eye on our website for student specific resources. So we do have a student 101 page that has a lot of information for students. So we encourage you to have a look at that page and obviously you can follow us on LinkedIn as well. All right, so Deb, have we had any questions come through? So there was one about what happens if someone leaves something behind in their rooming accommodation. So someone wanted to know kind of what the procedure is or how long you would hold those items. Yeah, OK, so in relation to goods left behind and now I'm diving deep into my knowledge, if the value of the good is, I think it's less than $150, then it can be disposed of. If it is more than $150, then it does need to be stored for a period of time. The exact time escapes me right now. I know it's 30 days in a general tenancy. I'm just not 100 per cent sure if it's the same in rooming. If, yeah, but but certainly if the value of those things is less than $150, they can be disposed of. If they are personal documents or money, they need to be provided to the public trust. But if they if I'm not answered that 100 per cent, if the value I just, yeah, I'm not 100 per cent sure on the time that needs to be. They need to be stored for I've had the luxury of looking it up quickly. Very good. And so it says that within 28 days, you want to pass on your personal documents to the Office of the Public Trusty. So that's money, birth certificates, family photographs and then where there's lost property that you wouldn't dispose of it. So when it's more than that $150 that Mark was saying, then you have to safely store that for at least 28 days and take reasonable efforts to contact the resident. And then after the 28 days, there's a little more nuance to what you do, depending on whether the goods are valued at more or less than $600. So that is whether you donate them to charity or whether you sell them and then what you do with the proceeds of the sale. So we do have a bit more information about that on our website. But that's a quick overview. Just check the chat in case there's been any more questions. But it looks like everything's being covered. So that's been a really broad webinar, Mark. Covered everything. Thanks very much. If you want to know if you think of a question later, our contact centre is open, of course. Excellent. I will just touch on one. We did get a question through the registration process and it was around the council having assessed their business as a home based business. And the question was, do I need an agreement? So just to answer that, yes, you would still need an agreement. There is a difference between what the council are looking for from a rates charging perspective and your responsibilities as an accommodation provider. So depending on the type of accommodation you're providing, whether it's self-contained long term or rooming style, you'd still need to follow the legislation. So there is a little separation there in regards to what the council is suggesting and your requirement or obligations as a residential tenancy provider. So all right, ladies and gentlemen, really appreciate your time this morning. Hopefully we've got through and answered any of the information and questions. And I will now end the webinar. Thank you.


Family Theater presents Raymond Burr and Bill Williams. Hollywood, the mutual network in cooperation with Family Theater, presents The Snare of the Fowler, starring Raymond Burr, and now here is your host, Bill Williams. Thank you, Tony Lafreno. Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must become an important part of our lives if we are to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families, and peace for the world. Family Theater urges you to pray. Pray together as a family. Now to our transcribed drama, The Snare of the Fowler, starring Raymond Burr as General George Washington. By the fall of 1777, the Continental Army seemed on the verge of collapse and the cause of American independence all but lost. Congress had fled Philadelphia to escape the British. The desertion of colonial troops mounted by the hour, winter was coming on. It's the morning of October 15th and in his headquarters at White Marsh, General Washington is laying plans for the evacuation of his army to a place called Valley Forge. Then Colonel, we will withdraw Morgan's rangers along this line, I believe. A suggestion, sir. By all means. Since we've been searching for a maneuver that might cover the advance on Philadelphia, could that detachment be used near Matson's fort? Uh, come in. Your Excellency. Yes, John? There is a lady waiting to see you, sir. A lady? She claims acquaintance with you and insists the matter is urgent. Did she give her name? Mrs. Elizabeth Graham Ferguson. Of Philadelphia? Yes, sir. I know her well. Show her in, John. General, sir. Yes, Colonel. You're pardoned, but might this woman be in a relation to the Henry Ferguson, who's been one of the civilian attendants to General Howe since the British marched into Philadelphia? I believe she's his wife. Then do you deem it wife? I have full faith in any friend of Reverend Duchess. It was he who introduced us. The former chaplain of Congress? That is the man. Forgive me, sir. I'm sure, in, John. Yes, Your Excellency. General, we'll see you, Mrs. Ferguson. Thank you, sir. General Washington. My lady, we are honored. Allow me, Colonel Alexander Hamilton. Delighted. Mrs. Ferguson? Oh, do sit down, madam. I suppose I'm interrupting something very serious. Serious? Perhaps if not thus far altogether successful. I know. And now, how can I be of service to you? It concerns the serious undertaking of which you just spoke, the armed rebellion. Most colonists have come to speak of it as the war for independence, Mrs. Ferguson. I bring with me a letter from our mutual friend, Reverend Jacob Duchess. How is the chaplain? Quite well. He, he asked me to deliver this to you personally. Thank you.  General Washington, sir, if you would prefer to continue this discussion along now. No, no, Colonel. Stay here. I cannot believe this. The Reverend implored me to see that you finish the letter. There will be no need to finish it, madam, nor for you to remain longer. I beg of you. His intent is as clear as it is infamous. Is the avoidance of more useless bloodshed infamous? To receive a letter like this. Best facts, General Washington. From a man who less than three years ago stirred the heart of every delegate in Congress. Read what this says. Resin the Declaration of Independence. Negotiate with the British. It is the only course left to you. Colonel Hamilton. Yes, sir. Show this lady out. A General Washington. Good day, Mrs. Ferguson. Good day. What have happened to Duchess? The same as has happened to others. Selfish fear. No, no, not the shea. Good intentions misguided, then. Perhaps. May I see that letter, sir? Yes, you may see it. Hamilton, what are we coming to? A pretty pass, with the author of this and a judge. Must be sent immediately to Congress. To Congress? If I were killed or captured with that document, it might seem evidence of a conspiracy with Duchess against America. You've not read it closely enough. All right. Well, there's more than a little truth here, General. Painful truth to some congressional delegates I could think of and their protégé generals. What are you talking about? Well, this paragraph, for example. The whole world knows that your army's existence depends upon you. Rubbish. That your death or captivity disperses it in a moment. That there is not a man on your side of the question in America capable of succeeding him. That is as treasonous as the rest of it. Come in. An urgent dispatch from General Clinton, sir. Thank you, John. Has it some reference to the campaign in the north? It seems to. That will be all, John. Yes, sir. Hamilton, this confirms the rumors. General Gates has won an astounding victory. Burgoyne has surrendered at Saratoga, turned over his entire force. When, sir? Three days ago, the captives are being marched to Massachusetts Bay. This slams the northern gate and the British moving down from Canada and changes entirely the outlook on the Hudson. Yes. There can be no doubting the authenticity of this dispatch or the importance of the victory, but... But why has it taken three days for the news to reach us? I confess that... And why has the confirmation of the surrender come to us indirectly and not from Gates himself? But that should be no puzzle. Colonel... I think I have fully expressed myself on the subject of General Gates. You have indeed, and I wish to hear no more of it. Very well, sir, but more of it is in the wind. And this latest slight to your authority is simply one more link in the chain of evidence that Gates aspires to replace you as commander-in-chief. Please welcome to the post. It would be a disaster and you know it. I know that one man is not a cause, nor one general, an army. And I say it is not this cause that General Gates seeks to advance, but merely his own petty ambition. That will do, Hamilton. I... I do not delude myself that Gates is without ambition, but in a soldier I cannot count that as a curse. There is ambition and ambition. Are you unaware that I am ambitious? Well, to do something for the colon is general. Not simply to be something at the head of the parade. Oh, you flatter me, Hamilton. You, sir, flatter Gates that his motives are your own. Perhaps, but until proven otherwise, I shall continue to assume that they are. Now, as to these plans for Valley Forge. Does that complete the canvas of Wainsbury Gate, John? Yes, sir. Those other huts along the West Ridge are occupied by troops of General Green. The army does not exist that can endure under these conditions. Half of them without shoes or blankets. All of them without watchcoats.  Congress? I ask for food and clothing, and they offer to send me an inspector general instead. Is that the general Conway who was expected tonight, sir? Yes, former French officer. He served under Sullivan at Brandywine from all reports did brilliantly. Well, then you're acquainted with him, sir. It's lightly very witty gentlemen, continental manners, and not precisely disappointed in himself. I hope he finds Valley Forge to his liking. On the contrary, I'm praying it so distresses him that he will act immediately to send us what's needed to put it right. Well, here we are. General Washington. Colonel? Something I must speak to you about, sir. No, we'll go into my quarters. Oh, John. Yes, sir. I want that canvas tallied up to show Conway tonight. Include everything we need. Boots, breeches, straw, fodder, blankets. Yes, sir, I'll have it for you. Well, come in, Colonel. General, something quite serious has come to my attention. And to mine. Have you seen the figures and our clothing requirements? No, sir, I have not. The men are half naked. The men understand your difficulties. There's less complaining than you might think. When Conway arrives, we must impress upon him the hardships our soldiers are facing. Without adequate clothing and supplies, the army will simply dissolve. Your Excellency, it is in regard to General Conway I wish to speak to you. You've requested me to say no more of this. Evident conspiracy, which exists among some congressional delegates and army officers to oust you as commander-in-chief. I've requested you to refrain from using the word conspiracy.  But what you may not know, sir, is that the man most active in the plot to install Gates as your successor is none other than this Frenchman Conway. I believe he's Irish, Babers. Sir, this is a serious matter. As is the charge you've just made, Hamilton. I take it... You would like evidence? Then read this. It arrived this afternoon by post from a friend of mine on General Gates' staff. And he quotes from a letter sent to Gates by Conway, a letter which Gates himself is freely circulating. Heaven has determined to save your country. Or a weak general and bad counsellors would have ruined it. A weak general. That is Conway's opinion of you, sir. And you, it would seem, are one of my bad counsellors. Your Excellency, the man's avowed purpose is to bring you down. How can we expect sympathetic consideration from him on our supply needs? We cannot, of course. I must thank you, Hamilton, for calling this to my attention. Oh, you petitioned Congress for his recall? Quite the contrary. When General Conway arrives this evening, Mrs. Washington and I will pay him every formal courtesy his rank and position deserves. But, General, you're playing... For it is neither his sympathy nor consideration that I seek, but his talents as a soldier. And those I am determined to obtain. Are you quite comfortable, General Conway? Indeed, Mother. Mrs. Washington. Sit down, John, and you too, General.  They are bleak indeed. Well, a soldier's lot is never an easy one. I can testify to that. But I must confess surprise, Madame, at finding the general's lady in such surroundings. Well, I will be leaving tomorrow, General Conway. This was only a visit to bring my husband some warm clothing. Then you are his personal quartermaster. It seems he needs one. General Conway was just telling me in detail of General Gates' victory over Burgoyne. Yes, it was a remarkable feat of arms. Remarkable. So it must have been. The act of a master tactician. You see, the British had planned to advance along the road... General Conway, sir? Yes, Hamilton. You'll excuse me, ma'am. Of course, Colonel. General Washington is asked to see you, sir. But of course. Will you excuse me, ma'am? Certainly. This way, sir. General Conway. Your Excellency. Please be seated. I apologize for leaving so abruptly after dinner. It is nothing. But Colonel Hamilton and I felt it necessary to review our list of food and clothing requirements before presenting it to you for immediate transmission to Congress. Quite so, sir. You understand, however, that as Inspector General, I must confirm the requirements to my own satisfaction. You need not stand, Colonel. I prefer to, sir. As you wish. You appreciate, Excellency, that I would be performing less than my duty were I to do otherwise. May I ask General Conway how you propose to go about confirming these requirements? By personal inspection, of course. Then you intend to visit every hut and cabin in this encampment to satisfy yourself that the condition of my troops is as desperate as I report it to be. In what other way, Colonel? Of all the impertinence. I beg your pardon, sir. Hamilton, I apologize, Your Excellency. And you will apologize to me, Colonel. Permit me to handle this, General Conway. I can permit no such insubordination from a junior officer. Then will you accept my assurance that Colonel Hamilton's outburst was prompted by what he considers to be an act of insubordination on your part? On my? By your unwillingness to accept my list of supply requirements without first personally confirming it. Sir, I protest. Do you imagine that I have falsified the list? Of course not. I cannot conceive of such a thing. Then why is it your purpose to delay its transmission to Congress? I have no such purpose. Do you realize it would take you upwards of a month to conduct as close a survey of this army as my staff and I have just completed? Be that as it may, sir. And that within that month our already dire needs would grow even more acute? I must observe, General, that were it not for the selection of this impossible campsite, the needs of your troops might be far less dire than you represent them to be. So now we have it. The campsite. It would seem to be chosen at the instance of a speculator or by a council of ignoramuses. General Washington, are you to commit this? Continue, General Conway. I should like to hear the sum of your objections. This is, first of all, indefensible. The watercourses are scarped by bluffs and a line of trenches has fully consolidated the hills and high ground. Now what else? The site is devoid of natural resources. We have an abundant water supply, an ironworks and a sawmill, not to mention a part of the army's reserve of flower, shot and iron utensils, which were stored here months before our arrival. In a like situation, even General Gates might have made this choice. I fail to understand that remark. Forgive me if I doubt you. General, I insist you will clarify your... Before you become too insistent, sir, I shall remind you that I am your superior. May I respectfully request your excellency to clarify the allusion to General Gates. I allude to your strong admiration for him. I respect Gates as a soldier. Somewhat more than you respect me. The comparison has never entered my mind. Has it not? Never. Show him the letter, Hamilton. Sir, it was sent me in confidence. If the identity of its author would have become known to General Gates... I believe we can trust General Conway's discretion on that point. The letter, please. Would your excellency be kind enough to enlighten me as to what... By all means. Be good enough to read this paragraph on the second page. I think you will find itself explanatory. A few days following Burgoyne's surrender and the delivery of the convention terms to Congress, General Gates received a quite flattering letter from General Conway, which read in part, Heaven has determined to save your country, nor a weak general and bad counsellors would have ruined it. This is an abominable lie. You deny writing such a letter? I deny making such a statement. Who has written this filth? A Major McWilliams. So, General Gates will be interested. I advise you to say nothing whatsoever of this to General Gates. And allow such duplicity of conduct to go unpunished? There are those who might accuse you of even greater duplicity in writing the letter at all. I have already denied that I wrote such a letter. It seems to have received wide circulation among Gates' staff. Are you prepared to make your denial public?  But not so foolish as to be without value to a black-eyed. I am not disposed to trade insults with you, sir. Then I suggest, General, that we trade confidences instead. It is your purpose to see that Gates replaces me as Commander-in-Chief. Is that incorrect? It is inevitable, General. Already he has eclipsed you in the mind of Congress. With your assistance, I gather, as he will in the hearts of the people, when the full details are made public of his masterful defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga. We will presently come to Burgoyne. Suffice it for the moment to say that you support Gates and oppose me. You would have difficulty in proving that. Just as I would have difficulty in proving, there was an ulterior motive behind any delay you might cause in submitting this list of supply requirements to Congress. Proving that, sir, I believe you would find impossible. General Washington, this man is talking treason. You sentimentalize. You can sit here smiling like a cat and planning at the same time to starve and freeze our army out of existence. Army, a band of feckless ragamuffins. This is no army. Your forces in the north under Gates, those are your sole hope. They have discipline and a spree and a leader worthy of the name. And if the present leader of these ragamuffins were to officially accuse you of conspiring to weaken his forces, you would merely introduce the letter to General Gates as an explanation of his animosity and everything would fall neatly into place. That is roughly the plan, is it not, sir? Your Excellencies' surmises are his own. It is comforting to have a hidden document such as your letter in reserve, is it not? An innocent slip of paper that is nonetheless capable of turning all the tables. Were your Excellency foolish enough to make public the charges against me just mentioned, I confess I would regard the existence of the Gates letters highly providential.  I had not noticed. And you noticed, Colonel Hamilton? I have indeed, sir. I would regret, sir, your carrying away the impression that we are a nation of fools. General Washington! And for that reason alone I feel compelled to disclose the existence of another letter, one of my own dated some two months ago. I must confess, I feel to see... Farewell! The letter in question, a copy of which I have in hand, is addressed to a member of the Virginia delegation. The original was posted on the day that the full text of the Burgoyne surrender terms were delivered to me after I believe you personally presented them to Congress. I presented them proudly. Oh, of that I have no doubt. Your Excellency... I will pass over the slight of their being communicated to me indirectly and at that some three days after ratification in the field. Your time was of the essence. Oh, it would seem, sir. Nothing else could justify the blundering assaninity of such surrender terms as agreed to by General Gates and yourself. Assaninity? The word is carefully chosen. Well, I don't for a moment intend to listen further.  I admit of no blunder at all. The terms stipulated that Burgoyne's troops were to proceed to Boston once they were to sail for Great Britain under parole not to perform any military duty again in North America during the war. Precisely. And I defy you to produce a legal marksman so clumsiest to overlook the loophole in that. There is no loophole. It gapes, it sure. What provision is there restricting continued active service by these troops in any other part of the world or permitting the garrisons thus relieved to be sent to America to continue the fight against us? That is a mere legalism. Of which the King could take full advantage without violating so much as a word of the agreement. Oh, but let us not waste time. Given this mess, how would you clean it up, General Conway? Supposing you had realized the blunder which clearly you never have. What steps would you take to rectify it? I would require time to review the terms. Well, meantime, the British take full advantage of them. But they have not. Thanks to a weak general, his bad counselors and this letter to a congressional delegate from Virginia dated two months ago. I advise that to compensate for the short-sightedness of the surrender terms, Congress insists that the port of Boston and Boston alone be allowed as the point of embarkation so that with winter coming on and the port effectively ice-locked, we shall be in no danger before spring of Burgoyne's force setting sail for England and being shortly replaced by fresh British troops. I am, sir, your humble servant. Where the date and contents of this letter to be publicly disclosed, it would make Gates a fool and a laughingstock. I have no intention of disclosing it, General. Gates is an excellent officer, superb tactician. I would be hard-pressed to replace him. Who are you? I should have taken Lafayette's word. In what regard? He calls you the supreme strategist. And the marquee is no flatterer. May I have your list of supply requirements, sir? By all means. I will see that it is in the hands of Congress by tomorrow morning. Thank you, sir, for your cooperation. George. Yes, my dear? Do you realize it's past two in the morning? I will retire shortly. There's something I must find. In the Bible? Yes. It is always my last source. Did things go badly with General Conway? Not in the sense I had imagined they would. He's agreed to send the food and supplies you asked for? Oh, indeed. On the double. Well, then what? I'm not certain I can even explain it. But somehow, somehow tonight, Martha, I indulged my pride and vanity to an excess that makes me ashamed. Oh, I cannot believe that. It was a good cause. An excellent cause. I was careful to see to that. The cunning of one's conscience is remarkable. But I crushed a man, crushed him whole. George. While I was doing it, I kept thinking. A phrase I recall kept echoing inside me, something from Psalms. You must not reprimand yourself. Nothing that you do to advance our cause. Yes, our cause. But tonight with Conway I lost complete sight of it for nearly an hour. I wanted simply to beat him, to prove myself his superior and intellect as well as arms. But you are his superior. Tonight, yes. But what of tomorrow? If I waste myself dealing with every petty conspiracy against my own person, there may be no tomorrow for America. There will. We both know that. I've found it. Oh, how right it is. In Psalms? Yes, listen. Chapter two, verse three. I will save the Lord. He is my refuge and my fortress. My God. In him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver me from the snare of the Fowler. And Satan is the Fowler? Just as his snare can be pride and vanity. The devil within myself. The devil in us all. This is Bill Williams again. It was noted in World War II in the Philippines where a large number of Americans were interned in prison camps that the adults lost weight and sometimes became greatly weakened. But that the children seemed to get along all right and to have enough food. One reason for this it was discovered was that the parents were going without theirs so that their children might have more. This is one of the finer traits of human nature, the concern of parents for their children. Yet so common, so happily common, that we take it for granted. But sometimes it occurs to us in a flash of enlightenment that there is another kind of nourishment besides material food for their little buddies. And this we know on the authority of one who declares that man does not live by bread alone. And then we realize that concern for our families, if it's going to be thorough, should include some spiritual nutriment as well. And for the whole family. One way of securing this is the way family theater suggests each week. Daily family prayer, the investment so to call it, of a quarter of an hour or even just ten minutes each in which the busy life of the family halts and its members lift their minds and hearts to the divine author of all life. Family theater tells us that all of human history confirms that the family that prays together stays together.  From Hollywood Family Theater has brought you transcribed The Snare of the Fowler, starring Raymond Bird. Bill Williams was your host. Others in our cast were Lawrence Dubkin, Sam Edwards, Gene Bates, Irene Tedrow and Edgar Berrier. The script was written and directed for Family Theater by John T. Kelly with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman. This series of Family Theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program. By the mutual network which has responded to this need. And by the hundreds of stars of state screen and radio who give so unselfishly of their time and talent to appear on our Family Theater stage.  This is Tony Lafranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to be with us next week when Family Theater will present Mr. Harrison and the Lady Racketeer, starring Harold Perry. John Lund will be your host. Join us, won't you? Family Theater is broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is Mutual, the radio network for all America.


Hello and welcome to global with me Matthew and really wally turkey has been hit by a wave of violent attacks Just weeks after it started. It's synchronized war on terror in Istanbul The US consulate was fired on by two attackers elsewhere in the city one policeman died following a suicide bomb attack on a police station In the southwest in the Kurdish province of Sienak four police officers were killed by a roadside bomb and one soldier died When a military helicopter was attacked. There are also twin attacks in dear back here Well, let me just show you some of the pictures in just a moment from those attacks in Istanbul because this is some of the footage of that dramatic moment at the US consulate Well, two people escaped after that shootout But one has now been arrested a far left group has claimed responsibility for that attack We're shortly after that a bomb went off at a police station injuring at least five police officers and several civilians Well, the country has been on a heightened state of alert since Ankara began a crackdown last month on Islamic State Kurdish and far left militants Turkey has also allowed America to use its air bases to launch strikes Against IS. Well, let's go straight to Washington speak to Blant al-Azir a Turkish analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Thank you so much for being on the program today. What do you make of this succession of attacks in Turkey today? It's not a surprise because ever since Turkey decided to change its policy and to allow US Plains to start using angelic air base in southern Turkey In fact six planes US Air Force planes arrived and will soon start operations and then parallel to that began operations both against the pkk bases in northern Iraq as well as the Islamic State just beyond its border and then Began the internal crackdown that you mentioned they was quite clear that things were likely to get worse and and the reason that we are now focusing on it is perhaps because of the Attack on the consulate in Istanbul more than the the other attacks which took place today as well as During the past three weeks. Yes, as you mentioned, we've seen other attacks over the last three weeks since the crackdown started Do you think to have a crackdown and fight on three fronts is basically that they have bitten off more than they can chew? well, there is there is the other shoe as it were to drop which is the Expected retaliation from the Islamic State Now once the US planes begin their operations south of the border Then it's almost certain that the Islamic State will retaliate within Turkey at the moment It's the the pkk as well as the leftist group that you mentioned That are carrying these out these attacks in Istanbul as well as in the predominantly Kurdish southeast But I'm afraid it's likely to get worse over the next few weeks It's difficult to say at this stage, but do you think the authorities are actually making headway with the crackdown? It's been going for a number of weeks, but are they making headway? Do you think? Well, obviously they did not pick up all the potential Perpetrators of these kind of attacks. Otherwise, they would not be able to do what they did today The majority of the people who were picked up were pkk sympathizers or affiliates of of pkk related organizations But the they were picked up mostly in the rest of the country rather than the the Kurdish southeast I'm afraid the the the pkk is going to retaliate Perhaps even more than it has done for the attacks that were carried out on its bases and that combined with the with the is Anticipated is the tax Makes it difficult for me to believe that the the authorities will get a grip on it As quickly as they would ideally want You know the political situation very well there in Turkey Do you think there is a political unity to continue in this direction? We know that there are coalition talks going on Do you think that across the board there is the desire to continue to travel down this route? Well, I'm afraid that Turkey is more divided and more polarized than than it's been for for some time Ever since the June 7th elections resulted in a hung parliament Turkey is being ruled by a caretaker government headed by mr. Doutou of the justice in development party the AKP At this very moment he was due to meet the leader of the opposition But the expectations of a coalition are relatively low So Turkey may be going into early elections and in the early elections I'm afraid that the focus will be on the role of the of the Kurdish predominantly Kurdish Dp and its relationship or sympathy or affiliation with the with the pkk So I'm afraid that the Turkish Kurdish divide in in Turkey is likely to get worse over the next few weeks Well all its implications just a final thought because you were mentioning the Americans and of course more planes and personnel Going into those Turkish bases for coming attacks on IS. How vulnerable do you think? Turkey is to IS to attacks on their soil. You have a massive Tourism industry that they base so much of their economy on how vulnerable is it potentially? Extremely vulnerable the the tourism figures are down quite a bit from from last year Now Turkey's been very careful not to take on The radicals in fact many of whom have traveled through Turkey over the past three years to go and fight in Syria So as Turkey now hosts US planes carrying out bomb bombing raids against them As I said before it's it's certain that they're going to retaliate and and the situations like to get worse before it gets better Well, thank you for that analysis there. We have to leave it with our guests there in Washington But let's go straight to Istanbul get the latest on the ground because Selene Girirt is there covering this story a multitude of attacks one after another over the last 24 hours Just give me a sense of the mood where you are This is grim here in Turkey The funeral ceremony of the policeman who got killed in Istanbul was held today here in Istanbul as The president Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the ceremony as well as well as the ex-president of the law good the mood was grim Because I mean six security personnel have been killed only today Since Turkey started the operations against the so-called Islamic State and the Kurdish PKK militants a couple of weeks ago More than 20 security officers have been killed. That is a huge number considering There was a ceasefire here in Turkey and the peace Process in place in Turkey previously so people are very concerned that the country is heading back to the 1990s its dark periods when there was Killings almost every day. There was extra judicial killings attacks bombings, etc So people are seriously concerned as we speak The prime minister is scheduled to Go into coalition talks with the main opposition leader and the main opposition leader Made a statement today calling out For all the politicians in Turkey to come together to get together and to find a solution to this violence That is increasing on and on and the government has not made a statement except the president Issued out a written statement offering his condolences for the dead policemen's families But the government has not made another statement The people are really worried in Turkey and what they want is an end to the violence that is on the increase Okay, so then give it there in Istanbul. Thanks very much for that. Thank you Well, do stay with us because we have plenty more still to come on Turkey one of the reasons of course the country is on high alert is because of the Turkish airstrikes on both Islamic State and Kurdish separatists well The BBC's GR goal has been to the base of one of the main Kurdish separatist groups the PKK for an exclusive Interview with the group's main leader will show you that interview later here on today's global Now let's turn to some of the day's other main news stories because Malaysia says it is Dispatching a team of experts to the Maldives to investigate reports that dead