Bob Myers, a long-time relationship counsellor and former electronics technician, probation officer and youth worker, wants a big change in community attitude.

“The public needs to understand that punishment doesn’t work,” the 75-year-old father and grandfather told The Standard.

“There are better ways to deal with issues. However, laws reflect the wishes of the public.

“I’m advocating restorative justice where the emphasis is on healing relationships to what they should be rather than an emphasis on punishment.

“It has more chance of helping young people change their ways.

“Restorative justice needs to be taught to the general public and through schools.”

His views on criminal justice are part of his philosophy on “transforming conflict into creative conflict”.

They are contained in his latest book Travelling the Road of Peace and Happiness — a 10-year project which followed two earlier books on parenting teenagers.

“This book is aimed at helping people in all situations including the home, workplace and schools,” he said.

It uses family scenarios to expose how competition and domination have affected relationships and shows the healing power of non-violence.

His views come from years of working and counselling with conflict and researching a wide cross-section of religious and secular views on non-violent resolution.

Mr Myers was a technician when he met the late Father Tom Brophy in 1972 when the energetic Catholic priest was helping troubled boys in the Ballarat Catholic diocese.

“He was a very charismatic man,” Mr Myers recalled.

“I started helping him at the Freedom Zone youth centre in Kepler Street on a part-time basis and later chaired the committee that built the Brophy Memorial Hostel.

“In 1979 I resigned to become director of the hostel and later the Brophy Family and Youth Services until 1996.

“Then I got into relationship counselling.”

About six years ago he helped form the national organisation Pace e Bene, which promotes spirituality and non-violence.

“We’d like to have it as a way of life rather than the current adversarial system,” he said.

“Our society is obsessed with competition. There is so much of it in society that causes conflict.

“My book is aimed at bringing a different approach.

“Non-violence is linked with happiness, peace, justice and equality. People say it’s impossible, but it’s not.”

The book is published by Xlibris of Gordon, New South Wales.