The people of the Hinkler region ( Hervey Bay-Bundaberg) are feeling threatened , scared and worried for their financial futures and inclusion in our communities. Our population of people on legal eligible centrelink payments across the board, from youth allowance, newstart, dsp, carers etc should not be feeling like they are being excluded from our society and fear losing their sense of self. The insults that we cannot manage our funds, that we are all drunks, druggies and pedos are unjust and not true. People cannot be held responsible for gov't failures to create sufficient jobs and training for people who are isolated and are limited in their prospects. People with addictions need the funding put back into the services that have been removed and treated under the health system, not pushed onto a fantasy card that is being touted as the cure all for all of social ills, at the same time the mantra being pushed that only people on centrelink suffer those ills! Common sense is to provide help to those who need it, and not allow the privatisation of our Social Security sector to a private corp, ready to make big $$ off of the backs of our battlers. The added costs to the tax payer per person per year could be better spent in inclusive public service funding, not a punitive, segregating punishing, dehumanising boot being put down on people who have committed no crime. Australian citizens deserve to feel safe from their own gov't The current gov't is attempting to split our citizens into segments who are judged by their circumstance as to what level their citizenship counts for them. People on Centrelink payments are not "lessor" people just because they receive their rightful payments. Workers who cannot access enough hours are not lessor citizens, and current workers should not be placed in situations where they accept lessor protections at work, in order to stay employed in fear of , if they lose their jobs they will be on the card ! This card threatens our small business, markets and public events . Tourism cannot support these regions alone and the "cash flow" that circulates through our regions economies keeps people going, it keeps our centrelink recipients from becoming destitute, as they have access to secondhand items, cars, and are able to pay their cash rents. We have a large amount of older workers doing their mutual obligations, free labour hours to receive their payments, our younger out of work workers are also doing their work for the dole, part time work and studies, The cashless welfare debit card will completely destroy people on so many levels and we don't have the mental health services to cope with the loss of self and autonomy. This is not how any gov't should be treating any of it's citizens. The card does not care what colour your skin is, your religion, or your circumstance, it is about profits for private business. Indue Terms and Conditions show no mention of any persons health, mental health or general well being, it only has terms and conditions that remove peoples' right to privacy, contract and consent laws, it is about control. If the gov't was serious about helping people overall, they would lift the amounts of centrelink payments to make sure people can keep up with the modern costs of living and provide the health services that all of our community should have access too. The moral of the people is important to how a country works, removing the worth of so many and then the media and the gov't backing of the media "welfare bashing" is causing a great deal of distress across the country as whole. We in the Hinkler region want JOBS not CARD ! Training and PAID work for able bodied people, for older out of work workers and DSP need to be treated with respect too, Dignity NOT Poverty. The card will segregate people and cause more than just financial difficulties for recipients . Stop the Card!

It is the worse time in Australia's post-war history to be unemployed, yet the government and the media continue to blame the unemployed. It is clear that the problem is the system (of which mainstream media is a part) which is upheld by the politicians. The focus needs to be on them, not the unemployed. Politicians and media need to be held to account. Where are the jobs? What are the government doing about the Newstart rate which is $380 per fortnight below the poverty line? What are the politicians doing about the disaster of work for the dole, cashless welfare, job search agencies, drug testing and so on. They profit, while the unemployed suffer. Sign this petition and demand the unemployed are given a voice!

More than 400 people work at the titles office and they take their jobs seriously. Their dedication and attention to detail gives Victorians peace of mind when it comes to their homes. The titles office created $300 million in revenue last year. That's $300 million that was returned to the public to fund schools, hospitals, roads, and other highly valued public services. What's worse, we know privatisation doesn't work. Victoria has a history of privatising public assets only to see costs increase and service quality decline. Just look at the cost of electricity now, our muddled public transport system, not to mention traffic cameras, and prisons run for profit. If the titles office is sold to a private company it will affect everyone from first-home-owners to property developers. Fees are predicted to quadruple as seen recently in Canada, and costly title insurance will be a likely requirement for all homeowners, any revenue made from the titles office will go straight into the pockets of private company shareholders. Buying property in Victoria is hard enough. Why does the Government want to make it harder? We must stop the selling of this valuable public asset. Because once it's gone, it's gone for good.

Jeff Kennett and Crown are planning to game the system and use loopholes in our work laws to cheat these workers of their livelihoods. Kennett is planning to make big money from his political connections and cosy relationship with Crown – the casino he granted a licence to and opened when he was in power. Now he wants to profit from sacking Victorians and cutting the wages of their replacements. Kennett’s company, Amtek, is bidding to take over pokie machine maintenance for Crown. The technicians who have been doing the work for 20 years have been told they can't apply for the new jobs - and their replacements will be on half the pay (just under $38,000).

Dodgy Labour Hire firms are stealing wages, undercutting the fair pay of permanent workers, abusing their staff, ruining communities and escaping punishment and doing it all again. Currently it takes less to start a Labour Hire firm than it does to get your license to drive, and that isn't right. It needs to change. The Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 will stop Labour Hire operators who do the wrong thing from doing it again. Click here to read more about the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Bills/55PDF/2017/B17_0022_Labour_Hire_Licensing_Bill_2017E.pdf

The people who work in South Australia's power industry deserve to be treated equally for equal work. But currently South Australian Power Networks (SAPN) management are trying to break the business in two, using the excuse that they need agreements that comply with the building code. These would force the people who work there onto agreements that: - ban mandatory hiring of apprentices - allow cut-price unskilled labour from labour hire companies - undermine safety and reliability for customers - attack the job security of experienced, reliable South Australians The CEPU/ETU recently successfully campaigned for changes to the building code that would exempt SAPN entirely from it because they perform essential services. Yet SAPN managers have refused to take up the exemption. They want to use the code as an excuse to put the screws on working South Australians. We support quality South Australian work, and the people who perform it. Add your voice below, and tell SAPN to stop playing games and apply for the building code exemptions.

UPDATE: Norm is now taking on Wilson Security in the Federal Court in Canberra. Show Norm you've got his back on March 8 at 10:00am - more details: http://bit.ly/2Ce2LcK "Together with my union, United Voice, I've tried, over and over again, to get Wilson security to stop stealing from their employees. It is systemic wage theft, from people who really can't afford to lose any money. I'm losing more than three thousand dollars a year - and there are hundreds of people just like me. "Most security guards are on really low wages. The whole industry tends to work on rotating rosters - four days on, four days off. A lot of security companies try to save money by scheduling overtime shifts on Sundays. But Wilson Security has gone a step further - they're picking and choosing when 'overtime' shifts occur - so they can avoid paying overtime. 500 security guards are being ripped off in the ACT alone.

The Rail Workshops in Rockhampton have provided life-long careers for generations, stimulating the regional economy and building a proud legacy in the community. When these jobs are taken out of the community and out sourced to contractors to save Aurizon a few dollars, entire families will be forced to relocate. In their OWN Community Engagement Charter, Aurizon state their “Commitment to the principal of ZEROHarm in the communities Aurizon operates within.” They also talk about how they strive to "Foster supportive long-term positive relationships with the communities in which we operate" and that they "respectfully consider community feedback". Aurizon have failed to meet their own standards & policy in how they have gone about closing these workshops. Stick by your word, don’t desert our community and take vital jobs with you - Keep the Rockhampton Railway Workshops open like you promised!

I'm Judith, and I've been a cleaner for a long time. I've never seen anything like this. In the government's new contract, there’s no jobs guarantee – meaning 7,000 cleaners will all be forced to reapply for our jobs, without entitlements like sick leave that we’ve built up over years of service. And there’s no hours guarantee – which we can’t afford, and also means we won’t be able to keep state schools and public buildings clean. We’ve only got until the end of the year to change this, so please add your name to tell the Premier that cleaners need job security - the more of us who speak out together, the louder our voices are!

Independant Member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, likes to pretend she's a friend of workers. She likes to pretend she stands up for decent wages and conditions, and that she's different from the Liberals. In the coming weeks, she has a chance to put her money where her mouth is. There are members of the Coalition likely to cross the floor and Cathy will be a deciding vote. She can choose to protect penalty rates or she can choose to slash the wages of 700,000 Australians. Cuts to penalty rates can be stopped if people like Cathy McGowan do the right thing.

Thousands of Australians rely on the advice and support of professional pharmacists every single day. Pharmacists work weekends because illness can strike at any time. They shouldn’t be punished because they put the health of the community first. Plus, the Chemist Warehouse Group is very successful, it sells $4 billion worth of medicines, vitamins and beauty products each year, so why not pay staff fairly?

Murray Goulburn’s proposal to close factories in Kiewa and Rochester, and also Edith Creek in Tasmania, and lay off more than 300 workers will have devastating effects on workers, families and regional communities. The proposal has been justified on the basis of wiping farmers’ debt. However, the farmers’ debts resulted from bad, short term decision making by the previous CEO and board of Murray Goulburn. Regional workers and families should not have to bear the brunt of Murray Goulburn’s mistakes. It is disingenuous to claim Murray Goulburn is helping farmers while devastating regional communities. Once again Murray Goulburn appears to be making short sighted decisions. While the decision to close sites may offer short term relief to Murray Goulburn, it will have long term damaging implications for regional communities, the dairy industry and farmers. I call on the Victorian Government to urgently convene a meeting with Murray Goulburn, the NUW and other stakeholders where the full and long term effects of this proposal can be discussed and alternative proposals considered. I call on Murray Goulburn to support the regional communities that have supported you for years, and commit to attending and participating in the meeting.