In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of disappearing and presents more risks to health and safety than ever before. New variants like Delta and Omicron are tearing through our community and workplaces. With the risk of workplace transmission ever-increasing, we need strong measures to keep COVID-19 as far as possible from spreading within our university community. As numerous examples have shown, an outbreak at a workplace like ours where there are so many individuals coming and going can have disastrous consequences. Teaching delivery and research can be disrupted or even halted entirely, but the worst effects will be felt by us, the workers. We ask that ACU takes steps to limit the impact by consulting staff and implementing sensible measures. ACU senior management has arbitrarily set February 14 as the date for staff to return to campus. However, they have failed to undertake genuine consultation with staff regarding the potential risks associated with the return to campus and how these risks may be controlled. This has been highlighted by the fact that the University only released its COVID Risk Assessment document for consultation on February 10, just two business days prior to the return to campus.

When properly funded, student unions can be both staunch advocates for young people and providers of essential services that many students depend on. As food insecurity continues to grow among young people, student unions can oversee subsidised canteens and free breakfasts. They can provide legal services, physical and mental health clinics, and support services. Since student unions are democratically run by students, they are also best placed to manage clubs and societies. They know university is about more than the classroom, and can deliver the student experience many of us have missed due to the pandemic. At the same time, student unions can continue their tradition of being an important political space, organising grassroots campaigns for things like climate justice, LGBT rights and free education. However, active and dynamic student unions are impossible without the proper funding, and across Australia, universities have been systematically underfunding student spaces for years. In 2006, the Howard Government outlawed Universal Student Unionism (USU), where students were required to join their student union and pay a membership fee. This change decimated funding for student unions and caused many student organisations to fold. In 2012, the Federal Labor Government introduced the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) to mitigate the damage to student unions. SSAF is like USU in that students are forced to pay the fee, however importantly, this money no longer goes directly to student-controlled organisations. Instead, the university charges it and has no obligation to fund student unions. Today the vast majority of funding for student unions comes from SSAF revenue, however, universities have made it clear that they are fully prepared to reduce or fully withdraw funding on a whim. Without financial independence, their ability to fight for student interests is systematically undermined. Under threat of reduced funding, our organisations are told that a stable relationship between the student union and the university is vital. As in, don’t make trouble, don’t cause scenes, don’t do anything to ruin our relationship with management because we can’t afford it. This system is an easy fix - the current legislation can be amended to mandate that all SSAF funds be directed to democratic student unions. Students pay these fees. So students, not university management, should decide what they are spent on.

Children are vulnerable and need to be protected not only with their current health but also future health. COVID is disruptive to ECC and parents and both require financial support. If the government does not provide this support you will see people leave jobs and ECC settings which will have ramifications on tax revenue and impact many small businesses. Women have been disproportionately been impacted in this situation from both the ECC which had a large female demographic to working mothers taking on a disproportionate load when keeping children home in addition to continue working from home for over 2 years.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor said the V-grade was introduced early in the pandemic, in recognition of the distress and uncertainty experienced by many students. But the pandemic isn’t over. Semester 2 started with a lockdown, zoom classes, and rising case numbers. This has, and will continue to, negatively impact thousands of students. So why is John Dewar and La Trobe University choosing to act like the pandemic is over, like many students aren't still struggling to get by? Students need support. Students need the V-Grade reinstated.

Despite wage theft being criminalised in September 2020 in Queensland, young people continue to be underpaid and exploited at work. Many young people are unaware of the change to the legislation and also what this means for them when it comes to getting their money back! That's why we think the government and employers need to do more to help young people understand the changes to wage theft legislation and how they can address it.

In the VCs financial update forum on the 16th of September on the university's financial position Brian Schmidt was asked Why ANU is cutting nearly as many staff as UNSW when ANU has a smaller workforce and is in a better financial situation. In response, Schmidt said that this is to "reshape ANU in response" to the pandemic and not just to purely cut numbers. Vice-Chancellors always tell us that job losses are necessary though it is always jobs and wages that are the first to be cut, without looking for other means to maintain staff such as borrowing against their assets. The ANU has the financial capital to cover the pandemic-related losses, but they are making the choice not to do this as it will increase financial risk. Students should have a say over what their education looks like. We reject the way that universities are run like businesses, and we think that education should not be for profit. The ANU should not cut staff numbers and erode working conditions to maintain a budget surplus. Education should be for all, not just for the rich.

MAJOR CUTS PLANNED: Macquarie University's Vice Chancellor and Executive are drawing up plans to restructure the University. The result will be major cuts to course offerings, cuts to casual staff and a large number of redundancies. We are deeply concerned that such major job losses in the middle of a global recession will not only cause significant hardship, but also compromise Macquarie University's ability to provide quality education for students and world-class research for the Australian community. WORST STUDENT-STAFF RATIOS ALREADY: Macquarie University is already one of the most poorly staffed universities in the world: Macquarie's staff to student ratio is the worst in Australia, and ninth worst (of 1,400) in the entire world [1]. WE ARE WORTH PROTECTING: Despite these workloads, Macquarie is remarkable: in recent weeks we just broke through the top 200 on Times Higher Education rankings [2]. WHY NOT SHOW US THE EVIDENCE? While the university declares a financial emergency, they have also refused independent scrutiny of the university's financial position. DON'T RUSH WHEN SO MUCH COULD CHANGE: Moving into 2021, so much could change. Now is not the time to make major, hasty cuts. Slow down! Open the books! Don't put our great institution at risk! [1] The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/stats_student_staff_ratio/sort_order/desc/cols/stats [2] Macquarie gains highest ever world ranking, 23 Sept 2020. https://www.mq.edu.au/newsroom/2020/09/03/macquarie-gains-highest-ever-world-ranking/

In the music industry there is very little hope that any form of normal operations will be possible for a long time and even teaching a musical instrument especially a woodwind instrument will only be possible on line, which is not satisfactory for advanced students. Soloists, Ensembles, Chamber Music Groups and Orchestras will have no way to provide any work for the many outstanding freelance instrumentalists probably for years rather than months even after a vaccine has been rolled out especially the impossibility of overseas touring which many artists rely on.

provides care for my child is a very important issue as are the standards that my child is center provides.

This petition has been requested by multiple students completing ATS2084 as a way to alert the ATS2084 teaching team that we wish for fairer circumstances. In no way is this petition meant to detriment the quality of teaching of the ATS2084 teaching team. We only want a fairer opportunity to complete the quizzes to the best of our ability. Quizzes are an important element of assessment and can help determine the overall grading of a unit.

Bolt writes one of the widest distributed columns in the nation. He always uses this platform to promote his anti-science agenda. Maybe you can argue that is free speech. But when he is blatantly pedalling falsehoods on public health during a pandemic he must be refused a platform. Mr Weir needs to pull Bolt into line before people die.

This is a fundamental workplace right and shows a clear lack of care for staff to ignore and erode workers rights during this time of crisis whilst hundred of Deakin staff are made redundant.