Australia continues to forcibly deport asylum seekers back to places such as Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Afghanistan where they face imprisonment, torture and death. Article 33 of the UN Refugee Convention, to which Australia is a signatory, states “No Contracting State shall expel or return ('refouler’) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his [sic] life or freedom would be threatened on account of his [sic] race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” Thousands of asylum seekers in Australia are at risk of deportation particularly because the Coalition government changed asylum assessment processes and abolished the Refugee Review Tribunal. An investigation by the Edmund Rice Centre in 2011 found that of 179 refugees who were forcibly returned to Afghanistan 20 had been confirmed killed and dozens more had disappeared. An update of the report in July 2017 concludes “it would be impossible for Australian, European and other governments to guarantee the safety of Afghan returnees in this period of instability”. Deportation itself is a brutal process often involving physical or chemical restraint. It breaches Australia’s obligations under international law. People deported by Australia have been bound and gagged. Deportations sometimes occur in the middle of the night with little to no warning for the person being deported. In 2010 Jimmy Mubenga, was suffocated to death while being restrained on a British Airways flight during deportation by the UK government. Deportation invariably puts passenger safety at risk because asylum seekers will often rightfully resist the process. Abdlmoneim Khogali, a Sudanese asylum seeker handcuffed to a passenger seat ripped the seat from its floor mountings in an attempt to avoid deportation from Australia. He was then beaten by guards in front of passengers. Several attempts were made to inject him with tranquilliser, the needle missed and bent into the seat. He was eventually injected with that same bent and contaminated needle, and bears scars from it. Deportation is self-evidently harmful for asylum seekers and can also be traumatic for airline staff and passengers. Airlines are not legally required to carry out forced deportations. In Germany pilots refused to carry out deportations 222 times between January and September 2017. Lufthansa spokesman Michael Lamberty told the Westdeutsche Allegeimeine Zeitung newspaper that pilots were able to make such decisions if they thought that flight safety could be affected. Deportations are happening here in Australia quite frequently. Just weeks ago a Tamil family from Biloela in Queensland were ripped from their beds in the middle of the night. Priya, Nades and their two young girls now face imminent deportation from MITA detention centre in Melbourne. We know that Tamils face torture and even death upon their return to Sri Lanka. This petition has been endorsed by: - Dr Gillian Triggs - Julian Burnside - People Just Like Us - The Edmund Rice Centre

For a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the commemoration of the arrival of the first fleet promotes the highest degree of negativity. The arrival of the first fleet marks the beginning of the oppression of our mob - the continued disadvantage and structural violence perpetrated towards First Nations people began on this day. I am an Aboriginal man whose mob is from the NT, and I am cut up inside whenever I see anything to do with Captain Cook or the First Fleet, because these things represent the suffering that my family have historically faced and continue to face. We do not think this is an appropriate use of tax payers funds, working people earned these funds, including our Mob, and this is a shocking misuse of government money. We want this funding redacted from the government, and you should too! Sign our petition and share with the hashtag #cookisacrook! Like our Facebook page to support our campaign: www.facebook.com/cookisacrook

We are all for accessibility at existing stops, even if that means getting rid of a few car parks. BUT DONT TAKE OUR STOP! The current plans to make the 96 tram accessible is all well and good but why do they have to remove stop 26. They say they are merging the stops but really they are just abolishing the stop at Victoria street completely. You can read more here: https://getinvolved.transport.vic.gov.au/route-96-upgrade If the stop at Victoria street is taken away that could mean 10s of hours extra every year some of us take to get to and from our home!

Inclusive Playgrounds are important for all to enjoy. Bellingen prides itself on being an inclusive community and it's the right thing to do to extend this to the children in our Shire and beyond. We support playgrounds for all. Increasingly playgrounds across the state and country are being updated to include accessible elements. We believe that Bellingen Shire Council, our State and Federal Governments should support extending this initiative to Urunga.

As Buzzfeed stated so eloquently yesterday: 1. Captain Holt's ADORABLE corgi Cheddar needs to make Daddy proud for 10 more seasons. 2. The world needs to see more of Terry's mesmerizing pec dance. 3. Jake and Boyle's endearingly weird bromance is the purest friendship in history. 4. The show is funny even when it's DARK. 5. The diversity and representation in the cast is amazing. 6. Gina is always 10 steps ahead, and life without her wisdom on a weekly basis would be meaningless. 7. The world needs more, not less, of Captain Holt's hip slang. 8. We need to find out whether Jake ever gets around to cleaning out his locker. 9. And then there's the epic action sequences ... 10. ... the top-tier police tactics ... 11. ... and the incredible, iconic musical performances. 12. The show deals with relevant social issues that other shows won't even acknowledge. 13. The show's creator, Michael Shur also created Parks & Rec and The Good Place, as well as writing on The Office. Oh, he also played Mose Shrute. 14. We cannot allow the next Halloween episode to be the last. 15. "Title of your sex tape" is the new "That's what she said," and it's nowhere even close to getting old yet. 16. Hitchcock and Scully are national treasures and they need to be protected. 17. We need to spend more time exploring Jake's relationship with his worst enemy/best friend Doug Judy. 18. Adrian Pimento has so much more to give. 19. Boyle has so many more mistakes to make with the English language. 20. We will all be lost if we don't have Rosa to protect us. 21. And our lives will be sadder and smaller without Jake's countless Die Hard references ... 22. ... the deep and beautiful office friendships ... 23. ... Gina's never-ending sass ... 24. ... Terry's emotional coping mechanisms ... 25. ... Captain Holt's joyful demeanor ... 26. ... Jake and Amy's adorable romance ... 27. ... and Terry's yogurt obsession. 28. Without the team's expert interrogation techniques, we would never learn anything about ourselves. 29. And without Jake's naive optimism, we would be forced to give up hope. In conclusion WE CANNOT LET THEM CANCEL Brooklyn Nine -Nine. Together we can save this show, and in the process, the planet.

Announcing the federal budget, Treasurer Scott Morrison stated that "keeping Australians safe" was one of five commitments prioritised by the Turnbull government. They demonstrated this by an increase in funding to tighten visa processing scrutiny, increase security at airports, and assist police and crime agencies to fight crime and terrorism. A WOMAN DIES EVERY WEEK AT THE HANDS OF HER CURRENT OR EX PARTNER. How can this government possibly say they are committed to keeping Australians safe when they have so heinously overlooked those so vulnerable, in such desperate need. This is not a responsible government, they do not prioritise and care for the needs of their people. Sign this petition to send a message to Canberra that the Australian people aren't okay with this and we won't tolerate it.

Hospo workers are too often exploited. We work without breaks, we're not treated with respect and our wages are stolen. I stood up to my employer and was fired for exercising my rights! Businesses like BARRY get away with this kind of behaviour too often. I'm calling on the Fair Work Ombudsman to conduct a full audit of BARRY and order repayment of wages to past and present staff. Send a clear message that it's time to take wage theft off the menu.

• The number of Indigenous children taken from their families has doubled in the decade since the 2008 apology to the Stolen Generations. Less than 35 per cent of these children are placed with their Aboriginal family. • Funding continues to be directed to removing children. There is no serious investment in early intervention that help keep families together, or to meet the unmet needs for housing, employment and other basic services, the root cause of the “neglect” that leads many children to be removed. • Once kids are removed families struggle to get them back, with little support provided and a system biased against return. Current reforms are placing children in foster care until they are 18 years old almost immediately and there is a further push to ease restrictions on adoption.

Newstart at $269 per week, is $177 per week below the poverty-line. It is less than 41 percent of the minimum wage, less than 18 percent of the average wage, and has not been raised in real terms for 23 years.
 Even the Business Council of Australia has advocated to the government that the low rate of Newstart presents a barrier to employment and risks entrenching poverty. 
 Increasing Newstart would benefit local economies, by increasing the spending power of those on low incomes, whose extra funds would circulate through local businesses. It would also reduce the strain on Council community services assisting the growing number of people experiencing hardship. Eleven local councils in South Australia and Victoria have added their voices to the chorus of business, union and welfare groups which have called for Newstart to be increased. The South Australian councils which have passed motions are Adelaide, Clare and Gilbert Valley, Copper Coast, Kangaroo Island, Mount Gambier, Onkaparinga, Playford, Port Adelaide Enfield, Salisbury, and Streaky Bay. In Victoria, the Moreland City Council has also passed a motion. The inadequacy of the Newstart payment entrenches poverty and contributes to homelessness. With the growth of gentrification and development in Melbourne's inner west the Newstart payment is no longer providing the means for Maribyrnong's working-class and migrant population to live in the area. The Maribyrnong City Council should support the motion to increase Newstart and protect the area's identity as being one of the most diverse and accessible places to live in Melbourne.

Workers deserve a fair pay rise, the cost of living is increasing and wages are not. Yakult is making millions of profits and workers are struggling to keep up. This is a kick in the guts!

The Fairwork Commission is undergoing a review that focuses on swim teachers pay for the industry. Most of the swimming instructors we work with will train for anywhere between 6 and 12 months. The process to become a swimming teacher is quite long and arduous. We do internal train, we do training courses we must have Working with Children and CPR certifications. We would cover these requirements over the 6 – 12 month period. During this time, however, we would at times still be required to teach classes generally due to the lack of teachers on a given shift. So, there we are, teaching kids to swim but technically still a ‘trainee’ and being paid that way. Given their way employers want this sort of practice to be written into the Fitness Industry Award by having a ‘trainee swim teacher’ role at level one. Given that the words ‘swim teacher’ don’t come into the Award until level 3, this would blur the lines terribly for new swimming teachers coming into the industry. We want to make a difference. We want to change the rules, so they support young workers not exploit them. We would really appreciate your support!

At a dinner ahead of the G20 leaders' summit is Osaka, Scott Morrison made a formal invitation to Donald Trump to travel to Australia for The Presidents Cup golf tournament. Trump hasn't yet confirmed if he'll come or not, but he said: "I’ll tell you what, I’d like to. That’s a big deal. That’s going to be great." We have to stop him. Trump's racism, sexism and homophobia have dangerously emboldened a violent far-right both in Australia and abroad. Years ago, Australia made a peaceful, bipartisan decision to introduce gun controls, making our country safer for all. Trump's presence in Australia is anathema to our most cherished shared values, and would only create unnecessary tension and hostility here. He should not be afforded or extended an official state visit. #noTrumpinOz