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!

Doctors have a duty to make patients their first concern. Providing the best patient care relies on having access to specialist trained doctors. Sadly, patient care continues to be compromised by the State Government’s position on doctors’ workloads, staffing and professional development. Amidst a backdrop of constant change, driven by politics rather than patient care, the Government now wants to cut pay and are refusing the security of a new work agreement for doctors. In the end, it’s the patients who suffer.

SA Unions represents more than 160,000 working South Australians and their families and they deserve to safely come home from work every day. South Australia's work health and safety laws need to be toughened to match criminal penalties. Under existing law, a person who has a duty of care that exposes someone to a risk of death or serious injury of illness faces five years jail and a $300,000 fine. This should be matched with existing criminal law to insert a new offence - Causing Death Through Recklessness or Negligence - with a 15-year maximum.

We ask you to stand alongside our communities hardest workers by signing this petition demanding that Southern Cross Care Tasmania (SCCT) provide fair pay and conditions for their nursing and care staff! Aged care workers are faced with a number of tough working conditions on a daily basis; demanding overtime, inadequate staffing levels, and highly challenging emotional and physical conditions. Nurses and care staff look after some of the most vulnerable people in our community and are not being recognised for it! The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Tasmanian Branch are working alongside SCCT members in the hope of achieving a satisfactory agreement that values the work that staff do. On Wednesday 9 August ANMF members working at SCCT sites across Tasmania commenced industrial action against their employer. This action was not undertaken lightly, however, it was the only option left for them to pursue a fair and reasonable offer from their employer. “The current offer by SCCT is simply not good enough! It is completely unfair that Aged Care Staff with Certificate III qualifications are being paid seven cents an hour less than equivalent workers employed as hairdressers under the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010. Meanwhile SCCT’s Annual Report for 2015-2016 reveals that the organisation is in a strong financial position and their cash position has improved considerably from the prior year, by $24 million,” said ANMF Branch Secretary Neroli Ellis. We need your help to make Southern Cross Care stand up and listen. Listen to their staff, their residents, and the community. Aged Care staff deserve better! ANMF will continue to fight for fair pay and conditions. Learn more about the campaign here: anmftas.org.au/scc

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission report released on the 1st of August, over half of all students at UTas were sexually harassed in 2016, and 6.5% were sexually assaulted Of these students the vast majority did not seek help from the university, and 0% made a formal report about the incident. While the Vice-Chancellor Peter Rathjen has since come out to say sexual violence is “never OK,” we are yet to see the university take action on any specific incident, or commit implementing a system that offers any real support to students. What students need is not more slogans, or hollow campaigns, but fast and immediate action from the university that tells that they believe us, that it’s not our fault, and that we will have justice. Sign the petition and join the UTas Women’s Collective, and Tasmanian Young Labor members, as we call on the State Government and the University of Tasmania to to commit to implementing: A standard sexual assault reporting model which recognises the rule of law Clear penalties for perpetrators of sexual assault and violence And A full-time trauma informed counsellor that specialises in harassment and sexual violence.

Last night while another driver was being assaulted, instead of trying to improve their safety, our Lord Mayor was heading a smear campaign against them, stooping so low he's even using school children as a political tool. Physical assaults against Brisbane Transport Bus Drivers are reported once a week, and there's a verbal assault reported every day. Countless more go unreported. Three weeks ago a driver was stabbed, and last October, one was brutally murdered. Our drivers have learned the hard way that Graham Quirk doesn't seem to care. It’s time for the Lord Mayor to stop insulting his drivers, to recognise their hard work, to stop belittling them for their very real fears for their safety at work. It's time for Mayor Quirk to work with Bus Drivers for everyone's safety. All they are want is safety and fair working conditions, things all Australians should have.

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.

Despite failures of maintenance, reliability and staffing, the government is soon to renew their lucrative contracts for Melbourne’s train and tram operations. Many issues have been brought to the surface over the past months including network failures, derailments, un-maintained tracks, and under-staffing as well as typical canceled, delayed, or altered services. This is while Metro Trains Melbourne continues to make millions of dollars from taxpayers and commuters. These contracts are secret and have left us with a rail network in crisis. Let Minister Allan know that taxpayers and commuters are sick of being shortchanged by a company that values shareholders more than ticket holders! For more information, check out the article in the paper today: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/luba-grigorovitch-oh-the-places-you-wont-go-on-public-transport/news-story/0e8fdd5bc0117e88cf2a40fa58fb2331

The current structure of the trimester system unfairly affects staff and students. Through institutionalizing the drive to hasten the completion of degrees and rake in profit, the University has thus forgone creating an atmosphere that disrespects the concept of obtaining a comprehensive education in an attempt to establish the university as a degree factory. The trimester model completely ignores the necessity of study breaks for students to catch up on content as well utterly disregarding the students who rely on the end of year break to save essential funds that ultimately sustains them for the following academic year. Already carrying the weight of being at university, this financial and social deficit will place a greater burden on the mental and academic health of Griffith University Students. The implications of this model call in to question the practicality of deadlines and workloads placed on academic staff by creating a third teaching period. This new policy strips the ability of staff to have time to part take in scholastic pursuits, including conferences and undertaking research. This policy will lead to an increase of fatigue and burnt out staff which will ultimately affect Griffith's high standings within research and the quality of the education. At all ends, the trimester model is solely for the university and against the students and staff.

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.

Your radiographers, sonographers, medical physicists and radiologists are the imaging professionals who provide the services that allow for quick and accurate diagnosis that leads to timely and effective treatment. They tell us that privatising medical imaging services in the new RAH will put profits before patients, lead to patients having to make expensive trips to other services, put staff and patients safety at risk, deskill our health professionals and lower the quality of services provided to the community. South Australians have paid over $2 billion for a new state of the art hospital and they should have free access to medical imaging no matter how frail they are and how complex their conditions. It is time for Minister Jack Snelling to stand up for South Australians and protect public imaging.

Council-run home care enables those in need to live independently at home for as long possible by providing domestic assistance; personal care; respite care; property maintenance; nursing and allied health and social support. The workforce is stable, well trained and committed to providing quality services. Federal policy changes due to come into effect in 2020 threaten the Victorian home care system. Without local government our home care would be poorer - poorer in quality standards, poorer for lack of skilled and experienced workforce and poorer for the loss of $200 million in funding. It is not too late to make policy changes that will protect our system. FEEDBACK ON THE CURRENT SYSTEM: “I’m not as fit as I used to be and now the council provide a carer to help me out but it is the company we old folk get from the staff that attend. You need just see a friendly face and cheery hello, it makes such a difference, we have no one to talk to most days. So the council staff really work miracles. ” “It has been very difficult for my sister to look after my dad who has dementia in the South Australian HACC system which is decentralized. If anything there has been more cut backs and limited support – unless you have the money to pay. Victoria’s council run services are so much better. People who have home carers are able to stay in their own homes and receive better quality care and the carers have better support networks. Councils are vital in funding and staffing.” “I really think it is so important the Council continue to play a role in home care for our community. I’m concerned that this new model will look like the RESI Youth Care System which failed. Council’s have highly skilled staff to run Home and Community Care.” “The chap Arthur who takes us shopping on Thursday is a very good man, he lifts all the shopping on and off the bus and the young lady Emily is the name, she takes us to a market even sometimes with Arthur. There we stroll around with our friends from the bus and have a cup of tea. Yes these people you have on your staff are really something and this we thank Council for. The bus comes to your door and you see the cheery faces of the helpers, it makes your day.” #PlayFairwithHomeCare