In 2021 only 4 people utilised the support services provided by UTS for survivors of sexual assault and harassment. Based on information gathered by the UTS Women’s Collective, the number of students who had undergone sexual violence in 2021 is much higher than this number. This means that students are, not aware of, distrustful of, or unable to access the support services provided by the university. Student survivors petitioned in 2021 for greater supports and for Respect.Now.Always to stop trivialising their experiences through insensitive fruit puns, however these concerns were not met with any response. The university is not fulfilling its duty of care to these students and it must listen to do better.

These proposed laws seek to entrench discrimination and vilification of LGBTQ people, as well as women, people with disabilities, and single parents, on the pretext of religious freedom. The bill will: 1. Override state laws to allow any person making a ‘statement of belief’ to discriminate against queer people, women, and people with disabilities. 2. Allow religious schools to discriminate at the point of enrolment against queer students, and continue to discipline and fire queer teachers - under the guise of 'religious freedom'. 3. Prevent public health services from ensuring patients aren’t discriminated against by health practitioners exercising ‘religious freedom’. 4. Prevent universities from requiring students to meet professional standards if they object to them on religious grounds Federal Labor has made only the mildest of technical recommendations to reform the current draft of the bill, failing to address some of the most damaging aspects of the legislation. As Labor members, we are asked to finance, volunteer for, and otherwise fight with our MPs for our rights as working people. Our party is failing to stand up for our values, and for vulnerable communities, by supporting this bill.

Currently in Australia, a Royal Commission is looking into the shocking cases of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with a disability and Inclusive Education has been recommended during the hearings, utilising the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 9 and 24 (see reference below). These UN Articles can’t be properly implemented in our public schools unless we provide access to people who use wheelchairs. 15-20% of people in Australia have a disability. It makes sense to include disabled people in our community - we are not going away! If you have an understanding of inclusion and don't believe in segregation in our public schools, please sign this petition and share it so we can make this change for our future generations to learn to accept diversity from the time they start school. Thank you for sticking up for those who might be a little different you! Remember - it could be you next who might need to use a mobility device and need to be included... https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/

Luckily, in Scott Morrison we have a true champion of the super-yachting-community. Scott. Sco-Mo. Maaaate. What's a few million bucks of Australians' taxes between friends? Especially since you know we have your back at the next election.

Right now, women who are suffering miscarriages, pregnancy terminations, hysterectomies, sexual violence and more are being co-located in the same ward as families celebrating the birth of their newborns, and are surrounded by the sound of newborns crying. It’s a traumatising situation for these vulnerable women and the staff caring for them, and has led to serious adverse psychological and emotional effects on families and staff alike. Despite fierce opposition from RBWH midwives, nurses and patients, Metro North HHS management continues to ignore the needs of women. Management initially claimed that this co-location was an emergency “temporary measure” due to COVID-19. Then management suddenly announced the co-location as permanent. Despite the arrangements being entirely inconsistent with obstetric and gynaecological best practice guidelines, no effort has been made to find a suitable location for these patients and staff, despite there being alternatives available. Such callous disregard for the wellbeing of women is unacceptable anywhere, and certainly has no place in Queensland’s preeminent Women’s Hospital. We call on HHS management to find a safe and appropriate location for gynaecology patients that enables health staff to provide women-centred care, and which adheres to The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Standards for Gynaecological Care.

Our elected representatives need to have the ability to represent us, the members, free of harassment and the threat of disciplinary hanging over their heads like the hangman's noose. The actions displayed from Sydney Trains set a terrible precedent and will impede the movement's ability to bargain into the future due to workplace delegates being in fear of the employment.

In historically male-dominated occupations such as blue-collar trades, amenities for workers are often an afterthought or not provided at all. When they do exist, they are often very unhygienic, unsanitary, far away from the worksite, locked or in an unsafe location. The effects are worse for women who have a wider range of needs for bathroom amenities such as menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding and more. The laws that regulate bathrooms and amenities in workplaces MUST be updated to force companies and workplaces to follow the rules and provide good amenities for ALL workers. The more support we have in this campaign, the more likely we’ll be able to force positive change and make our workplaces safer and more inclusive for everyone.

Victorian renters are overrepresented in casual work and will lose more than a week’s income that is urgently needed to pay rent. Victorian renters including older renters are already facing eviction, including self-evicting due to significant rental stress and Notices To Vacate since the COVID19 protections were lifted. Renters in significant hardship are facing rental increases in some cases by 25% in regional areas, as well as compounded COVID19 rental debt in addition to standard rental payments since the moratorium legislation was lifted on March 29th. Insecure, casual and low income workers are in significant insecurity and displacement since income support measures and the Rental Moratorium were scrapped from March 29th. Temporary Visa holders have been hit with extreme debt and forced into repayment of up to $20,000 in JobKeeper payments, as well as student and rental debts.

A good apprenticeship provides all the tools you need to get started in a trade, setting you on the path to a rewarding career. But these days, some apprenticeships can be like the Wild West, with cowboy operators not properly training us, leaving us unsupervised, stealing our wages or - worst of all - putting our lives at risk by forcing us to do unsafe work. I went through a lot of this during my apprenticeship. I was excited to start my Boilermaker apprenticeship. I said to everyone; I want to fabricate things, forge things and it's going to be really cool. But during my apprenticeship I'd be working inside these barrels, no ventilation, no extraction fans, nothing. I'd have a p95 mask and I'd be in there for four hours, but within an hour the thing would be black and you couldn't breathe through it. I'd ask the boss for a new one and he would ask why I'd needed it. Often there was no one supervising me and the boss wouldn't release me and the other apprentices so we could go to Tafe. Unfortunately, my story isn't unique. It's become so bad that only half of Victorian apprentices ever finish their training. This has to stop. I'm joining forces with other apprentices and young workers to campaign for change. Sign our petition to call on the Victorian Government to fix the apprenticeship system and protect all apprentices from abuse and exploitation.

We demand the University take action to develop a university-wide action plan that is victim centred and trauma informed: 1. Create a stand-alone sexual assault and harassment policy (including stalking and relationship violence), that is mandated across all UoM departments and affiliates, including residential colleges. This policy should be developed in conjunction with those with lived experience and subject matter experts. It should focus on reporting as a process, rather than a singular decision. 2. Move all reporting and therapeutic services, including anonymous reporting, away from University administrative premises into a stand-alone ‘Health and Wellbeing Centre’. All reporting and therapeutic services should reflect the diversity of the University community. 3. Publish clear guidelines, in multiple languages, about reporting, complaint, investigation, and adjudication processes. 4. Publish clear information about the breadth and diversity of sexual and relationship harms, to promote reporting from as many groups and communities within UoM as possible. 5. Publish annual figures (appropriately anonymised) for reporting, complaint, and adjudication, to promote transparency in decision-making and development of a genuine ‘zero tolerance’ approach. 6. Develop an independent investigative process, including appropriately trained staff, available to all departments and affiliates of UoM. 7. Maintain one investigative process for all complaints, whether student or staff. This should include all graduate students and those on placement with external agencies. 8. Develop alternative justice and resolution processes, with appropriately trained and supported staff, made available across UoM and affiliates. 9. Develop appropriate educational resources, alongside students, to define UoM culture and expectations, and assist students in developing positive relationships. 10. Develop a liaison committee, including representatives from key community agencies and services.

In the last year 290,500 Australians sought help from specialist homelessness services. These critical services support people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including vulnerable groups such as women and children escaping domestic and family violence. If the Federal Government goes ahead with this $50m cut, critical services will be closed and jobs lost across Australia. Homelessness services were not meeting demand pre COVID-19 and are now under extreme pressure due to the impact of COVID-19 and economic recession. To rebuild out of this crisis and be able to support our most vulnerable Australians we cannot afford to lose hundreds of critical frontline homelessness workers. We call on the Morrison Government to ensure it continues and indexes its existing level of funding for these critical community services so workers are paid properly and able to continue to focus on supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Don’t close the door on homelessness services!

Council-run home care enables those in need to live independently at home for as long possible. Being able to retain a sense of independence is so important for mental and emotional health. Our ageing relatives, friends and neighbours deserve to retain the quality care they get from our highly trained Council workers