The first game of the first round of the season is one of the biggest and most exciting nights on the AFL calendar. Why do Carlton continue to get rewarded with this fixture when they continue to perform poorly?

Public holidays have immense social value. In an increasingly busy world where workers are working more and more hours, public holidays are more important than ever. We all need the chance to rest and have time with our families and friends. Tasmanian workers are now the lowest paid in the country, and we have less full day state wide public holidays than a number of other states and territories. But the Hodgman Liberal Government has recently proposed cutting some public holidays from Tasmanian public sector workers. They are also conducting a review in apparent secrecy with no consultation with unions or workers. Any review of Tasmanian public holidays must not result in a loss of public holidays for workers in any part of the State. A genuine review of public holidays should look at all options including whether we have enough public holidays and what is in the best interests of workers.

Chemist Warehouse relies on broken rules to keep workers in insecure work - about 70% of staff in distribution warehouses are labour hire casuals. Many workers who have years of experience with the company are made to rely on daily text messages, sometimes as late as 10pm, to confirm if they have a shift the following day. Being placed on unpaid standby for days or weeks on end is also common. Workers are afraid to speak out for fear of losing shifts. The workplace culture is toxic, with many of us facing bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment. Chemist Warehouse could provide us with decent, safe and secure jobs - but they have chosen not to. We've been bargaining with the company since 2018 but they have ignored our demands. That's why hundreds of workers across Victoria and Queensland are now taking industrial action against Chemist Warehouse. Show your support for striking workers by signing the petition.

Development of Australia’s first offshore wind farm, which would power up to 1.2 million homes, has been stalled by Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s failure to sign off on an exploration license allowing a detailed assessment of the wind resource to commence. The Department of the Environment and Energy confirmed during Senate Estimates in February that an evaluation of the project has been undertaken, a plan for a customised exploration license developed, and a briefing and recommendations provided to the Energy Minister, but that the project can progress no further without the Minister granting the exploration license. The Star of the South project seeks to construct 250 wind turbines in Commonwealth waters off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria, generating up to 18 per cent of Victoria’s electricity needs and connecting to the electricity grid via underground cable to the Latrobe Valley. The company says that the project will create up to 12,000 manufacturing and construction jobs, and 300 ongoing jobs. It will make an important contribution to reducing carbon emissions from electricity. Australia does not have a regulatory framework for offshore renewable energy, only offshore petroleum. The project has been in the works since 2012, and offshore wind is well established internationally. Yet in this time the government has not put forward any legislation, regulatory framework, or nominated a responsible agency to allow offshore renewable projects to proceed. The MUA is concerned that the Morrison Government’s ideological hatred of renewable energy is stalling the development of the Star of the South project, and offshore renewables in Australia.

If employers continue to be bound by the current arrangements, they will soon be unable to continue delivering key services. We’ll see large-scale job-losses, loss of expertise, disruption of services to clients and a high potential for reduction in the quality of services. Without this support, Victoria’s disability sector will likely fail to retain the skilled and committed workers required under the NDIS, potentially resulting in widespread market failure across Victoria. We need to see an investment of $46 million over 3 years, to deliver the quality NDIS that people with disabilities so rightly demanded. This represents just 7 cents in every dollar that the Victorian government will contribute to the NDIS in a single year – but the impact will be huge.

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The current system creates inequities within the workforce, and can lead to serious hardship on families experiencing psychological and financial stress. The careers of women and primary carers can also be negatively impacted. "I returned to work at the ANU ten days after giving birth to my son. My family needed the income, but it wasn’t just this – I also needed to secure my next contract. It was important for me that my supervisors were happy with my performance and recommended me for my next contract. This was a very difficult time. I had psychological health problems. I felt guilty about leaving my son, and would try to see him to breastfeed on my lunchbreaks" (Professional staff member at ANU). By adopting employer-paid parental leave for all staff, ANU will keep pace with other universities in the sector who already provide paid parental leave on either a full or pro-rata basis for their staff. It will also help to: • Reduce financial stress on the families of staff who are experiencing loss of their weekly income to care for their children. • Reduce risks to maternal and child health from returning to work early, and support international guidelines on breastfeeding. • Contribute to ANU’s gender equality goals that aims to ensure all staff, regardless of their identity or sexual orientation, can contribute to their child’s wellbeing. Read the open letter to Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt from the NTEU Women's Action Network at nteu.org.au/anu/wan.

Newstart is $243 per week below the poverty line. Thanks to our government's refusal to raise the rate, unemployed Australians are being forced to needlessly endure crushing poverty every single day of their lives. Because there are far more job seekers than jobs available, the average time spent on Newstart is now five-and-a-half years. According to the ABS, there are currently 16 job seekers competing for every job available. In a wealthy country like Australia, which has "enjoyed" almost three decades of continuous economic growth, nobody should have to starve on lowly social security entitlements. We must fight for the right of unemployed workers to a liveable income. We must demand our leaders immediately raise Newstart to the poverty line.

This petition is being run by United Voice members in the ACT region. We are cleaners, security guards, early learning educators, and hospitality workers who need our federal politicians to represent low paid workers. We know what it's like to get underpaid and lodge a complaint, only to have our shifts cut, never recover stolen wages and see bosses go unpenalised. The ACT may have the highest average income in Australia but workers all over our community are getting ripped off by bosses and need change. Our local candidates should commit to working on these issues before they seek our vote in May.

The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government have deliberately undermined the NDIS, meaning: - People with disabilities, particularly those with complex disabilities, are finding themselves worse-off under the NDIS. - The dedicated NDIS workforce—most of whom are low-paid women—are facing cuts to their wages and conditions due to inadequate NDIS pricing. - Quality and safeguards for some of the most vulnerable Australians are being poorly implemented and undermined. Let's tell the Morrison government and the Coalition to deliver a high-quality NDIS that people with disabilities so rightly demand and deserve.

Le Bon Ton is a New Orleans-style bar in Collingwood and one of Melbourne’s hottest late night venues. The bar closes at 6am on weekends and staff often don’t finish until even later. But whenever you work, you don’t get penalty rates. I worked for the owners of Le Bon Ton for more than a year and like countless other workers I wasn’t paid penalty rates either - I got paid a flat rate of as little as $18 per hour. In total, they stole about $5000 from me. Lots of others are also owed thousands of dollars. Will and Mick Balleau didn’t care if I couldn’t pay my rent. They’d you give a free beer at the end of your shift and reckon that makes it all right. They made me speak to their accountant who promised me the money. They even sent me a spreadsheet confirming I’d been underpaid by thousands and promised they'd pay me in the next pay run. But they never did. They were betting on me not knowing how to get my money. I finished working for them three years ago and I'm still waiting to get paid. What this is, is theft. But hospo bosses just keep getting away with it. I want to see these wage thieves held to account for how they treat their staff. The watchdog needs to take serious action against these guys. https://vimeo.com/319264816

The ABCC worsens safety and fatalities on construction sites. Last time the ABCC was in place under the Howard government, more than 330 workers were killed on the job. Workers rights', wages and conditions are under attack from the ABCC. For example - the ABCC has extraordinary powers to deny workers the right to silence. If workers refuse to comply, they could be sent to jail. Now the ABCC is taking further steps to scare workers, threatening to prosecute workers for attending political rallies. Workers and union officials are facing massive individual fines of tens of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, millions of dollars of taxpayer money are going towards the ABCC and the Liberals' anti-worker, anti-union agenda. Make no mistake - the Liberals are using the construction industry as a test for the ABCC, and want to use it as a model for other industries. We need to fight back against the ABCC - sign the petition now!