The Commonwealth Bank is withdrawing their services from Logan Central Plaza, a move that will impact hundreds of local pensioners, not-for-profit groups, families and local business. Distressed residents from the local community are coming to me asking for help to reverse this mean-spirited decision. The planned closure is outrageous and lacking in community spirit. I regularly hold mobile offices at Logan Central Plaza and the queues to get into the bank can span the frontage of several shop tenancies. The people who frequent the bank then go on to spend money in the local shopping centre which in turn supports local jobs. Moving the bank away from the centre will move the spending capacity of local residents. This quiet closure of the local bank has come at a time when business is just starting to get on their feet post-covid, when pensioners are starting to feel confident about heading out to the shops for social outings and when families are receiving an income again. I have written to the Finance Sector Union and the Commonwealth Bank asking for a reversal of the decision. It is important to note that the staff from Commbank know locals, know their circumstances and know their challenges. A lot of clients are aged, come from CALD backgrounds and have trust in the staff that have been servicing their financial needs in a prompt and professional manner for years. I urge residents and community members to sign the petition and let Commbank know we need our local bank branches to be active in our community. Invest in us like we do in you.

For over 10 years, the Restaurant and Catering Association has been fighting to freeze hospitality wages. Year on year, submission on submission, they request that the Fair Work Commission hand out a 0% wage increase to restaurant and cafe workers. In 2020 they won – delaying our annual wage increase by 9 months. For the average Casual level 2 worker* that was a loss of $739.83 in wages and $70.28 in superannuation. They cited the pandemic as the cause for the delay. But looking into their submissions, they’ve been asking for a 0% increase as far back as 2011. And they’re asking for it again. “R&CA submits that any increase in the National Minimum Wage for those awards covered under the Group 3 tier should not occur until 1 February 2022.” Freezing the minimum wage again will result in a $980.72* wage cut to the average casual worker*. Another stab in the back for workers already facing the crisis of insecure and casual work. We can’t stand by and let them give us another wage cut. It’s time to stand together and fight for the future of hospitality. Sign our petition today to demand the pay rise we deserve this July. *working 3 weekday shifts and 2 weekend shifts at 7.6hrs per shift. *Assumming 1.75% inflation

Burnie's arts, cultural and tourism sector is growing. Despite a pandemic, Burnie has seen domestic tourism return, and international tourism is on the cards sooner than anybody previously thought. The City claims that their repeated deficits are to blame for these closures. These deficits were created through a reduction in rates, and they were planned for. These deficits are no surprise. Council’s deficit last financial year was just $340,000; just 1% of their annual budget. Council spent over $4 million on contract services last year and are expected to continue along this same trajectory into the future. Many of the services which were contracted out are services which could be done much cheaper in-house; such as cleaning, weed spraying, general construction and asphalt work. Additionally, Council wasted over $550,000 in just five months last year on architectural services for a new Museum and Art Gallery, which will be thrown in the trash if these proposed changes go ahead. It’s this wasteful approach to spending which is causing harm to the budget, not staffing these vital services for this community. The decision to close many of the city's cultural institutions is incredibly short-sighted and extremely damaging to the fabric of Burnie. Burnie City Council's employees worked right through the North-West's COVID-19 outbreak. The livelihoods of these dedicated, long term employees should be a key factor in any decision. These closures will decimate any progress made towards a better Burnie for everyone and will result in a complete loss of vibrancy in the City. The community have made their voices heard. Council has no mandate to close these services. The decision must be reversed.

Yarra City Council have walked away from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build social housing at the Collingwood Town Hall. Last month, Yarra City Council voted against a proposal to revitalise vacant council owned land at the Collingwood Town Hall with social and affordable housing. This had been years in the making yet at the last minute the Council walked away from delivering - despite the Victorian Government committing to funding the project through the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build program. The rejected proposal would have included a minimum of 100 new social and affordable housing units and over 1,000 square metres of new community space. Instead, the council have proposed to build a 'community hub' which would cost about $21 million and was unlikely to attract a funding partner or grant. Giving up funding certainty in the face of a housing crisis for a half-baked idea like this doesn't make sense. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take advantage of state government funding – like many Victorian councils are doing right now – and build homes for people who desperately need them in the inner-city where rent is increasingly unaffordable for most. The City of Yarra need to prioritise housing and start living up to their word to make Yarra inclusive for all, not just those who can afford to live here. How can I help? • Sign this petition to let Yarra City Council know that the community want social housing to be built at Collingwood Town Hall. • Get involved in the community consultation for the council’s ‘alternative proposal’ and make it clear that the community want social housing to be prioritised. • Write to your Councillors to let them know how you feel about their decision and let’s get Council to support the original proposal.

This petition has been developed by a local Fawkner resident due to concern that the Fawkner community has not anticipated that an ‘upgrade’ to the Fawkner Leisure Centre might involve closing our outdoor pools. Therefore the current community consultation process may not be resourced to reflect the community’s perspective on this issue.

Australian Services Union members throughout South Australia provide crucial library services to our local communities but State Government funding for our libraries runs out on June 30. If Premier Steven Marshall cuts funding to our libraries, local communities will lose access to: books, access to computers and community activities for new mums, the elderly and the wider community. Approximately 80% of the library workforce are women. Cuts to library funding will mean cuts to jobs when South Australia is facing the highest unemployment rate in the country. We need your support to save our libraries.

Scott Morrison’s visa system favours big businesses at the expense of working people. There are workers who have lived in this country for years, who have families and communities here, and every day do the work that keeps our country running - but who are stuck in limbo from temporary visa to temporary visa. Meanwhile, the government has enabled exploitative employers to churn through a vulnerable temporary migrant workforce with limited rights. We need a fair visa system that puts workers over profit, and that gives every worker a fair chance - no matter where we come from.

Macquarie Students Against Uni Cuts have been informed by staff of the uni's plans to increase the late assignment penalty for Arts in Semester 2, an increase from a 2% to a 10% deduction per day! After countless cuts, restructures and sackings, the Macquarie's management are already looking for new ways to turn our university into a degree factory. This is made worse considering the Liberals 2020 education bill, which states that any first year student who fails 50% of their courses will be kicked off HECS! The overwhelming majority of domestic students rely entirely on the HECS system to study, so many students would be kicked out of their studies for financial reasons. Student life is already stressful, with most students having to balance their studies with part-time work. In the middle of a global pandemic and economic recession, this attack is absolutely shameful. Attacks such as these will hurt the people who are already the most disadvantaged, particularly LGBTI+ people, working class women, Indigenous Australians and other oppressed minorities. Amy Lamont MQ Students Against Uni Cuts

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.

The cuts come at a time when UOW is moving many classes online in what looks to be a permanent arrangement. Meanwhile, students are being made to pay the same fees for lower quality, online degrees which often resemble tuning in to a Youtube channel. Fees for many degrees are also increasing, with Arts fees doubling.

You may or may not be aware that, without any staff consultation, the University has recently opened up parking at the University to students, and at a cost lower than that for staff, which means there are potentially tens of thousands of students now competing for the spots where you used to park. Previously, students were able to park only after 3.00 p.m. It is apparent that the effects of these changes are already being felt and will only increase as more students become aware of the changes. The problem is particularly acute at the new Susan Wakil Health Building. Students from the nearby colleges are now using the already under-sized parking facility as a 24-hours-a-day garage. Staff there are finding it full even at 7.00 a.m, creating a knock-on effect as they seek on-grounds parking elsewhere. As the pandemic context is not resolved, and may rapidly change, this will likely funnel many staff onto public transport, many of whom travel considerable distances to get to work. The CPSU NSW is certainly not anti-student. However, the University must reverse this decision and ensure that all future decisions regarding staff parking are made only in full consultation with staff. The CPSU NSW has asked many questions of the University on this change of conditions. Including in relation to risk mitigation, disabled access, campus security after dark (in the context of walking potentially much further to your vehicle), parking revenue, caps, future parking plans, shuttle bus services etc. To date we’ve had no response. The University is the size of a suburb and has its own postcode. The CPSU NSW believes that staff should be able to park in the same suburb they work in. We believe that changes to staff parking conditions should be subject to staff consultation.

Students do not exist on a normal 9-5 schedule. We are not always available during 'standard' work hours to come into the library and study. With many of us in casual or irregular work, caring for loved ones, or taking classes at odd times, we need a University library that is as flexible as we have to be. La Trobe students are back on campus. We're trying to succeed in our studies and trying to access the necessary resources to do so. For many of us, the library is one of the few safe and secure places where we can do this. As major assessments and exams draw closer, we deserve the best chance of success - to deprive us of a safe space to study does not allow that. La Trobe University must extend the Library hours immediately!