Yarra Council area is an open, accepting community. Edinburgh Gardens attracts a wide cross-section of our community, and on a sunny day is enjoyed by hundreds who picnic, play and walk through the gardens. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of public green space. Everyone should have access to green space where they can meet family and friends, host end of year catch ups and socialise in a COVID-safe way. The proposal to institute a blanket alcohol ban will unnecessarily impact on residents' use of our public park. Not all residents of Yarra have private backyards, or space to host friends and family in a safe way. Access to public parks is really important for social connections, but also broader community connectedness. An alcohol ban would also have a disproportionate impact on marginalised people. Yarra City Councillors should not bow to a vocal minority. Edinburgh Gardens is a park for our whole community, and should be able to be enjoyed by everyone.

The proposed cuts of all foreign language studies (Chinese, Italian, and Japanese) at Swinburne Uni will be detrimental to students, denying them the possibility of learning critical languages skills. Current language students will be disastrously impacted as the proposed changes do not offer a teach out of language units leaving the more than 100 students enrolled in languages with nowhere to go to finish their studies. It will also impact the University’s reputation as a University that puts the needs of its students first. We the undersigned ask the VC Professor Pascale Quester to reconsider this decision, and ensure Swinburne University’s reputation as a University that cares about its students.

A net zero target by 2030 is essential for cleaner air, a healthier environment, cheaper power, better health and a fairer society. A rapid shift to renewables will create significant ongoing local jobs for people in trades, administration, services, procurement and other industries. As Professor Tim Flannery stated recently, 'Here’s the truth about action on climate change: it creates jobs. Plenty of them. It’s good for the economy. And it will lower power prices, protect people, and save our environment.' Join us in our race to zero!

It has been standard practice for AMWU members to meet and endorse their log of claims. This has been an opportunity for members to unite in a space where they can openly share their workplace experiences and decide on what their future is with a company. Currently AMWU members working for Simplot are all being treated differently across their various sites. The HR manager at the Kelso & Bathurst plants is breaking standard practice of members' mass meetings (SHIFTS TOGETHER) Members simply will not stand for this. Sign the petition below if you support the right for Union Members to associate and their right to endorse a Log Of Claims TOGETHER. In Unity

The WA FIFO Code of Practice clearly lists communication as a critical factor in maintaining the health and wellbeing of FIFO workers. Section 5.5 of the Code states: Access to reliable communications infrastructure is an important factor for managing the impact of remote and isolated work on mental health and wellbeing. Allowing contact with personal networks helps fulfil home-life roles and responsibilities, meet social needs and facilitate the transition between home and work. Where practicable and in line with site requirements, there should be flexibility for workers to contact family and friends during the working day. Where mobile phone coverage is unreliable or inadequate, alternative communication channels (e.g. satellite internet) should be available for personal use and able to cope with periods of high demand.

Ambulance Victoria has received numerous complaints by paramedics about bullying and sexual harassment. They have asked the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) to undertake a review into Sexual Harassment and Discrimination. The review could take years! In the meantime, when paramedics and AV staff raise current issues about bullying, they are told that they can raise them in an internal process or send them to VEOHRC. VEOHRC's coverage of bullying is not clear cut. They cannot conciliate a bullying complaint unless it relates to discrimination or sexual harassment. This will leave many complaints out in the cold, with no-one available to review them. Additionally, less than 10% of surveyed staff at Ambulance Victoria believe that the current internal investigation process is effective and fair. This can’t wait - Ambulance Victoria must act now!

Delivery riders work night and day for an average of just $10.42 an hour*. They often have to work 50 - 60 hours a week to cobble together a basic income. They have no right to insurance when they get injured or die on the road, and it is at the discretion of huge multinational companies like UberEats and Doordash as to whether their families get supported. A survey conducted by the Transport Workers Union in September found that 73% of food delivery riders are worried about being ‘seriously hurt or killed’ at work. And their fears are clearly not unfounded. The Federal government must step up and take responsibility for workers being killed on the job by pulling these cowboy companies into line.

Public transport workers in Australia deal with millions of Australians getting them to work, school and play. This puts them at a heightened risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19. For many Governments, public transport workers are an afterthought. However, with this crisis, we need Governments of all levels to prioritise providing free and easy access to the new Covid-19 vaccine before big business and greedy CEOs get their hands on it. Public transport workers keep Australia moving and we can't let them be left at the back of the queue. #DontForgetPTWorkers #Covid19 #FrontlineHeros

So far this year Swinburne Council have; 1. embarked on a mass voluntary redundancy round that was not needed while taking on millions of dollars in debt to fund the redundancies – debt the union says the university will be continuing to pay off well after the Covid-19 crisis has passed. 2. Started another University wide sacking, sorry as Pascale says 'optimisation opportunity', while trying to tell NTEU they don't have to consult with anyone about that (yes we have put Swinburne in formal dispute) 3. Make big cuts to STEM while publicly announcing they want to be STEM focused. This includes cutting the only public health program in Victoria that teaches research and responses to pandemics. We urge all NTEU members and university staff to sign this petition in solidarity with Swinburne colleagues and to #defendhighered

About 2 years ago, workers at the Coles Smeaton Grange warehouse were told that their workplace would be shut down by 2023 to make room for automation. The news was devastating to workers & their families who are now unsure about what the future holds. This year, United Workers Union members have been negotiating a new collective agreement with Coles. Members are fighting for: - A fair redundancy package that will compensate them for many years of hard work & recognise the difficulty in finding new work due to the pandemic; - The right to transfer to the new automated Coles warehouse without loss of wages; - Job security for long term casual workers who will otherwise walk away with nothing. During the pandemic, Coles supermarket sales have soared by 6.9% & earnings have increased by 10.7%. On top of this, the Coles CEO Steven Cain’s remuneration package increased by 28.9% to more than $7 Million dollars in 2020! Now it's time for cashed up Coles to share their profits with the workers that created them!

We all want a professional and highly skilled industry, and to achieve this we really need to fix the current funding model. Completion rates for hair styling apprenticeships are the lowest in any industry - just 30% of apprentices will complete their Cert 3. The current funding model provides significant subsidies for employers who take on apprentices - but only in the first 12 months of an apprenticeship. At a time when 140,000 apprentices have lost their jobs across Australia, the Government really should be supporting those apprentices who are still working, or who have just lost their position. The current subsidy provides no funding or support for them, and actually rewards employers who push them out, only to take on 'fresh blood'. Who are we? Hair Stylists Australia is Australia's only dedicated union servicing the hair and beauty industry. We represent hair stylists, barbers, apprentices, make-up artists, beauty therapists, and beauticians across the country. We're a small but dedicated team working to make the hair and beauty industry fair for everyone, by protecting penalty rates, campaigning for fair and equal wages + entitlements, and advocating for higher standards of training for apprentices, more respect at work, and safer workplaces

For months Pete Evans has been sharing Covid-19 conspiracy theories and pro-Donald Trump content. It's well known that Evans has been drifting further to the extreme right, and this drift was epitomised on Sunday when he shared an image implying it was normal and natural for Trump supporters to evolve into Neo-Nazis. Given Pete Evans is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, it has to be asked, why would he believe it is natural for Trump supporters to become Neo-Nazis? The image contained a butterfly bearing the Black Sun insignia, a Nazi image that was popularised in post-Nazi Germany. It was worn by the Christchurch shooter when he open-fired on a Mosque, killing 51 people. In the lead up to Christmas, there will be a rush of people buying gifts for friends and family. We've all grabbed a cookbook from Kmart as a last minute gift for a hard to buy for family member. The community would expect that this simple act of rushed gift buying wouldn't result in them funding a Neo-Nazi conspiracy theorist.