Marriage equality in Australia is overdue. We need our politicians to do their job and hold a free vote on marriage equality, instead of wasting $200,000,000 on a plebiscite. Any result wouldn't be binding on the Liberal Party, so what's the point? It would take 5 minutes for Parliament to change the Marriage Act and get on with addressing far more complex challenges the country faces. We want this plebiscite defeated, and Malcolm Turnbull to find a spine and grant his MPs a conscience vote.

We can win marriage equality. Two thirds of Aussies, the majority of parliamentarians and the leaders of all major parties support it -- the only blocker is political will. This week Bill Shorten said: "Let's get on with this, have a vote next week when the Parliament sits.” He’s not alone. Greens leader Richard Di Natale has said: "The easiest, simplest, quickest, most effective, least costly and least harmful way of ensuring equality in marriage is through a vote in the parliament, and we can do that next week should the Prime Minister decide to show some leadership." And Senate power broker Nick Xenophon has said: "I would like to see this happen in this Parliament." Now it’s up to us. Let’s call on our leaders to hold a free vote for marriage equality when parliament sits again. Join this urgent call for our pollies to do their jobs and stop the delay! Sign the petition and share this with your friends:

Trucking laws in NSW, known as 'Chapter 6', have been in operation since 1984 to ensure owner drivers and contractors are supported by minimum conditions that provide for cost recovery and basic safety standards. Not only must these conditions be preserved, but they should be extended to support 30-day payments so these small trucking businesses can maintain cash flow, and help hold powerful industry clients to account for rates and conditions in the transport industry.

Union members work hard every day to end discrimination in Australian workplaces but we cannot win that fight until we end discrimination in all Australian laws. That includes the law that currently bans same-sex couples from getting married. This civil law was changed in 2004 to deny loving and committed same-sex couples marriage equality. And just as politicians did in 2004, the Turnbull Government should now put this to a free vote in Parliament without resorting to a costly, divisive plebiscite the outcome of which they have already said they will not be bound by. They should also not change our anti-discrimination laws to allow people and companies to refuse to do business with same-sex couples, as is proposed.

Eduardo Belo is the owner of Gardarmor Security. He is also the biggest private sector employer in East Timor. Despite a recent article in the Nikkei Asian Review promoting his rise to ‘top business man in East Timor’, Belo has recently overseen the dismissal of over 100 Timorese security workers at Gardamor Security. Workers are angry that East Timor’s top businessman - who runs one of the most profitable private companies – has sacked these workers without paying them their entitlements. The General Workers Union of Timor Leste (SJT-TL) has turned to the Australian union movement for solidarity. We need your help: tell Eduardo Belo to honour his commitments to his security workers under Timorese labour law. We care about workers’ rights and support the General Workers Union of Timor Leste in their pursuit of compensation for these workers. Please sign and share to demand Eduardo Belo pays workers their entitlements.

Insurance companies offer their staff financial incentives if they can figure out a way to avoid paying for injured workers' costs. They celebrate "wins" when they can deny -- or delay -- workers compensation. They even hold an awards ceremony each year to celebrate their success. But while they celebrate, injured workers are contemplating suicide. Insurance agents are dealing in human misery. We need to stop rewarding them for it. I lost my arm and was almost killed while working on a crusher at work. I had to break my own arm and use the broken bone to rip my arm off, in order to save my life. But that was still not as bad as the process of trying to get my insurance claim sorted. If you're seriously injured at work, you don't want the person assessing your compensation claim to get a cash bonus and a prize to turn you down. But that's what's happening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SdZ0IOvlag&feature=youtu.be

We are the cleaners at 469 La Trobe Street. Between us, we have decades of experience keeping your building clean and safe. But we’ve just been told that we are out of a job because the new cleaning company Elite Property care wants to replace us. Questions for the building manager? If you’ve got more to say, send your concerns to the building manager, CBRE, via Peter Starsunn, National Operations Manager at [email protected]

Submissions made to the Royal Commission report into Family Violence, delivered in March this year reinforced that paid leave rights and other arrangements for people experiencing domestic or family violence are crucial in terms of both reporting and recovery. People employed casually experience intimate partner or family violence too. Workers in precarious employment already have fewer protections. Of course, the casual loading does not consider this form of leave. It is self-evident that domestic and family violence paid leave rights should be extended to all staff of all Victorian universities.

I'm a lifelong Bulldogs fan and I'm so excited for the new professional women's AFL league, but by offering such measly pay rates for women players, the AFL is preventing women from training and playing as equal professionals. While rookie male players can live off their wages, rookie women will have to work another job. I want the league to support the women players the way any employer should: by providing a safe working environment and decent wages and conditions. Paying a women’s team playing list of 26 players the AFL’s minimum for a rookie would cost just under $1.5 million dollars per season, or just 14.5% of the current total player payment for the men’s teams. These women will be role models: The AFL should show that they value women players by paying professional wages, and protecting the players from being chewed up and spat out if they are injured.

According to the leaked University draft change proposal, jewellery, ceramics, and glassmaking will be scrapped, and 60 per cent of jobs will be cut. The University has closed enrolments for the Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) for 2017, and is proposing to move all SCA students into ‘transitional’ spaces on the main campus. This threatens the future of the historic campus at Callan Park. Arts, and arts education, are an invalueable part of any humane and progressive society. The University is not in financial trouble, as the recent construction of the $180m new Business Building attests. The University could fund SCA. Instead, they have decided to prioritise courses that can attract high enrolments, fees, and sponsorship. The expertise and opinions of staff and students have been ignored as the University pursues a top-down managerial approach over a collegial one. In an affront to academic freedom, staff have been told they risk disciplinary procedures if they speak out for their jobs and their students. Sadly, situations like this are too common in the higher education sector, where, in an environment of economic rationalisation, secure employment and educational quality are under threat. It is heartening to see the protests and community opposition by students at SCA, and their determined occupation of the University administration building. We believe that this is more than a fight for one art school, but a fight for the future of higher education.

We need investment in our public services so they can strengthen our Tasmanian communities. Services like: • Our hospitals, which care for the sick and get them back on their feet; • Our Parks & Wildlife Service, which protects our world-renowned environment; • TasTAFE, which build the skills Tasmania needs; and • Legal Aid, which keeps us safe and turn lives around. Cuts have undermined the services that generations of Tasmanians have built. Sign the petition and tell Premier Will Hodgman to invest in the services you need.

We call on Crown to support United Voice Casino Union members’ proposal for a weekend night shift allowance. We also call on Crown to agree to support their push for fair annual pay increases and greater job security.