The South Coast Labour Council condemns the horrific massacre committed on Sunday 14th December and calls it out as an antisemitic hate crime committed against the Jewish community and an attack on Australian society as a whole. Our deepest condolences and sympathies are with all the victims, friends and families. Our gratitude to the emergency services and those who assisted on the day and continue to support the community in the aftermath. The South Coast Labour Council stands with the Jewish community and all communities that make our multicultural Australia the great country that it is. Our community stands united and we won’t be divided by race, religion or the colour of our skin. An attack on one community is an attack on all communities. The slaughter of innocent men, women and children is an act of barbarism and has no place in Australia or indeed anywhere in the world. Accordingly, it is resolved to: 1. Reach out to our Jewish community through our movement and offer our support and solidarity. 2. Support the Prime Minister and National Cabinet’s call for urgent reforms to gun laws and gun control. 3. Renew our emphasis on education to combat antisemitism and all forms of racism. Adopt a zero tolerance of racism and demand it be an enforced standard across our community, media, education, public and private institutions including for our politicians. Too often we hear ugly racist sentiments dressed up as public policy. 4. Seek advice and learn from the efforts of those in our movement from our region who have confronted similar tragedies such as the Christchurch massacre in 2019 when an Australian gunman killed 51 members of the Islamic community praying in a Mosque. 5. Nominate Ahmed el Ahmed, one of the heroes of Bondi, for Australian of the year. He was shot while disarming a terrorist and in so doing illustrated for all the world to see an extraordinary example of what makes an Australian. Ahmed el Ahmed, a Syrian born Australian Muslim saving lives because, in his own words that is what a “human being does” and he would do it all over again. We thank you Ahmed el Ahmed for your courage and humanity.

Carnival is ultra-profitable, owned by one of the wealthiest men on the planet.  He has a personal wealth estimated to be $15 BILLION Australian dollars    Carnival has three ships ‘Home Ported’ in Australia. Across all 3 Australian ships Carnival flies in workers from poor countries, picks them up from the airport and puts them to work on Australian ships on short-term contracts.  Crew aboard these ships are often working 300 hours (or more!) per month, being paid as little as AUD $2.50 an hour. This is some of the most extreme labour exploitation ever seen in Australia, floating right under our noses. The Ships Officers live in luxury, with personal staff and salubrious cabins.  Crew have awful, cramped living quarters, with poor quality food and water.  Sometimes crew under deck don’t see daylight for weeks at a time. Crew are trapped in a cycle: hired for just a short contract, then sent home with no income, no security, and no promise of future work, praying for the next contract. Carnival gets away with this because Australian labour law doesn’t apply to these ships, and because there are no Union Agreements covering them.   The Maritime Union of Australia is calling on Carnival to do the decent think and sign an Agreement that delivers basic pay and conditions for these hard-working people.

Currently, Queensland Ballet receives the least federal funding of all major Australian dance companies and the Queensland Ballet Academy receives no federal funding at all. This isn't sustainable. As a result, Queensland Ballet is shrinking. This year 27 jobs were lost from our beloved company, including eight dancers, and dancers salaries have fallen 6.8% behind CPI since 2020. Multiple Company Artists are now relying on their parents to supplement their income, while others are cutting their grocery bill by living off canned soup for dinner. We want to make our beloved organisation more sustainable so we can continue to give back to the community, and continue to do what we love to do the most- dance.

This isn’t just policy—it’s people. At least 15 members, some with over 40 years of service, now face demotion or job loss. These are workers who have kept Brisbane running through thick and thin, many honoured with the Lord Mayor’s Award of Excellence. Council wants to turn desirable qualifications into mandatory requirements overnight. That’s not fair. It’s time to stand together and demand a fair transition that respects experience and safeguards wellbeing. By signing this petition, you demand a fair transition, genuine support, recognition of experience, and safeguards against punitive outcomes. Together, we can ensure Council values people—not just paperwork. Add your voice, sign now!

Library workers deliver essential services to 2.8 million people in our community each year. They run information services, connect people online, hold free workshops, develop community connections and foster a safe space for people experiencing homelessness and family violence, and deliver services for children and families.      The State Library's expertise in family history research and access to heritage collections are also under direct threat.     Executives are trying to cut 11 permanent librarian positions, meaning 10 frontline librarians would remain to run Australia's busiest library.     They are also cutting essential Visitor Service Officer, Children and Families officers, plus other frontline roles, and proposing to outsource the library's critical information technology team.     Frontline library staff are the vital link to the library's 5 million items, and librarians are experts in connecting anyone with the information they need, taking more than 50,000 questions and enquiries annually.      Library Executives are also planning to remove public PCs, and visitors will have to order collection items via an "automated system".     Meanwhile, millions of taxpayer dollars are proposed to be spent on deceptive and ill-aligned "digital" roles, pay rises for executives, and flashy websites with no substance.     State libraries with free, uncensored access to information are essential to our democracy. And in a time of information overload, AI and misinformation, we need librarians more than ever.      We need librarians in libraries.     To foster critical thinking skills, to know the stories of where we live, and to navigate an online world increasingly full of falsehoods and manipulation, places like the State Library are essential. Victoria’s State Library should serve the public interest. It must not be allowed to neglect its core purpose of preserving and providing easy access to knowledge. We reject these inept attempts to shift control of our cultural memory, our history and our factual record to private vendors and ill-conceived digital systems.     Tell the acting executives: hands off our State Library!

People from the Pacific Islands and Timor Leste that come to work in Australia on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme do not have access to Medicare. Instead they are required to pay for private health insurance arranged through their employer. Too often the complexity of using private health insurance or lack of support from their employer results in workers not getting the vital medical care they need.

The federal government talks about just transition - the Net Zero Economy Agency, the National Reconstruction Fund, the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund, and the Green Metals Innovation Network. But when it comes to Collie, nothing has landed. Collie is Australia’s most advanced just transition program, yet not a cent from these programs has gone to secure new jobs in our town.   We can’t wait. The federal government must step up, back real industry, and deliver a clear timeline of new job opening dates in Collie.  

We all know why Peter Dutton and his fossil fuel mates are pushing for nuclear power. To protect their profits by stalling our transition to renewable energy. Nuclear power will take decades to get up and running and will be extremely expensive - it is the most expensive option for Australia's energy. As a community we must show Peter Dutton that Nuclear has no future in Australia. Please sign and share the petition to show Peter Dutton and the Liberals that Australia rejects nuclear.

We all know why Peter Dutton and his fossil fuel mates are pushing for nuclear power. To protect their profits by stalling our transition to renewable energy. Nuclear power will take decades to get up and running and will be extremely expensive - it is the most expensive option for Australia's energy. As a community we must show Peter Dutton that Nuclear has no future in Australia. Please sign and share the petition to show Peter Dutton and the Liberals that Australia rejects nuclear.

We all know why Peter Dutton and his fossil fuel mates are pushing for nuclear power. To protect their profits by stalling our transition to renewable energy. Nuclear power will take decades to get up and running and will be extremely expensive - it is the most expensive option for Australia's energy. As a community we must show Peter Dutton that Nuclear has no future in Australia. Please sign and share the petition to show Peter Dutton and the Liberals that Australia rejects nuclear.

We all know why Peter Dutton and his fossil fuel mates are pushing for nuclear power. To protect their profits by stalling our transition to renewable energy. Nuclear power will take decades to get up and running and will be extremely expensive - it is the most expensive option for Australia's energy. As a community we must show Peter Dutton that Nuclear has no future in Australia. Please sign and share the petition to show Peter Dutton and the Liberals that Australia rejects nuclear.

We all know why Peter Dutton and his fossil fuel mates are pushing for nuclear power. To protect their profits by stalling our transition to renewable energy. Nuclear power will take decades to get up and running and will be extremely expensive - it is the most expensive option for Australia's energy. As a community we must show Peter Dutton that Nuclear has no future in Australia. Please sign and share the petition to show Peter Dutton and the Liberals that Australia rejects nuclear.