The Covid-19 situation in NSW is extremely concerning. Once again, the failure to build proper, dedicated quarantine facilities has resulted in a serious local outbreak, this time of the incredibly contagious Delta strain. Vaccination rates remain woefully low. The NSW Government has acted far too slowly and half-heartedly in relation to the current outbreak. Nobody enjoys lockdowns, but the failure to enact a serious lockdown soon enough has let this outbreak grow, and now means that the lockdown must be extended and strengthened. Allowing the virus to spread would be a health disaster, not just for NSW but for all Australia.

• ‘Spill and fill’ redundancy measures will only exacerbate the anxiety and stress experienced by staff. • The University has a responsibility to its staff and to do the right thing for them. • Redundancies may lead to important work being shifted onto remaining staff or outsourced to external agencies at a substantially higher cost than if performed by University staff. Your signature is important to demonstrate support for La Trobe staff and students and to ensure that the University uses our public resources to maintain high quality employment conditions, so that University staff can continue to deliver quality education and research across Victoria.

Many people believe that these test results DO NOT represent our ability to teach, in education there are far more important factors to be an effective teacher such as behaviour management, relationship building, resilience, organisation, passion, judgments and drive. There are also flaws in this test. With the majority of questions being multiple choice it has been heard of that students will sit it for 30 minutes, guess the answers then receive their results to find that they have passed. Whereas students and myself who have achieved HDs in their assessments, and have passed exams, may fail this test. Therefore achieving nothing and leading to a low sense of worth!

All workers, regardless of where they’re from, deserve to earn a living wage and work in safe conditions. But the Migrant Workers Centre and Unions NSW’s latest survey of more than 1300 backpackers reveals the majority of farm managers are engaging in rampant wage theft and outright abuse. Workers from 54 countries were surveyed about their rates of pay, entitlements and conditions. Key findings ● 78% of survey respondents reported being underpaid at some point. ● 80% were underpaid while on piece rates, and 61% were underpaid on hourly rates. ● Some piece-rate workers reported earning less than $1 an hour. ● Only 2% earned $26 or more an hour. ● The lowest daily wages were reported by piece-rate workers employed on grape and zucchini farms, earning an average $9 per day, followed by blueberry farm workers who averaged $10 per day.

This is extremely important to all Australians as not only could Neale pass away at any moment but also because of the countless hours he puts into raising money, helping with research, hosting, organising and attending events as well as helping others despite raising over $50 million dollars for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and suffering with it himself which is currently in the last and worse stage of the heart breaking condition not to mention the other stuff he has done outside of his campaigning and the football career he has had, therefore this man deserves no less than to be awarded the Companion of the order of Australia immediately.

Operating since 1979, the Collingwood Community Gardens are under threat of being bulldozed. The destruction of this important cultural and community space was announced by Collingwood Children’s Farm Committee of Management on Thursday, 3 June. Citing ‘safety concerns’ such as uneven ground, the use of removable metal cladding and ‘piles of wood and sticks’ as the catalyst, the Committee of Management made the determination to indefinitely close the Gardens, situated on Crown land, without community consultation. There is no evidence that alternatives to the bulldozing of this important community space were considered, even after multiple volunteers offered to fix the issues cited in the report. For generations families have nurtured this space, using it as a place to share knowledge, connect with the earth and build community. Many Plotters (a warm term used by those that tend to the gardens) rely on these gardens for their food production, social activities, exercise and mental health. There are multiple stories of migrant families that have kept their culture and knowledge alive through the activities at the Gardens.

General Mills is one of the largest food manufacturing companies in the world and made more than $26 billion in 2019-2020. Workers at General Mills manufacturing site in Rooty Hill NSW have experienced rampant casualisation and low wage growth. Throughout 2020 and 2021, as essential workers, we worked extra-long hours to keep up with massive increases in demand during the pandemic. We thought this would mean that General Mills would listen to our demands: But we were wrong! Many of us have been at General Mills for more than 10 years and we’ve helped the company grow and become very profitable in Australia. Despite this, many of our casual labour hire co-workers have been in insecure work for more than five years and desperately want a good, permanent job!

Victorian renters are overrepresented in casual work and will lose more than a week’s income that is urgently needed to pay rent. Victorian renters including older renters are already facing eviction, including self-evicting due to significant rental stress and Notices To Vacate since the COVID19 protections were lifted. Renters in significant hardship are facing rental increases in some cases by 25% in regional areas, as well as compounded COVID19 rental debt in addition to standard rental payments since the moratorium legislation was lifted on March 29th. Insecure, casual and low income workers are in significant insecurity and displacement since income support measures and the Rental Moratorium were scrapped from March 29th. Temporary Visa holders have been hit with extreme debt and forced into repayment of up to $20,000 in JobKeeper payments, as well as student and rental debts.

Independent assessments are intended to reduce spending on NDIS participants. They are part of government efforts to contain costs in the NDIS. These cuts will only increase the number of disabled people unable to access proper support and funding, and will force many disabled people into precarious positions. The cuts to the NDIS will also drive down pay and conditions for disability and mental health workers. The government says it will not introduce IAs until the second IA trial and further consultations have happened. But whatever they end up proposing, the government's plans are clear: to cut spending and exclude people from the NDIS. But we can stop them. Disabled people, disability and mental health workers, and our supporters can band together to show the widespread opposition to IAs and demand a fairer NDIS for all.

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.

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.

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.