If the Federal Coalition Government fails to immediately commit to fund community mental health programs for at least 3 years and fix the massive funding gap that has caused this crisis – the whole community is going to suffer. Thousands of experienced mental health workers will lose their jobs. Tens of thousands of people with mental health issues will be left without any support and nowhere to go. It’s a crisis, and it’s happening now. Sign the petition and share. We need every signature to call on the Government to fix this crisis. It cannot wait.

Heaps of workers in the hospitality industry are employed as casuals. Bosses think this means they can treat and pay us however they like and then sack us the second we question their dodgy practices. There is no job security and no respect. Pretty much all of Joe’s staff are casual, and they prey on the fact that we are students, young workers, or migrant workers like me. They paid part of my wages in cash and part into my bank account and they kept some for themselves. They didn’t provide payslips so it was nearly impossible to keep track of what I was being paid. Dodgy employers like these guys must be held to account. Hospo Voice members are standing up and demanding every hospo employer pays us our correct legal wages. We are asking customers to only support venues that respect their staff. Join me and fellow workers to condemn Joe’s Shoe Store for the disgusting way they treat their staff.

While the majority of the Christchurch terror attack victims are still yet to be burried, Officeworks has ALLOWED the printing of swastikas for the second time since the massacre.  On three occasions, local Werribbee neo nazi Len Reynolds ('Lensta Reynolds' on Facebook) has printed these hate symbols on Officeworks equipment. If this isn't abhorrent enough, Len threatened to bash a now ex-worker of Officeworks. Officeworks did nothing when Len came back instore, except tell this ex-worker to stay in the tearoom whilst Len Reynolds printed his nazi propaganda. Officeworks response to instant outrage has been to relegate themselves to the 'tearoom' in hiding. Deleting comments on their page, refusing to acknowledge and address their absolute complicity in the printing of nazi hate symbols and the perpetuation of facists ideology.  Please sign and leave comments.  This petition will be taken to the local authorities and to Officeworks head office. Hate, facism and nazism must be stopped in it's tracks. To do nothing is to be complicit.  SHAME ON YOU OFFICEWORKS!!! We see you!

The first game of the first round of the season is one of the biggest and most exciting nights on the AFL calendar. Why do Carlton continue to get rewarded with this fixture when they continue to perform poorly?

Public holidays have immense social value. In an increasingly busy world where workers are working more and more hours, public holidays are more important than ever. We all need the chance to rest and have time with our families and friends. Tasmanian workers are now the lowest paid in the country, and we have less full day state wide public holidays than a number of other states and territories. But the Hodgman Liberal Government has recently proposed cutting some public holidays from Tasmanian public sector workers. They are also conducting a review in apparent secrecy with no consultation with unions or workers. Any review of Tasmanian public holidays must not result in a loss of public holidays for workers in any part of the State. A genuine review of public holidays should look at all options including whether we have enough public holidays and what is in the best interests of workers.

Canberrans overwhelmingly reject the sexist objectification of women's bodies that corporations like Geocon are smothering the ACT with. These advertisements are sexist and offensive to large segments of the Canberra community. The fact large corporations like Geocon insist on ever more sexist ads across the ACT gives us a clear insight into their corporate culture: they just don't care about respecting women. This kind of corporate objectification and disrespect of women has a direct link to gendered violence and sexual harassment in the workplace, which is driven and exacerbated by disrespect for women. Widespread use of sexist gender stereotypes and images that sexualise and objectify women in advertisements undermines efforts to promote gender equality and are highly problematic for the prevention of family violence and other forms of violence against women. There are plenty of regulations when it comes to advertising. We already don't see overly sexual or violent ads, and there are plenty of rules surrounding how and where cigarettes and alcohol can be advertised. It's past time for regulations that stop ads that degrade and objectify women. The ACT Government needs to step in and stop rogue companies, like Geocon, by banning sexist, objectifying and degrading advertising in Canberra.

If employers continue to be bound by the current arrangements, they will soon be unable to continue delivering key services. We’ll see large-scale job-losses, loss of expertise, disruption of services to clients and a high potential for reduction in the quality of services. Without this support, Victoria’s disability sector will likely fail to retain the skilled and committed workers required under the NDIS, potentially resulting in widespread market failure across Victoria. We need to see an investment of $46 million over 3 years, to deliver the quality NDIS that people with disabilities so rightly demanded. This represents just 7 cents in every dollar that the Victorian government will contribute to the NDIS in a single year – but the impact will be huge.

The current system creates inequities within the workforce, and can lead to serious hardship on families experiencing psychological and financial stress. The careers of women and primary carers can also be negatively impacted. "I returned to work at the ANU ten days after giving birth to my son. My family needed the income, but it wasn’t just this – I also needed to secure my next contract. It was important for me that my supervisors were happy with my performance and recommended me for my next contract. This was a very difficult time. I had psychological health problems. I felt guilty about leaving my son, and would try to see him to breastfeed on my lunchbreaks" (Professional staff member at ANU). By adopting employer-paid parental leave for all staff, ANU will keep pace with other universities in the sector who already provide paid parental leave on either a full or pro-rata basis for their staff. It will also help to: • Reduce financial stress on the families of staff who are experiencing loss of their weekly income to care for their children. • Reduce risks to maternal and child health from returning to work early, and support international guidelines on breastfeeding. • Contribute to ANU’s gender equality goals that aims to ensure all staff, regardless of their identity or sexual orientation, can contribute to their child’s wellbeing. Read the open letter to Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt from the NTEU Women's Action Network at nteu.org.au/anu/wan.

The City of Fremantle has recently made the decision to introduce paid parking on Marine Terrace and change time restrictions at South Beach, Mews Rd and the east side of Marine Terrace. Media releases from the Council and public posts detailed the purpose of this change is to discourage commuter and student parking, to clear up space for beach goers and increase the reliability of parking for those parties. It is our belief these changes will highly reduce the reliability and affordability of parking not only for visitors of Fremantle and commuters, but also to the university students of Fremantle, who bring life to the West End. Not only will these changes affect the welfare and livelihood of the students, it will affect their ability to attend lectures and stay all day in the city; eating at local cafes and engaging with local businesses due to time, accessibility and financial pressures. Through the surveys and testimonies of students, and the statements produced by the City of Fremantle, it has been demonstrated to the NDSA that the parking along Marine Terrace is relied upon by many of our students, whom have now seen the introduction of a daily fee with no promise of more reliable and accessible parking solutions. We also believe the introduction of this paid parking will lead to more commuters and students parking in free zones such as South Beach and local streets, only increasing the pressure in these areas for beach-goers and locals.

Newstart is $243 per week below the poverty line. Thanks to our government's refusal to raise the rate, unemployed Australians are being forced to needlessly endure crushing poverty every single day of their lives. Because there are far more job seekers than jobs available, the average time spent on Newstart is now five-and-a-half years. According to the ABS, there are currently 16 job seekers competing for every job available. In a wealthy country like Australia, which has "enjoyed" almost three decades of continuous economic growth, nobody should have to starve on lowly social security entitlements. We must fight for the right of unemployed workers to a liveable income. We must demand our leaders immediately raise Newstart to the poverty line.

This petition is being run by United Voice members in the ACT region. We are cleaners, security guards, early learning educators, and hospitality workers who need our federal politicians to represent low paid workers. We know what it's like to get underpaid and lodge a complaint, only to have our shifts cut, never recover stolen wages and see bosses go unpenalised. The ACT may have the highest average income in Australia but workers all over our community are getting ripped off by bosses and need change. Our local candidates should commit to working on these issues before they seek our vote in May.

Le Bon Ton is a New Orleans-style bar in Collingwood and one of Melbourne’s hottest late night venues. The bar closes at 6am on weekends and staff often don’t finish until even later. But whenever you work, you don’t get penalty rates. I worked for the owners of Le Bon Ton for more than a year and like countless other workers I wasn’t paid penalty rates either - I got paid a flat rate of as little as $18 per hour. In total, they stole about $5000 from me. Lots of others are also owed thousands of dollars. Will and Mick Balleau didn’t care if I couldn’t pay my rent. They’d you give a free beer at the end of your shift and reckon that makes it all right. They made me speak to their accountant who promised me the money. They even sent me a spreadsheet confirming I’d been underpaid by thousands and promised they'd pay me in the next pay run. But they never did. They were betting on me not knowing how to get my money. I finished working for them three years ago and I'm still waiting to get paid. What this is, is theft. But hospo bosses just keep getting away with it. I want to see these wage thieves held to account for how they treat their staff. The watchdog needs to take serious action against these guys. https://vimeo.com/319264816