The little town of Surat on the Balonne River in QLD with a population of about 500 people (if they've got visitors) is about to be surrounded by gasfields. Armour Energy wants to frack. We have til 4.30pm on 3 October 2018 to tell them Don't Frack Surat. The gas industry is trying to expand to every state in Australia. They are huge multinational companies whose overriding objective is profit. There is ample evidence put together by people who don't receive a cent for doing it, including doctors and scientists, that fracking and CSG is harmful to humans and the environment.

The KPI for a claim for any type of Pension is 6 weeks. Because of lack of staff and a huge back-log this has now blown out to as much as 12 weeks and sometimes longer. This is even before you know if your claim will be accepted or not. Some people have the resources to cover this long wait, but many don't, which is why they are claiming in the first place. It is better for a person to be cared for in their own home, by a loved one rather than be a burden in either the hospital or aged care system. Adding financial stress to a Carers burden can definitely lead to a depressed mental outlook. Please sign the petition now asking the Federal Minister to Increase Staff in Centrelink so they can address all wait time issues.

There are children and families in detention on Nauru by order of the Australian government. Some have been in captivity for years, and some children were even born on the island. Detention is a fancy word for prison. Except there was no court, no trial, no judge, no jury. It is not a Liberal or Labor issue. Both parties have been responsible for this. The world’s humanitarian organisations have condemned Australia’s action and yet it continues. These people have escaped from all kinds of appalling situations. Don’t be misled by claims that freeing these people will lead to more boat arrivals. That is a separate issue which our border controllers need to manage without making political pawns of the people seriously suffering on Nauru. Children are being psychologically and physically harmed.

It is important that we as a community support our youth to feel respected and valued by investing in youth and community driven Justice Reinvestment opportunities such as access to youth accommodation for our young people sleeping rough, support for young peoole struggling with drug, alcohol, gambling and gaming addictions, exploitation and sexual abuse, support for young people identifying within the LGBTIQA community and basic human rights such as access to resources, healthy affordable food, safe affordable accommodation, equitable access to education and employment without discrimination.

Respect for women is pivotal to keeping us safe. A whole new conversation is needed in Australian about how valuable its women are. Men, you have a choice; (i) you can choose to celebrate women; (ii) you can abuse, threaten, humiliate, isolate, and murder us; or (iii) you can do what men have done for centuries; witness crimes against women and say nothing, do nothing, and even hide the evidence. We recognise that not all men beat the women in their lives. We recognise that some men speak up for women who are being beaten up. We also know that most men stand by and do nothing. Significant sporting events accelerate, ignite, and contribute to an increase (of up to 40%) in the level of domestic violence in this country. This is why Australian Women's Day is occurring on the date that it is. It's being created as a circuit breaker during a time of footie fever and spring racing. We don't want to stop the conversation about, or celebration of sport, we want to expand it to include women's stories and women's experiences. One of those experiences is that women are being beaten up while men are playing sport. It's imperative that this be acknowledged and addressed. Violent relationships are bred in an environment that allows for women to be disrespected. Violent relationships are perpetuated by the silence of good people turning a blind eye and choosing to do nothing. Australian Women's Day is a day for speaking up, for seeing a bigger picture; a picture that includes both men and women. For acknowledging that women's experiences and contributions matter, and for making us more prominent in the national psyche. Violent relationships need pattern interrupters. A national day that signals to the men of Australia that women matter is that pattern interrupter. This is the game changer we've been waiting for as a nation. If you believe women deserve to be safe from harm during significant sporting events in the national calendar, please sign this petition. If you believe women deserve a national day to celebrate our achievements and our contribution to Australian society, please support our Gofundme campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/australianwomensday

The access ramps for these buses never work and are either not serviced or drivers are not trained on how to use them. As a person in a wheelchair that relies on buses for transport, I have often had to wait hours often out in the cold for the next bus in the timetable (sometimes multiple buses) because the ramp doesn’t work.

Last week two teenagers, Jennifer and Jack Edwards, were shot dead by their father, John Edwards, a 68-year-old Financial Planner. Mr Edwards was able to join St Mary's Indoor Shooting Centre, he then obtained a firearms licence and permit before legally buying two high-powered firearms, which he used to shoot his children. Mr Edwards was estranged from his wife Olga Edwards and custody proceedings had commenced in the Family Court. As the law currently stands, when a person applies for a firearm licence or permit to acquire additional firearms, the spouse of the applicant does not need to be notified or consulted, even when a family law matter has commenced in the courts and there has been previous history of threats and fear. If the law had required police to notify and consult with Olga Edwards before approving Mr Edwards' application for a firearm, then his firearm application could have been denied. Samantha Lee, Director of GCA states, “Current gun laws fail to adequately protect women and children from gun violence because the law requires an AVO to be in place or a charge for a criminal offence before a firearm may be revoked or suspended. By then, it may be too late to save a life.” “What GCA wants to see happen is a more pro-active approach which gives woman and spouses a voice in the gun licence continuation, application or acquisitions process.” Gun Control Australia (GCA) is calling for the implementation of robust new family law firearm safety checks to better protect families from gun violence. The call comes after the recent horrific shooting of two teenagers in West Pennant Hills by their father who legally obtained several firearms including high-powered handguns. Under the current law, police do not have to notify a spouse when their partner or ex-partner applies for a gun licence or a permit to obtain additional firearms. GCA is calling on all State and Territory Attorney General's to support our proposal for family law firearm safety checks.The checks would be compulsory and required to be undertaken once a proceeding has been lodged in the Family Court. The checks would include: (1) Firearm Licence Review, and (2) Spousal notification for all new applications for a firearm licence and permits to acquire a firearm application Firearm Licence Review The Firearm Licence Review (FLR) would require police to check if any party to the family court proceedings has a gun licence and if so, if there is any concern for the safety for the firearm licence holder, their immediate family or the public. The police would have the power to suspend or revoke a licence or not issue a permit. Spousal notification Spousal notification would require police to notify the spouse/ partner who is a party to family law custody proceedings when the other party has a gun licence or has made an application for a firearm licence or an application to obtain a permit to acquire a licence. The notification would then allow the spouse/partner to object to the continuation of the licence or the application on the grounds of concerns for personal safety to himself, herself or others. Full Scale Review We also call for the commonwealth and state parliaments of Australia to initiate a full-scale review of our nation's gun laws, which have been steadily weakened after decades of pressure by an NRA style gun lobby here in Australia. We need your support to change our gun laws to better protect families from gun violence. This petition is endorsed by Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service NSW Inc. Samantha Lee Director Gun Control Australia https://www.guncontrolaustralia.org/

$10 k is a significant amount of money we can use to provide direct support to the young people we work with. THANK YOU for considering

Here is a link to find out more https://www.1voiceuluru.org/the-statement/ from the Indigenous Leaders who helped develop the Uluru Statement. "In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future." (Uluru Statement from the Heart -May, 2017) YES we will join you - Australians let's get up and Say Yes to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Let's use our power to bring about change. As identified by Professor Megan Davis (Radio National, 25.05.18), two issues identified in the Uluru Statement from the Heart are child removal and youth detention. These are two significant issues have worsened since the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) and the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report (1991) commissioned by the Keating Government (1991-1996). It's time for concrete results. Recent statistics show that the Gap between quality of life for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian's is getting wider not smaller. Both of these issues are irrevocably connected to the lack of self-determination for Indigenous peoples. Paul Keating ignited great hope with his acknowledgement of injustice towards Indigenous Australian's and enacted legislation to attempt to redress this injustice. However, successive Australian Governments over the last 20 years have undermined this hope for all Australian's and left us all more diminished than we were 25 years ago. Racially biased Government legislation and policies have further undermined Indigenous pride and reenacted and reinforced the powerlessness of First Nations Intergenerational Trauma. Constitutional change and a Makarrata Commission could redress this national disgrace. While this situation continues unabated Australian culture and pride is greatly diminished. As Stan Grant so aptly stated in a speech earlier this year "Racism is killing the Australian Dream". The only way to revitalise the Australian Dream is to deal with our unfinished business. The only way to revitalise the Australian Dream is to acknowledge that Australia was taken by force, to apologise for this forced acquisition and to redress this wrongdoing by enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Constitution. The only way to revitalise this Dream is to enact a Makarrata process that would allow all Australians to understand our history and assist in moving towards genuine reconciliation. "And, as I say, the starting point might be to recognise that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians. It begins, I think, with that act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us. With some noble exceptions, we failed to make the most basic human response and enter into their hearts and minds. We failed to ask—how would I feel if this were done to me? As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us. ... We have to give meaning to‘justice’and‘equity’—and,..., we will only give them meaning when we commit ourselves to achieving concrete results." Redfern Speech: Year of the World’s Indigenous People Delivered in Redfern Park by Prime Minister Paul Keating, 10 December 1992

QLD Lot Owners are bound by laws written in the 19 90s designed to make large profits for developers, Real estate agents, and Management Rights Flippers. Queenslanders who own Lots in Body Corporate Arrangements should be offered the same protections as the Lot Owners from other states.

26 women have been killed by a family member in Australia THIS YEAR. We need to direct our tax paying dollars to this reflect this horrifying fact, not spend money on a statue.....

the only reason for fights at stadiums is alcoholic beverages. i know this because when ever i go to an eagles game the people behind me get wasted and try to fight my dad so we have to go home early. we also have to have the stadium security on speed dial. and its really scary for children who just want to enjoy the game. kids shoulden't fear for their own safety while at an event that is supposed to be family friendly but has been ruined by a bunch of guys who are off their faces with god knows what. like, really?