JourneyOnline
What’s coming up
May is National Domestic Violence and Family Prevention month, designed to raise community awareness of domestic and family violence and to send a clear message that violence of this sort will not be tolerated. Visit the Queensland Government’s Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month website for more information.
Week in review
“Refugees are being starved out”
The Saturday Paper casts the spotlight on a refugee from Melbourne whose wife and mother died on a boat fleeing to Australia and who is now destitute along with his three children as a result of his benefits being cut by the Department of Home Affairs.
This article explains how this can be happening in our warm-hearted nation, and the impacts on this man who has already been through unimaginable suffering…
Employable Me
This three part television series follows people with neuro-diverse conditions such as autism, OCD and Tourette syndrome as they search for meaningful employment. This uplifting and insightful series draws on science to uncover people’s hidden skills. Well worth watching…
https://iview.abc.net.au/collection/employable-me-australia
Youth homelessness an untold story
Fairfax Newspapers profile homelessness in Australia, particularly within young people, who are putting themselves through tertiary education while homeless.
On the most recent census night, 10, 813 university or TAFE students were homeless, according to statistics released recently. Of those, 1117 were living in facilities for the homeless, 1073 were couchsurfing and 1765 were in boarding houses. Close to 7000 were living in severely overcrowded homes, and 81 were sleeping rough or in cars.
Australia recognising its Indigenous talent pool
In Australian football, no more than six Aboriginal players appeared in the first 80 years of that game. Today, we know of 276 players who have made it in senior football.
In AFL and rugby league, just 3 per cent of Australia’s population comprises at least 10 per cent and generally 12 per cent of senior footballers. In a Gold Coast-South Sydney rugby league match in 2016, 12 of the 26 players on the field were Aboriginal.
An article in The Conversation analyses the propellants, the dynamics of change.
Call to Action
More progress needed – AFL and the pokies
While we know that the pokies raise a lot of money for clubs, we also know they cause a lot of harm in the community. The Alliance for Gambling Reform reports that another AFL club has announced that they are getting out of pokies having investigated the industry carefully. Now we need to work on the AFL Commission to support the AFL getting out of pokies once and for all. Using the Alliance’s pre-written email, can you please write to the AFL Commission and share this action with family, friends and colleagues.
