The Senate has recently passed legislation which will give underpaid workers with intellectual disabilities 50% of their owed wage, on the condition that they waive their right to take court action or pursue the rest of their back payment. The 10,000 workers have been paid as little as $0.99 per hour under the Business Services…
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In case you missed it: the New South Wales Supreme Court has found doctored images of Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s likeness published by lads’ mag, Zoo Weekly to be defamatory. In July 2012, Zoo published images of the Greens’ immigration spokesperson’s face photoshopped onto a bikini-clad body, stating the publisher would ‘house the next boatload…
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Trigger Warning: Discussion of Domestic and Family Violence If you have recently come across the statistic that one woman will die every week as a direct result of violence, you might be alarmed to learn that this number has doubled in 2015. This is according to the data collected by safe steps Family Violence Response…
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On Monday, May 25, young activist Subeta Vimalarajah appeared on Q&A to talk to Joe Hockey about the ‘tampon tax’. She and a group of fellow activists had sent in a video question, the group holding a giant tampon in their hands: ‘Mr Hockey, STOP TAXING MY PERIOD!’ The tampon was signed by supporters. ‘Do…
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Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first and only female premier, passed away yesterday after a two year battle with oesophageal cancer. The seventy-six year old devoted much of her life to fighting for gender equality, and was one of the dominant influences in the political life of Australia’s first female PM, Julia Gillard. Ms Kirner hadn’t always been…
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Tampon tax protest outside Parliament House On Thursday, approximately 50 people (including five dressed as tampons) gathered on the lawns outside Parliament House to lobby against the tampon tax. National debate about the tampon tax was reignited last Monday after campaigner Subeta Vimalarajah confronted Joe Hockey on Q&A, resulting in Mr Hockey pledging to push…
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Counting Dead Women register reaches 38 women The number of Australian women killed by violence in 2015 has now reached 38, feminist social media organisation Destroy the Joint has reported. The figure is attributed to reports of a 68-year-old woman who died of a neck wound at her home, which police are treating as suspicious….
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Australian Government considers GPS tracking for domestic violence perpetrators The federal government says it is considering keeping tabs on domestic violence perpetrators with GPS technology. ‘We want to look at really lifting our game when it comes to dealing with the scourge of domestic violence,’ Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. GPS tracking is presently used…
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Pregnant asylum seekers have difficulty accessing medical assistance on Nauru, Senate inquiry told Pregnant asylum seekers detained on Nauru are unable to walk long distances across the island to gain medical treatment, a Senate Inquiry into the Nauru processing centre’s conditions and circumstances has been told. Non-governmental organisation, Save the Children brought forth the…
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Coalition drops ‘double dippers’, ‘rort’ rhetoric in paid parental leave discussion The Coalition has vowed to phase out its use of troubling language to describe parents, namely women, accessing both government and employer paid parental leave schemes to fund time off work with their children. The revelation comes as both the Abbott government’s Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg and…
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The Coalition’s 2015 Budget has been poorly received by various politicians, with both the Labor Party and the Greens admonishing the Abbott Government for insufficient initiative in advancing the status of women. ‘The 2015 Budget has neither the qualities or the priorities of the Australian people,’ Labor leader Bill Shorten said in his budget reply on…
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The 2015 Federal Budget is here. Its meaning for each population is shrouded by political jargon, complex statistics and three-word slogans like “have a go”. Following significant discourse, Joe Hockey has detailed who the Australian government determines most worthy of funding. Spoiler alert: it’s not the disadvantaged. Listening to Hockey’s speech, even without a political…
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Last year the New South Wales government introduced the Going Home, Staying Home reforms in an effort to reduce the growing rate of homelessness. Statistics show that around one third of all clients seeking help from specialist homelessness services in 2012-13 were experiencing domestic violence, and domestic violence is the biggest cause of homelessness for…
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After Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she will be running in the US Presidential Election next year, the drastic transformation of her image from cold and calculating to feminine and soft has raised many questions regarding her policy stances, sincerity and motives. Clinton is no stranger to media spotlight, coming under scrutiny while acting as First Lady…
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