In The News May Week 4 Part 1
ABORIGINAL PEOPLES
Aboriginal settlement in Oz 'no accident'
Aboriginal settlement in Australia was no accident but the result of large-scale migration by skilled maritime explorers, research shows.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/05/21/03/48/aboriginal-settlement-in-oz-no-accident
Indigenous Greens MP Lidia Thorpe says she may oppose treaty legislation
Victoria offers best chance of negotiating a treaty, after federal government’s negative response to Uluru statement
Native title granted at NT salt mine site
Native title will be granted to several Central Australian Aboriginal groups in an area where there are plans to build a massive salt mine and waste storage site.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/native-title-granted-nt-salt-mine-073344129--spt.html
Cape York traditional owners call for land-clearing halt to protect burial sites
Queensland government takes Kingvale station to court over clearing that Olkola people say threatens sacred sites
A numbers game: Indigenous children in care and the threat of another stolen generation
On the eve of Sorry Day, Lorena Allam investigates a child protection system in crisis and the controversial measures pursued by one state
Indigenous kids' justice supervision facts
Facts about youth justice supervision in Australia in 2016/17
https://au.news.yahoo.com/indigenous-kids-justice-supervision-facts-150033214--spt.html
The kids who make up more than half Australia's child prison population
They make up 5 per cent of Australians aged between 10 and 17, but 50 per cent of children in jail or under community-based supervision.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-25/kids-who-make-up-half-australia-prison-population/9796512
How to get to Australia … more than 50,000 years ago
Sean Ulm et al
Over just the past few years, new archaeological findings have revealed the lives of early Aboriginal Australians in the Northern Territory’s Kakadu potentially as early as 65,000 years ago, from the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia by about 50,000 years ago, and the Flinders Ranges of South Australia by around 49,000 years ago.
https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-to-australia-more-than-50-000-years-ago-96118
The ‘new’ scheme to prevent Indigenous deaths in custody [$]
Jack Latimore
Partially funded by the Commonwealth, the custody notification system (CNS) is closely modelled on a system in place in New South Wales since 2000.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/05/24/the-new-scheme-to-prevent-indigenous-deaths-in-custody/
ALHR supports call for safe access zones for abortions
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has backed a private member’s bill in NSW to introduce safe access zones to stop harassment at abortion c...
Labor questions email detailing access to abortion in Tasmania
Labor accuses the Tasmanian Government of attempting to further limit access to abortion after the closing of the state's only surgical clinic in December.
'I felt dirty and ashamed': Abortion referendum divides Ireland
This week citizens in Ireland — once considered the most Catholic country in the world, with 90 per cent of people attending mass — vote on whether to liberalise strict abortion laws, and the result is expected to be close.
South Korea: Decriminalize Abortion
Court Case Could End Risk of Prison, Recognize Women’s Rights
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/23/south-korea-decriminalize-abortion
Abortion bill to ban pro-life protestors passes NSW Upper House
Women in New South Wales wanting an abortion are now one step away from being able to access clinics without dealing with "sidewalk counsellors" after the NSW Upper House passed a new bill protecting them.
‘I hate the fact there is abortion’
The Project’s Meshel Laurie has told viewers she ‘hate(s) the fact that there is abortion’ as the Irish prepare for a tense vote
'They think the problem is that they're Indigenous'
June Oscar
Five months travelling the country has given Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO a sense of the grave challenges Indigenous women and girls face on a daily basis.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-24/they-think-the-problem-is-that-they-are-indigenous/9786326
Irish abortion vote puts spotlight on outdated Australian laws
Adrianne Walters
It is a critical time for those Australian governments with outdated abortion laws to reflect on why they continue to defy community values.
Why Australia needs abortion law reform [$]
Seb Starcevic
As Ireland votes in a referendum on abortion, NSW is poised to create safe zones around abortion clinics. But Australian women can still be criminalised for making choices about their health.
Does the hope for reconciliation lie with the Millennials?
Brooke Prentis
Sorry. Such a simple word, but, as Elton John sang, ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’ (from the 1976 album, Blue Moves). This seems the case in the Australian church and broader Australian society, especially in regard to saying sorry to Aboriginal peoples. Except for the Millennials.
Manus Island fire forces 120 asylum seekers to relocate
Immigration authorities in Papua New Guinea relocate 120 asylum seekers after a fire breaks out in their accommodation, as police investigate whether a resident started the blaze.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-21/manus-island-120-asylum-seekers-relocated-after-fire/9783260
Doctors beg Australian Border Force to move terminally ill refugee off Nauru
ABF staff on the island have made repeated requests to Canberra for intervention
Vigil to be held on Manus Island after death of Rohingya refugee
Police say asylum seekers are struggling to cope and warn of more suicides
Dutton looks at taking up New Zealand offer to resettle 150 refugees
Home affairs minister says it will happen only if asylum seekers are banned from ever coming to Australia
White evangelicals are the most likely to say US shouldn't welcome refugees
Of all social demographics in the US, white evangelical Protestants are the most likely to say that the US does not have an obligation to welcome refugees.
Salim fled genocide to find safety. He lost his life in the most tragic way
Behrouz Boochani
It’s the third suicide in under a year, the seventh death of a refugee on Manus Island
Pacific Solution has become a mess for Coalition and a point of division for Labor
Roman Quaedvlieg
No one in the Coalition planned or envisaged any single asylum seeker being in a Pacific purgatory for this length of time.
Bundaberg mayor turns against high cost of cashless welfare trial
Jack Dempsey says his Queensland community opposes $10,000-per-person cost of trial and says money is better spent elsewhere
Newstart recipients left with just $17 a day after housing expenses, research finds
Salvation Army says it is ‘simply inhumane’ to give corporations a tax cut while failing to lift Newstart
Report Reveals Disconnect Between Grantseekers and Grantmakers
A new report has revealed a “surprising” disconnect between Australian grantseeker and grantmaker perceptions on the state of philanthropy.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/05/report-reveals-disconnect-grantseekers-grantmakers/
Growth and Change in Australia’s Charities
The total number of charities in Australia decreased between 2014 and 2016, according to the charity regulator’s first comparative report analysing changes over multiple years.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/05/growth-change-australias-charities/
Newstart Recipients Living on $17 a Day After Accomodation Costs
The Salvation Army has urged the federal government to raise the level of Newstart, after new research revealed the average recipient was living on just $17 a day after accommodation expenses.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/05/newstart-recipients-living-17-day-accomodation-costs/
Australian Red Cross owes $20m in back pay to current and former staff
The charity faces a mounting financial crisis after losing a key government contract, not helped by staff running up 140 traffic fines last year
Australian Charities Adapt to Cashless Society With Arrival of Apple Pay
The charity sector needs to adapt to a world without cash, according to the CEO of Cancer Council Australia, which is set to be one of the first Australian charities to use Apple Pay.
ASI Releases New Benchmark Survey Results on Membership and Fundraising
Increasing donor acquisition has moved to the top of the list of priorities for fundraisers, according to a recent report on fundraising performance by Advanced Solutions International (ASI).
Justice Connect Set to Develop National Guide for Volunteering
Charity legal service Justice Connect will use a $250,000 government grant to produce a National Guide for Volunteering, containing legal resources to assist not for profits with volunteer management.
First female genital mutilation criminal trial to start in Queensland
A couple accused of removing two young girls from Queensland and taking them to Africa to undergo female circumcision is the first to be prosecuted on female genital mutilation charges in Queensland.
Tasmania to join national sexual abuse redress scheme
The Tasmanian Government agrees to join the national redress scheme for survivors of institutional abuse, recommended by the royal commission.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-22/tasmania-to-join-national-sexual-abuse-redress-scheme/9786594
One year's losses for child sexual abuse in US top $9 billion, new study suggests
A new study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the annual economic impact of child sexual abuse in the US is far-reaching and costly: In 2015, the total economic burden was approximately $9.3 billion and includes costs associated with health care, child welfare, special education, violence and crime, suicide and survivor productivity losses.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/jhub-oyl052118.php
Archbishop Philip Wilson landmark verdict the 'tip of the iceberg'
Finding that Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson concealed child sexual abuse is likely to encourage charges against other Catholic priests, a legal expert says.
Convicted Archbishop Philip Wilson steps down, but fails to resign
Adelaide's Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson, who is facing up to two years in jail for covering up child sexual abuse, says he will stand aside from his duties, but will not resign unless it becomes "necessary or appropriate".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-23/philip-wilson-archbishop-of-adelaide-to-step-down/9790576
Pope to see second group of Chile priestly abuse victims
Pope Francis will play host to a second group of victims of priestly sexual abuse in Chile, the Vatican said on Tuesday, days after the country's bishops all offered to resign over the scandal.
'It's scary': A third of girls harassed in Sydney before they turn 15
Milly Gerstle remembers the first time: she was in year four, walking home from ballet class in the quiet suburb of Northwood on Sydney's lower north shore. It was a Wednesday afternoon. Milly was still wearing her leotard, something the 10-year-old later chided herself for.
Royal Commission yields no charges [$]
Police will lay no charges relating to incidents identified by the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory
'It's children': when partners are revealed as internet paedophiles
When Natalie Walker found out she felt like she had been physically gutted, with an intense pressure in her chest. It was shock.
'Momentous' law change opens church up to legal action from abuse victims
Victims of paedophile priests and brothers will now be able to sue the Catholic Church with more confidence, as the Victorian Government abolishes a legal loophole that experts say was saving the church millions of dollars.
I grew up being sexually harassed on the street. How is that normal?
Lauren Lancaster
I was first objectified by a stranger on the street at age 11, and since then have faced everything from men masturbating on front of me in public and male drivers following me home. Why do we accept harassment as the normal part of a girl's experience of growing up?
Groundbreaking verdict against Archbishop raises thorny questions
Greg Barns
What are the implications for others who were in similar positions to Archbishop Philip Wilson -- those who were told numerous times by credible sources about sexual abuse, perpetrated by individuals over whom they exercised some control?
https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/05/23/upshots-of-verdict-against-archbishop-philip-wilson/
Catholics must break confessional seal [$]
Michelle James
Archbishop Philip Wilson's conviction for concealing child sex abuse has returned the spotlight to the Catholic Church's continuing refusal to report allegations of abuse raised in the confessional.
Australian women living in 'fear and vigilance' due to street harassment
Survey finds a quarter of women in Sydney harassed on the street once a month or more
Sexual assaults rise sharply on Gold Coast, women warned to 'stay in groups'
A spike is sexual assaults on the Gold Coast — half of them in so-called Safe Night Precincts — raises alarm bells, with one senior policeman saying women heading out at night should avoid being alone.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-21/gold-coast-rape-cases-dramatic-increase-women-safety/9782510
Lawyers alarmed as Victoria moves to tighten sentencing laws
Violent criminals will no longer be able to argue they were drunk or affected by drugs to avoid jail time under new Victorian laws, as tighter mandatory sentencing rules prompt lawyers to demand an urgent meeting with the Premier.
Nearly half of NSW men aged 33 have had a run-in with the law: report
More than 48 per cent of men born in 1984 had action taken against them by police, a NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report published on Wednesday showed.
Queensland's sexual consent laws should be reviewed, Law Society says in wake of ABC report
The Queensland Law Society president writes to the Attorney-General, backing calls for a review of Queensland's sexual consent laws sparked by a woman whose accused rapist was acquitted despite causing her shocking injuries.
Youth justice system leads nation for all the wrong reasons
Queensland's youth justice system is leading the nation in several categories for all of the wrong reasons, according to a new federal government report.
A Sentencing Guidelines Council for Victoria: report
Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic)
The Victorian government plans on introducing legislation in 2018 to establish a Sentencing Guidelines Council. This report makes a number of recommendations, in relation to key features of the council, as well as the sentencing guidelines it would create.
https://apo.org.au/node/173281
Youth justice in Australia 2016–17
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
This report looks at young people who were under youth justice supervision in Australia during 2016–17 because of their involvement or alleged involvement in crime. It explores the key aspects of supervision, both in the community and in detention, as well as recent trends.
https://apo.org.au/node/173336
A record $340 million lost to fraud in Australia, says latest ACCC report
Cassandra Cross, Queensland University of Technology
The amount of money lost to fraud in Australia continues to rise, and scammers are developing new ways to target victims. It's a warning to all to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.
Reporting my sexual assault was horrific but healing. Here’s what I learned
Bri Lee
Few women who survive a sexual attack make a formal complaint. For Eggshell Skull author Bri Lee, it’s about justice
Aussies unprepared for end of life: study
Death is the one thing guaranteed in life, yet many Australians shy away from talking about their own, a new study has shown.
Suicidal teens suffer poor sleep, bullying
Poor sleep, bullying, sexual abuse and living in a single parent home have been identified as common risk factors for suicidal behaviour among Australian adolescents.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/suicidal-teens-suffer-poor-sleep-bullying-190025616--spt.html
Take your time: chronically late people live longer
If, like me, you're punctual to a fault (read: 15 minutes early to everything) then here's some news to brighten up your afternoon: basically we're going to die earlier and be less successful than our tardy mates.
Age-related racial disparities in suicide rates among youth ages 5 to 17 years
The study shows racial disparities in suicide rates are age-related. Specifically, suicide rates for black children aged 5-12 were roughly two times higher than those of similarly-aged white children. For older children, the trend reverses back to the national average. For youth aged 13-17 years, suicide was roughly 50 percent lower in black children than in white children.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/nch-ard051718.php
Is help finally at hand for suicide crisis on America’s farms?
Farmers take their lives at a rate higher than any other occupation, and at twice the rate of military veterans. Two bills to help farmers were included in the federal farm bill
How to afford to live beyond 100
Catherine Robson
The uptrend in longevity shows few signs of abating and many of us will live longer than our parents.
The big problem with legalising euthanasia [$]
Rex Jory
Most people think some form of euthanasia should be legal in Australia. But a foolproof system with the risk of abuse and corruption is unattainable
‘Suicide tourism’ and understanding the Swiss model of the right to die
Samuel Blouin, Université de Montréal
Recent stories in the media highlight the idea of suicide tourism to Switzerland. But what does that mean? How is the Swiss view of assisted dying different from the Canadian one?
Fears NDIS delay will lead to 'tsunami' of mental health job losses
About 150 jobs stand to disappear from the community mental health sector in South Australia when the Federal Government rolls mental health funding into the National Disability Insurance Scheme on July 1.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-21/fears-ndis-will-lead-to-mental-health-job-losses/9783600
'We shouldn't have to fight': The people falling through the cracks in the NDIS
A Canberra mother needed a new battery for her wheelchair and modifications to her house. Instead she was offered a spot in a group home.
Department investigating allegations of poor handling of vulnerable children, Minister says
The for-profit service provider Total Support Services is being investigated over its handling of children with disabilities in its care, Tasmania's Human Services Minister says.
Landmark NDIS funding agreement for NSW
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have reached a "landmark" agreement to secure the rollout of the NDIS in NSW
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/landmark-ndis-funding-agreement-for-nsw-20180524-p4zhaa.html
Action Must Be Taken to Stop Bullying of Students with Disability
Stephanie Gotlib
Unfortunately, bullying of students with disability, including abuse and violence at school is not a new, unusual or unknown experience
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/05/action-must-taken-stop-bullying-students-disability/
Graeme Innes
The disabled are not at the mercy of those who know best.
ACT NDIS inquiry is necessary and important
Canberra Times editorial
The ACT Government is to be commended for pressing ahead with its inquiry into the NDIS. We just hope our Federal Parliamentarians are listening.
Victorian laws changed to stop the forced divorce of transgender people
New laws passed in Victoria mean married trans and gender-diverse people will no longer have to file for divorce after their gender is changed on their birth certificate.
Pope warns bishops against letting gay people train for priesthood
Pope Francis has warned Italian bishops to be wary of priesthood applicants suspected of having homosexual tendencies, according to a new report.
It's okay to be gay — Pope Francis says so
Alan Austin
Pope Francis' comments to Juan Carlos Cruz are a step towards ending the persecution of LGBT people around the world
https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/its-okay-to-be-gay-pope-francis-says-so,11537
Is this a brave new blockbuster era? Or shameful queer-baiting?
Clem Bastow
Why have both Deadpool and Lando's creators outed their characters as pansexual?
Preventing murder by addressing domestic violence
Victims of domestic violence are at a high risk to be murdered -- or a victim of attempted murder -- according to a Cuyahoga County task force of criminal-justice professionals, victim advocates and researchers working to prevent domestic violence and homicides.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/cwru-pmb051818.php
What we learnt during a year reporting on domestic violence in the church
Julia Baird
The insistence by many Christians that churches are safer places because a religion of love and selfless kindness should be anathema to abuse still blinds many to what was, and is, occurring in their midst
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-23/when-women-are-believed-the-church-will-change/9782184
Teen develops 'wet lung' after vaping for just 3 weeks
Coughing and difficulty breathing led an 18-year-old in Pennsylvania to visit an emergency room where her condition rapidly worsened -- all due to vaping, according to a new report.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/17/health/case-study-teen-vaping-wet-lung/index.html
Achtung, it's official: Beer is not beneficial, German court rules
Beer cannot be marketed as beneficial, a German top court ruled on Thursday after a consumer rights group sued a brewery on the basis that its advertisement falsely suggested the beer had health benefits.
New PSU study shows higher formaldehyde risk in e-cigarettes than previously thought
Portland State University researchers who published an article three years ago in the New England Journal of Medicine about the presence of previously undiscovered forms of formaldehyde in e-cigarette vapor revisited their research and found that formaldehyde risks were even higher than they originally thought.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/psu-nps052118.php
Cannabis edibles being popped among Sydneysiders as concerns grow over their use
THERE’S a new drug on the scene that’s posing a real concern for police and parents because it looks like a lolly or a vitamin.
Quitting smoking, but not cutting back, linked to better lung health
Long-term light smokers appear to be at greater risk for lung function decline, emphysema and obstructive lung disease than heavy smokers who quit, according to new research presented at the ATS 2018 International Conference.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/ats-qsb051418.php
Saving our lives while losing their own – the rise of narcotics use among paramedics
Kim Jenkins knows the man in the security camera footage is her dad, but his behaviour is far from recognisable.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-24/the-rise-of-narcotics-use-among-paramedics/9788134
Tobacco health warnings are burning out
Graphic imaging and health warnings used on tobacco packaging is losing its deterrence value, a Queensland researcher has found.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/tobacco-health-warnings-burning-173145896--spt.html
Renewed Push To Extend State Care in Victoria
There has been a renewed push in Victoria to extend the age of care for foster children from 18 to 21 years, as a new survey indicated three quarters of Victorians supported the reform.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/05/renewed-push-extend-state-care-victoria/
Tax cuts to help women on lower incomes but 'taper effect' will trim gains
Rise in effective marginal tax rate will serve as a dampener for increased workforce participation, study says
How much tax do the rich actually pay? It depends on how you do the numbers
A new analysis has challenged previous ideas about the Government's budget, which pegged Australia's wealthiest as the biggest winners, but it also reveals how much a slight tweak can change Australians' understanding of the tax burden.
The world where you need $33m to be considered rich
Just how rich is "rich?" ... Here, then, is a real answer, courtesy of the hush-hush world of private banking: $US25 million ($33 million). Twenty-five million dollars in investable wealth. The kind of money you could afford to see dip into the red for a quarter or three, maybe even a year or two, without breaking a sweat. With $US25 million, maybe, just maybe, you're starting to be rich.
Pay rises might be hard to come by, but Australia has 16 new billionaires
Australia has 16 extra billionaires this year, taking the total to a record 76, with carboard and recycling magnate Anthony Pratt again topping the list of the nation's wealthiest.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-24/billionaires-multiply-as-profits-surge-wages-stall/9796424
Why more Medicare funding ends up going to wealthy kids
Kim Dalziel, Harriet Hiscock and Philip Clarke
Poorer children in Australia are less likely to receive their share of Medicare funding, particularly in the first years of life
Higher minimum wage makes economic sense
Age editorial
Much can yet be done to lift the purchasing power of many of the households with the lowest incomes
How Indigenous and disabled women lost out in the 2018 budget
Helen Hodgson, Curtin University
Despite the government spruiking its tax relief for Australians in this year’s budget, many women will not benefit from the tax plan.
https://theconversation.com/how-indigenous-and-disabled-women-lost-out-in-the-2018-budget-96531
Lavinia Steinfort on the insidious 'investor protection mechanisms' stacking the odds in favour of corporations.
https://newint.org/features/2018/05/21/the-almighty-investor