Sport one of many negative social impacts of extreme IR
changes
The extreme changes to industrial relations have wide-reaching negative
social implications that go far beyond the work place.
Pressure on participation and volunteerism in sport is just one of the
concerns raised by working parents during the debate.
One of the most meaningful experiences parents share with their kids is
sport.
Under Howard's regime, employer demands for parents to work longer hours,
further casualisation of the workforce and greater unpredictability of hours
under this legislation, will mean that many parents can no longer commit to
coach, train, officiate, manage or support their community sporting teams in the
afternoons, evenings or on weekends.
This pressure will exist for volunteers and officials in all levels of sport.
It is relevant to this debate that sport and recreation volunteers account for
some 1.5 million volunteers across Australia. This represents 34% of all
volunteers.
What is gravely concerning is the statistics show that volunteer
participation has already decreased and the number of hours sport and recreation
volunteers spend volunteering has dropped.
At a time when the government claims it is aiming for children to become more
engaged in community sport activities, these IR changes are making it harder for
the volunteers required to deliver programs such as the Active After School
Communities program.
These points are as relevant whether it is sport or dance or music or scouts.
The Howard Government’s extreme IR changes undermine the opportunities people
have to participate and volunteer in all manners of activities that contribute
to our quality of life, and sense of belonging to our community.
There is NO work life and work family balance in these bills. That is why the
IR changes should be rejected, not amended.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Humphries: Howard’s lackey on IR
Senator Humphries dislike of unions was made clear as he ridiculed their
efforts to protect Australian workers in the debate surrounding the Industrial
Relations changes in the Senate today.
He delighted in the prospect that workers and their unions will be ‘pulled
into line’ by the Howard Government’s extreme IR agenda, accusing unions who
make representations on behalf of the members as “short sighted” and “myopic”
and that the Industrial Relations legislation is exactly what is needed in order
to stop unions from spreading their “propaganda”.
Senator Humphries hypocrisy is palpable on the issue of propaganda,
considering it was the Howard government who spent $55 million sprouting their
own IR political propaganda at the taxpayer’s expense.
Senator Humphries has sold out local workers, who are scared for their jobs,
their wages and conditions and the very real prospect that their precious time
with their families will disappear.
Senator Humphries couldn’t care less about Canberra families and the far
reaching affects that this legislation will have on their day to day lives.
Instead, he remains determined to attack the Australian way of life with the
Liberal Party’s extreme attack on workers and unions.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
AMA once again highlights Howard Government inaction on
obesity
The launch today of the Australian Medical Association’s plan to overcome
obesity highlights the Howard Governments failure to tackle increasing obesity
rates, particularly among Australian children.
The Howard Government has neglected nutrition as a critical aspect of the
fight against rising obesity amongst all age groups in Australian Society,
choosing instead to focus almost solely on physical activity.
Effective policy must address both issues: improve nutrition as well as
increase physical activity.
That is why Labor’s policy at the last election had over $10 million worth of
initiatives targeting improving nutrition to complement strategies to increase
participation in physical activity.
Not surprisingly, the Howard Government’s ‘Active After School Communities’
program appears to be having little impact on reducing obesity as it attracts
children who are already physically active or playing sport.
It does little to help inactive children, who are most susceptible to being
overweight.
Reports that 1/3 of schools and after school care providers cannot access the
Active After School Communities Program have been received. This has resulted in
up to 20,000 children in Victoria alone who are unable to participate in the
program.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Humphries to table petition AGAINST Industrial Relations
changes and then vote FOR them!
Senator Humphries has committed to tabling a petition containing nearly
11,000 signatures expressing vehement opposition to his own Government’s plan to
change Australia’s industrial relations system, even though he will support the
legislation.
This is hypocritical!
Set down for tomorrow, Senator Humphries has agreed to table the workplace
petition which expresses the support of basic rights at work and opposition to
the Howard Government plans to;
I am calling on Senator Humphries to honour those Canberrans on the petition,
given that most of the 10,970 signatures are from his own constituency! He is a
hypocrite unless he crosses the floor when it comes time to vote on this
legislation.
Senator Humphries plans to vote for laws that will ensure that Canberrans
have less time to spend with their families, and will see serious cuts to their
real take home pay every week.
Senator Humphries is selling out Canberra workers if he doesn’t cross the
floor on this legislation, and anything less can only be seen as hypocritical.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Put an end to violence against women
Joint Release Mick Gentleman MLA
Member for Brindabella
and
ACT Senator Kate Lundy
Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation
Today is United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women (IDEVAW) and to mark the event, Senator Kate Lundy and White
Ribbon Day Ambassador Mick Gentleman MLA, will join Amnesty International in
distributing special ACT Labor/UNIFEM White Ribbons in Civic this morning.
This year’s theme ‘Violence against women. Do nothing and you may as well
lend a hand,’ sends a powerful message to the community that violence against
women is not only unacceptable, but that it remains a community responsibility
to report it and condemn it.
“Wearing a White Ribbon today signifies a personal pledge to not commit,
condone nor remain silent about violence against women and children and helps to
build a new level of consciousness about this issue in our community,” Senator
Lundy said.
Official White Ribbon Day Ambassador Mick Gentleman MLA reports that, “The
White Ribbon Campaign is the largest effort by men across the world in
partnership with women, to end violence against women. Violence against women,
is an issue which affects people from every walk of life, regardless of age,
faith, gender or culture, and remains a wide spread problem in Australia and in
our local Canberra community.”
The ACT Branch of the Australian Labor Party is an official project partner
for White Ribbon Day this year, and Labor members are proud to be associated
with local organisations distributing free White Ribbon’s today to mark United
Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Both Senator Lundy and Mick Gentleman MLA will be available for further
comment at 11am today at the Canberra Times Fountain outside the Canberra
Centre, as they join Amnesty International in distributing the free White
Ribbons.
Contact: Taryn Langdon (Lundy) 0417 148 059 or Rebecca Cody (Gentleman)
0409 070709
The World Game has come a long way in Australia
Football fans and players, young and old, will be on cloud nine today
following the Socceroos win in the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay last
night.
It seems only a short time has passed since the Crawford Review recommended
sweeping changed to Soccer in Australia. Since that time the sport has undergone
significant changes with more still to come.
Australia’s participation in the World Cup in Germany next year, the success
of the new A-League in Australia and growing participation in the grass roots of
the sport provide ample impetus for those state football associations yet to
restructure to do so as soon as possible.
The World Game has come a long way in Australia. Presiding this period of
great change has been Mr Frank Lowy. As Chairman of the Football Federation of
Australia, his great personal commitment and dedication to the sport has tapped
into Australia’s true potential in the sport.
Congratulations to the management team and staff at the Federation, the
Socceroos and coach Guus Hiddink. I have no doubt that the next year will see
unprecedented growth in the already burgeoning ranks of junior football clubs
around Australia as the interest in the World Cup grows. These clubs are the
future of football and deserve more support during this exciting time.
Women’s soccer will obviously share in the success of the Socceroos and, with
strong investment, will continue to go from strength to strength under the new
leadership of the Football Federation of Australia.
Australians will never forget this moment in our sporting history. Thankyou
to all who made it possible.
Contact: Taryn Langdon 0417 148 059 or 02 6277 3334
Come on Socceroos!
All of Australia will be behind the Australian Socceroos tonight as they take
on Uruguay in the final qualifier for the 2006 World Cup Finals.
In what will certainly be a thrilling and heart stopping match, I know that
all Australians will be filled with pride and admiration as the Socceroos take
the field in Sydney tonight.
What will be a fine display of team spirit and a sheer determination to win,
the Australian Socceroos should take the field knowing that they are doing our
nation proud.
It has been some 30 years since Australia qualified for the World Cup Finals,
and undoubtedly the team will be feeling the pressure to pull out all stops to
make it to the pinnacle of their sport. I know that the team can rise to the
occasion and will do everything they can to ensure their place in the Finals.
I congratulate the entire team, management and staff of the Australian
Socceroos for their success thus far and of course wish them the very best of
luck.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Telstra's job cuts and CDMA shutdown show customers are last
in Telstra's priorities
What is going on in Telstra? Does Telstra think that customers are stupid?
After the hard sell of CDMA into Canberra by their local, earnest, yet
completely unreliable sales team, Canberrans awoke to the news that service will
be shut down over the next three years. Does that mean people have to wait three
years for a decent broadband service?
This is a disgrace. Canberrans are sick of the hype and insincere platitudes
of the sales staff that are left to spin Telstra's latest round of cost cuts.
The ongoing ADSL broadband, mobile (GSM) and CDMA blackspots around Canberra
and the region have driven many local internet users to despair.
There is nothing in this Telstra announcement that offers and short, medium
or long term fix. Where is the commitment to offer Gungahlin and Dunlop
residents an immediate solution to their broadband woes? The new Gungahlin
exchange did not change anything for many frustrated customers.
Despite Ian Peter’s pathetic reassurances about Canberra jobs, with a
national slash of some 12,000 jobs announced it is unrealistic to think that
Canberra would go by unscathed. All this announcement will mean for Canberra
residents is further delays in Telstra delivering any real solutions to the
region.
What is needed is more investment backed up by infrastructure suited to the
21st century, including broadband with speeds of at least 2 megs.
What is needed is more competition and for Telstra to stop playing
anti-competitive games.
Wake up Telstra.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Massive Canberra turnout demonstrates commitment
by workers to fight for their rights
Today's community industrial relations protest saw at least 5,000 Canberran’s
joining hundreds of thousands of workers across the country, turning out for the
biggest combined protest in Australia’s history.
Despite the desperate attempts by the Howard Government to sabotage the
Canberra protest by intimidating and bullying Commonwealth public servants
through a series of confusing and contradictory managerial directives, many
turned out at the protest refusing to relinquish their right to protest and
angry and the Howard Government's attempt to silence their concerns.
Working people from every sector were in attendance at the Canberra
Racecourse, from building workers to child care workers, to demonstrate their
disgust in the Howard Governments misleadingly titled “workchoices” industrial
relations legislation.
Speakers included Labor Senator Kate Lundy, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, and
Peter Malone, Secretary of Unions ACT, followed by a live cross to Melbourne and
a national video link up, hearing from the ACTU’s Sharan Burrow and Greg Combet
and a number of Australian workers who have already become the victims of the
Howard Government’s extreme Industrial Relations laws.
Yesterday I issued a dare to Senator Humphries to stand up for all
Canberran’s and vote against this draconian legislation, a challenge he has
refused to take up. This exposes the hypocrisy in any claim he has made about
caring for those most vulnerable in the Canberra community. It will be the young
and low paid that a hurt most by these changes.
Today’s action has effectively launched a united campaign to fight against
the most blatant attempt in over 100 years to reduce wages, worsen conditions of
employment and exploit the most vulnerable Australian workers.
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Howard Government uses threats
and bullying to sabotage community IR protest
Some Commonwealth Public Servants are being
threatened with retribution if they attend the National Day of Community Protest
at Canberra's Thoroughbred Park tomorrow.
There have also been confusing and conflicting
messages to employees from a range of federal agencies and departments in an
attempt to create uncertainty amongst commonwealth employees about their
attendance at the community meeting tomorrow.
For example, I have been told that some public
servants who had legitimate leave approved in order to attend the community
meeting have now had that leave revoked.
This is bullying of the worst kind and is
obviously designed to undermine the community meeting tomorrow.
This is Howard Government’s extreme industrial
relations agenda in action: silence dissenting voices through intimidation and
threats.
This is a disgrace. The very senior public
servants willing to play Howard’s game should be ashamed of themselves.
I urge Commonwealth public servants to stand up
against this arrogant attempt to intimidate them and to contact their union to
find out the facts about their rights.
I deplore these actions by some in the
politicised leadership of the Commonwealth public service who are now acting as
Howard’s lackeys in trying to sabotage the Canberra community’s protest against
the IR changes.
People’s incomes and conditions of work are
under threat and they have a right to express their dissatisfaction through a
community protest such as tomorrow’s meeting.
These heavy-handed tactics confirm Labor's worst fears that the Howard
Government will go to extreme lengths not only to restrict the rights of working
people, but to restrict their right to protest against this happening!
Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334
Minister Kemp up to his neck in Rorts
The Howard Government announced 38 specific sports facility grants during
last year’s election campaign. The overwhelming majority of these grants were in
marginal Liberal seats, a staggering 22 grants were shared between only two
marginal Liberal seats: McEwen in Victoria and Makin in South Australia.
Today Senator Lundy accused the Government of cynically using the grants "in
order to change the outcome of the election in those two seats".
Minister Kemp has confirmed these grants were decided at Liberal Party
Campaign HQ, no grant applications, no selection criteria and no contestability.
Senator Kemp can't hide behind the defence that these grants were merely
"election promises" and not subject to normal accountability processes because
he was the incumbent Minister.
Minister Kemp's hypocrisy is breathtaking. He has previously protested
against what he called "political manipulation" of facilities grants. Back on
March 3 1994 Minister Kemp said:
