Do we need menopause accredited workplaces?
Also, in this edition, the State government's decision to axe the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, has drawn criticism over the weekend with grass roots football players wearing red arm bands - we discuss the broader implications of the decision.
Plus, as Vinnies launches and online boutique offering high end labels we look at how the role of op shops is changing.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
As Tasmania waits to find out who will form the next state government, here are the priorities of the new parliament's independents
Tasmania has elected another large crossbench that once again might equal or outnumber Labor Party members. Regardless of which major party forms government, they will need support from some or most of these politicians. The Liberal Party has the easier job when it comes to making up the numbers, but Labor has more in common with them. With negotiations underway, most of the independents are keeping tight-lipped on what they might be seeking, so what do we know about their priorities? Kristie Johnston was first elected as an independent in the 2021 election. This time around, she's had a massive swing towards her. Ms Johnston has been a fierce anti-stadium critic and has regularly raised concerns about the impact of pokies on her constituents. She even introduced a bill to the last parliament that would've forced gambling companies to repay money that had been stolen to put through poker machines. She's also used her time in parliament to raise awareness about the greyhound racing industry, and push for greater transparency and accountability around a range of issues including the budget and the stadium. Ms Johnston said the state has some very big decisions in front of it, and she wants to understand what the leaders are offering, particularly when it comes to budget repair. "What I want to see is someone after the election, after listening to what the people have said, is to come up with a clear plan," she said. "Treasury in their own PEFO report have indicated that we need to look at a number of factors to address the budget crisis. "The expenditure side, but also the revenue side, and they simply said looking at economic growth is not going to be enough to fix the issue. Speaking on election night, Ms Johnston said she wanted the major parties to do a better job at listening to and collaborating with the crossbench. "We need to see a respectful mature parliament that's respectful of everyone's voices." She has confirmed she would not want a ministry in a power-sharing government. Peter George is best known as an anti-salmon campaigner, having been the spokesperson for Neighbours of Fishfarming for years. While he leant into his anti-salmon reputation during the campaign, it certainly wasn't the only thing he spoke about. He was vocal in his opposition to the proposed Macquarie Point AFL stadium, and rolled out a variety of policies addressing concerns about health, housing and education. Like most of the independents and The Greens, Mr George wants to see a strengthened Integrity Commission with public hearings. He also wants to end native forest logging, crack down on short-stay accommodation, and address the state's soaring debt. "We have 5,000 people in this very small state … waiting to get decent roofs over their heads, we have a health system that's sort of tottering and teetering under the weight of demand, and we have an education system that's turning out functional illiteracy of somewhere close to 50 per cent. "Those are important things that we need to deal with. "I want to hear about that, and I want to see a parliament of 35 people roll up their sleeves and do some serious work across political lines." Mr George said he wants to hear what the parties' plans are for "rebuilding Tasmania's future" but so far his dealings with them have not won him over. "One area of concern is that Labor and Liberal seem to have drawn lines in the sand saying we won't talk about this, we're going to insist on that," he posted on a video on Facebook. "Well, that's not how minority government works, that's certainly not how collaboration works, so slight warning there, but we'll deal with this down the track." North West coaster Craig Garland received a massive jump in his primary vote this election. The fisherman was perhaps best known for his views on salmon farming before he was elected to parliament in 2024 — and he has certainly peppered the government with a lot of questions about the industry. But he has also spoken out on integrity and was so concerned about the budget, he was prepared to vote against it. This time around, Mr Garland wants a seat at the table. He wants to be included in budget repair and the development of policy. Speaking on election night, Mr Garland said "the focus has to flip". "The domestic violence in the North West Coast. We have four beds to deal with women fleeing domestic violence. One hundred and fifty women turned away, 147 children, and we're talking about building the biggest stadium." Mr Garland has spoken to both leaders but has yet to discuss any sort of policies or requests. "There's a lot of talk, and then in the same breath I hear, 'We're not moving on salmon, we're not moving on native forest logging,'" he said. Mr Garland is opposed to Hobart's waterfront stadium, which likely helped his vote in the seat of Braddon, and he is no fan of the proposed undersea electricity and data interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, known as Marinus Link. A Labor Party veteran turned independent, David O'Byrne managed to make it work during the last parliament with Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff's minority government. He was one of the few crossbenchers who did not support the no-confidence motion in the premier. Speaking after the election about his dealings with the leaders, Mr O'Byrne said he is "not a transactional politician". He does not have "a shopping list of issues" and is instead focused on who could offer the most functional parliament. "My view is we need to get on with governing, we need to find someone who can not only get the numbers on the floor of parliament for the first vote, but can sustain those numbers for a long period of time," he said. In terms of his core issues, they are unsurprisingly Labor core issues — health, housing and the cost of living. In the last parliament, he spent a lot of time questioning the government about the ongoing staffing and reliability issues facing Metro Tasmania, various women's healthcare issues, and TasNetworks' wage negotiations. His bill to amend the Family Violence Act to include the abuse of animals passed parliament last year. He also tabled a bill to introduce Industrial Manslaughter laws, but it was superseded by Labor. Mr O'Byrne is the only crossbencher who supports the stadium. The Greens are the party neither the Liberals, nor Labor, wants to deal with — but having won five seats, they may not be easily ignored. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff has made it clear that in a balance of power situation, she would do all she could to stop the stadium from being built. "We've been really strong. We're going to fight and do everything we can to pile on the pressure to stop this stadium. "We know that's what's needed. The budget's in a desperate situation. We will not support cuts to essential services." Other things on the Greens' agenda include a strengthened Integrity Commission, something Labor has voiced support for in the past, and they want to see a Treaty with Tasmania's First Nations, another policy Labor is on board with. They are also likely to try and seek some improvement for renters while clamping down on short stay accommodation. The party also wants to keep pushing the major parties to find new revenue for the budget. They would like to see salmon farming companies pay some royalties for the use of Tasmania's waterways, and increased mining royalties to bring Tasmania into line with other jurisdictions. The Greens will not hold the balance of power if the Liberals form a minority government as there will be at least four other crossbenchers they could rely on to get votes through. Labor will likely have to deal with the Greens, if it wants to govern with just 10 of its own MPs, but it will need some form of confidence and supply guarantee from the minor party. That does not mean there will necessarily be any trade on policy or concessions from Labor, but the two parties did combine forces several times in the last parliament to pass their own legislation, including introducing Industrial Manslaughter laws and lowering the political disclosure threshold to $1,000. As counting continues in the state election, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Carlo Di Falco does not even know if he has been elected in the seat of Lyons, but that hasn't stopped him from getting calls from the two major party leaders. He describes himself as a "former blue collar worker" and "not much of a public speaker". Mr DI Falco said that, like the name suggests, he will be fighting for the rights of rural Tasmanians. "The phone coverage of a lot of the Tasmanians that are missing out. Even where I live in Forcett, not that far from Sorell, I've got really patchy coverage where I am," he said. "We need to improve that." Mr Di Falco said there were also a lot of issues with "social cohesion". "That's why I'm pushing for more funding for Neighbourhood Houses because sometimes when people's lives go to custard, probably the best place to go is somewhere where you can talk to somebody in the community." Mr Di Falco is pro development but he is not too keen on the proposed AFL stadium on Hobart's waterfront. "I'd be taking that money and increasing Hydro storage. If you want to increase wealth, that comes off the back of cheap, reliable energy."
SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- SBS Australia
SBS Japanese Weekly News Wrap Saturday 26 July
Independent news and stories connecting you to life in Australia and Japanese-speaking Australians. Ease into the English language and Australian culture. We make learning English convenient, fun and practical.
SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Queensland's homeschooling parents pleased with outcome from review
A win for homeschooling parents in Queensland, fighting to make the system more accessible for families. The Queensland government has accepted all 8 recommendations of an independent review into the Home Education Unit. The regulatory review, which published its report in September 2024, was prompted by widespread opposition to the previous state government's attempts to enforce legislation that would impose the Australian curriculum on homeschooling students. That move was firmly rejected by parents like Danika, who homeschools her neurodiverse 8-year-old son Ben. Danika says she's most excited about a recommendation to trial a shorter style of written reporting, alongside an online interview. She says this would offer a promising alternative for Queensland parents, after a positive experience with a moderator while homeschooling in Western Australia. "Whereas in Queensland, you feel it's just cross your fingers and hope that you can continue to do, and there's a lot of uncertainty around the processes over here, and it is quite daunting to submit a report every 12 months with no real guidance, no real reassurance that you are doing what they require. Having a person to report to would be humanising to the procedure, so that would be quite nice to have someone, a face, face to the documents would be nice. So yeah, I think that it is very exciting to have that process possibly come into play for us and just alleviate that kind of stressor." Sunshine-based parents Danika and her husband Joel, made the shift to homeschooling in 2022 after Ben's classroom anxiety reached a tipping point. Danika is among thousands of Queensland parents who moved to homeschool their children after 2020, with the Queensland government saying there was a 230% increase in home education over the past 5 years. It brings the current number of homeschooling students in Queensland to more than 11,000. Brisbane-based Patricia Fitzgerald is campaign manager of the Free2Homeschool movement, which gathered more than 21,000 signatures opposing the former Queensland government's attempts to enforce the Australian curriculum on homeschoolers. She says the government's decision to accept all of the report's recommendations is a great move forward for the community. 'I just think that with the reviews, the recommendations that have been proposed, it's going to be a really good opportunity for the HEU to connect with the community and build that connection and more support rather than just having the regulatory side. Having that educational leader there to bridge that gap and to build that supportive side as well is going to help a lot of the families who are trying to find that information and trying to find the community." Ms Fitzgerald pointing to the first of the recommendations - to transform the Home Education Unit, which will be renamed Queensland Home Education, to ensure greater practical support and regulatory oversight. There are hopes the appointment of education leader Dr Renae Acton will improve processes for families, alongside enhancing resources, such as program templates and exemplar annual reports. Queensland's Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek told SBS he supports a parent's right to choose the best type of education for their family. "We as a government support choice, I've done distance education myself or correspondence as we called it, partly because I lived in another country in Papua New Guinea. And the important thing is that if parents choose to do it, we want to make sure we support them just as we support them in the other frames of schooling that they might choose, whether it's state or non-state schooling." Minister Langbroek couldn't outline a date for when the recommendations would be legislated, saying his government prioritises consultation. This comes as legislation to raise the age cut-off from 17 to 18 for homeschooling students is still under review, after it was tabled in March. But Mr Langbroek says some of the recommendations from the regulatory review are already being enacted - including changing the name of the unit to Queensland Home Education, as well as extending the stakeholder consultation via the Home Education Expert group, by another six months. "We used to criticise the former government for consulting but already having made a decision about something. So this is genuine consultation with the group, so we want to keep the momentum going about the positive work we've been able to do with parents and stakeholders, and then continue parent engagement before we try to make any legislative change." One of the key aspects of the recommendations is to enhance resources and supportive tools for parents meeting regulatory requirements. Danika welcomes access to learning programs and reporting scaffolds, which are particularly helpful in teaching a neurodiverse child with individualised learning. "The learning plan that I have for Ben being neurodiverse, we very much follow his interests at the time. And having an online reporting scaffolding will really help me just report as we learn because we do have a plan in place, but obviously following just natural interests and natural ways of learning, it does change as we go. So having a formalised reporting structure will help us just keep tabs on where we're at and what we're learning and how we're learning it." But she would like to see state and local governments offer greater support for homeschooling co-ops, which allow groups of homeschooling families to collaborate and provide educational and social opportunities for their children. "We really need the support from local government backed by, sorry local councils backed by government, to ensure that we are setting up safe spaces for our children. All the boxes are being ticked to keep it a safe environment for our children and that they can continue to build regular foundational relationships within those groups instead of being shut down every couple of months because local councils are getting one complaint from someone who doesn't agree with the way that we are teaching our children. So I think that's another way that the government could help us all support us on our journey." The Queensland Family and Child Commission released a separate report in December 2024, in response to concerns raised by the Child Death Review Board in their 2022-2023 report. It "affirmed a parent's right to choose the most suitable learning environment for their child", but called for improved information-sharing between state government departments to ensure child safety. Minister Langbroek told SBS that his government are considering the work of the Queensland Family and Child Commission, acknowledging past obstacles around information sharing. "And Premier Crisafulli has been very clear that he wants me as education minister working closely with the Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm, the Attorney General Deb Frecklington, and
