On October 26th 2023, we the First Nations Advisory Group to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and a collective of supporters and allies, took a united stand in our dismissal of the outwardly racist ideology expressed by Queensland Police Union (QPU) President, in the Courier Mail on Wednesday 25th October 2023. On November 13 2023, we again collectively called on the Minister for Queensland Police and the Commissioner of Police to take action as a demonstration that racist and harmful behaviour would not be accepted as business as usual. Not only have our calls for action been met with silence, just over one month later on the 30th November 2023, the President of the QPU has been announced as a member of the Independent Ministerial Advisory Council (IMAC) to give victims a voice. The comments made by the QPU President remain negligent and outwardly harmful to the wellbeing and interests of our First Nations peoples and communities, including victims. It is beyond belief that the same individual who so recently made overtly racist and fearmongering public commentary about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples could be identified as an appropriate member of this Council. The President of the QPU has also repeatedly refused to acknowledge widespread problems in police responses to domestic and family violence in Queensland. This is despite numerous studies and reports to the contrary, including the 2022 “Call for Change” report from the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Reponses to domestic and family violence that found “ample evidence that there are cultural issues within the Queensland Police Service which inhibit the policing of domestic and family violence.” The appointment of QPU President to the Victims Advisory Council represents a gross disservice to the “voice” of victims, and to the countless people and organisations working to change this in Queensland. The people most likely to be victims in Queensland are women, children and young people, too often Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children and young people. These people have been let down by this decision. Queensland has been let down by this decision. We wish to express our deep disappointment at the Queensland Government’s implicit endorsement of the President of the QPU by giving him a position of influence over the very important and critical work of the council in its consideration of the needs of victims and vulnerable people, such as children, young people, women and First Nations peoples. We invite the Premier and Attorney General to meet with a representative body of this group to further discuss our concerns and to seek a positive resolution to the ongoing harm that is being felt. In good faith we await your response.

Everyone needs to support this petition for a more humane welfare system because anyone can lose their current financial status, need support due to illness or accident and everyone hopefully reaches retirement and through unforeseen circumstances requires a government funded pension. How we treat the less fortunate and diadvantage shows the character of our civilisation and should be a national trait Australia is proud to demonstrate. The slogan "a fair go for all" once characterised Aussies' beliefs, this is not he case anymore. Anyone who visits the website ' The Centrelink is broken' will see many examples of harrowing stories of people engaged with a not only uncaring response but abusive and threatening manner of communication. People are unable to contact Centrelink on the telephone when they cannot deal with the issue online through mygov or the Centrelink app. They either wait hours on the telephone or are cut off continuously before being answered and have to go through a process of demeaning verification of identity. For anyone with a disability,aged, English as a second language, regional and remote background or first nations people, or people unaware of their rights, dealing with Centrelink is traumatic. As welfare recipients, who through no fault of their own ( often working hard all their lives or being stripped of earning a decent income) find themselves dependent on benefits that don't cover basic cost of living are simply asking for respect and professional support in an uncondescending manner. I have found the staff at my local Centrelink office very helpful however to cancel an appointment made in case I was unable to use technology on line I had to revisit the centre to do this because I could not contact Centrelink. I was also threatened with having my and my partner's pension suspended if I didn't attend this meeting. For someone out of town or without transport this simple process becomes a nightmare. I cannot call my local Centrelink office to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Welfare recipients are a minority so there are no political point scoring for an overhaul of Centrelink. I need the people to come together and support this proposition because you don't know if this experience could be one you will encounter in the future. For those looking towards retirement on a government supported benefit you will be treated as an undeserving burden on the rest of society who should give up their rights and any savings or property ownership to receive welfare benefit no longer considered or called aged pension.

Access to community events, workshops and consultations via online mechanisms, is often the only way for many people to participate. Live-streaming and interactive online gatherings removes one of the common barriers to participation for people with physical or intellectual disabilities (including sensory sensitivities) and single parents, people facing financial hardship and those still 'coviding'. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, organisations, companies and the government, managed to move almost all activity to online platforms. Sadly, since mandates were lifted in October 2022, we have seen most online participation options disappear from our communities; leaving some of our most vulnerable people more isolated and alone than ever. Since the beginning on 2023, we have also seen more companies begin to demand staff return to the office if they wish to keep their jobs; but for many of the aforementioned people, entering or re-entering the workforce was only possible because of the increased availability of work from home jobs. To ensure these people are not left behind and are included in our society, we need to legislate mandatory online options for participation. This would be restricted to local and state government initiatives or events funded either in part or in full, by any level of government. Furthermore, the Victorian Government needs to encourage and incentivise online access to events, workshops, seminars or consultations provided by private businesses and organisations, so that we can ensure everyone in the state of Victoria, can live a fully participatory life in their community. The Victorian government must also legislate work from home concessions by any business or company who can reasonably pivot to these arrangements, for people with disabilities, single parents and those who cannot afford the cost of physically going into the office, as well as those still 'coviding'. We must be a truly equitable and accessible state for ALL people living in Victoria.

As of 2023, trans and gender-diverse Australians cannot identify on any intake form at any RTO because of the current data set by NCVER / DEWR. The Workplace Gender and Equality ACT excludes the participation of gender-diverse people, It only collects information on cis-gendered men and women. This affects every medium to large business in Australia. Nearly Every data set in Australia excludes gender-diverse people including studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Suicide, and first-year indicators in schools. Orchidectomies are given to cis-gender men in the public health system but denied to trans women who need to get off testosterone blockers and affirming their gender. Mastectomies are given to cis-gendered women in the public health system but denied to trans men who need this so they can stop binding, avoid scoliosis and affirm their gender. Breast Surgery is given in some public hospitals to cis-gendered women after mastectomies because it is important to their mental health, gender and well-being but denied to trans women who also need this for mental health, gender and well-being. To my knowledge, no politician or report has stood up to say we could be doing these gender-affirming surgeries right now. And they could be done right now! If the government provides gender-affirming leave and supports trans and gender-diverse people but then there is no way that they can get medical interventions then they are forced to go overseas and sometimes put their lives at risk for surgeries that are substandard compared to Australia. If they can afford them at all. Medicare has an ongoing review process and according to them, no one has ever put in a submission to ask them to review Medicare based on the needs of trans and gender-diverse people. The Sexual Discrimination ACT was updated in 1984 to say there are legally more than 2 genders and yet the Australian Bureau of Statistics which affects all the other data sets I have mentioned failed for 40 years to update their dataset. Thus forcing every other dataset that relies on it to be discriminatory Still to this day, they will only allow us to identify if their stakeholders ask for it, if an average Australian can fill out the question and if politicians ok it to happen. (How can this be in 2023, surely this is sexual discrimination?) Pathology forms across Australia are still behind in allowing us to identify and there are currently no pathology profiles for trans men and trans women. GP software like Best Practice for doctors cannot pull gender identity onto a pathology form which leads to gender-diverse people being misgendered and at times receiving the wrong reference ranges. The Australian Human Rights Commission has failed to advocate adequately and so there is no one else to hold the Government to account why has this happened? Public Health Systems across Australia still don't have pathways for gender-diverse people and to my knowledge, not one of them provides medical interventions for adults. There is no suitable training for doctors, surgeons medical staff in our training establishments. We suffer many forms of discrimination at Services Australia, Medicare and other departments. Many Public Hospitals systems have only recently started to make attempts at updating their computer systems to include gender and to find ways to reduce misgendering but there is no uniform adherence to the 2020 ABS Dataset for sex and gender. And datasets across the medical sector are not unified. The government's own AIHW website contains no health data on trans and gender-diverse people in Australia because we don't have population data because the ABS has never included us in the census. And finally, the Australian Defence Force has a suicide rate of 8.8% which is twice the national average. They have 85,000 serving members. For that, they get a Royal Commission, and over 50 reports + millions of dollars in funding. Gender-diverse Australians number at least 700,000 (equal in number to Indigenous Australians) with Transgender youth alone having approx a 48% attempted suicide rate and we have never had a royal commission or a federally funded report of any kind that I know of. How is it that the Government can be so apathetic towards a mental health and health crisis for more than 700,000 Australians? It was as recent as 1989 that the last Trans woman was fined for wearing the 'wrong clothing' Before that Trans and gender-diverse people were harassed, locked up, fined and had acts of violence inflicted on them. This has never been apologised for. Psychiatry and Psychology pathologised trans and gender-diverse people for 80 years but then reversed this and there has not been to my knowledge an apology. There is no current federal department for LGBTIQ+ people and no independent organisation to hold media accountable when reporting. We need to stop studying Trans and Gender diverse people and start studying the reasons behind being excluded and ignored and why there is and has been a complete and continuing lack of human rights for this cohort. We must address one of the biggest factors in poor mental health which is a lack of medical intervention and there appears absolutely no initiatives to fix this. That is a complete lack in duty of care. It doesn't take time to make change. It IS time to make change.

There is a tendency to use the word victim as though it is a person's choice. People who find themselves on income support are generally in this unwilling position through various circumstances beyond their control, and in the main would rather be independent as opposed to a burden on society. If you ask yourself what story is really behind the person begging for change at your supermarket, what might come to mind? Do you consider Domestic Violence? Mental Health challenges? Childhood sexual assault? Are they a descendant of Australia's stolen generations? Marginalised due to ethnicity? A refugee? With all that we now understand regarding mental health and trauma, it's time to implement it where it can make the greatest impact. As an educated and privileged nation, we need to take responsibility for those most vulnerable and create genuine compassionate revisions to the services that are here to assist. As an example, NSW Health has available information on their website about Trauma Informed services detailing considerations and responsible processes for dealing with clients who have suffered trauma, along with the principles of Mental Health Human Rights. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/psychosocial/principles/Pages/trauma-informed.aspx Services Australia and Centrelink need to take a health based approach in their delivery of human services, to honour and properly reflect the Department of Social Services own Access & Equity policy. We need to remind ourselves we do not exist on a level playing field as far as our life experiences. The rhetoric of equal opportunity doesn't apply to those handicapped by misfortune of their circumstances.

All of us have had some experience with someone experiencing chronic illness. Imagine if it were you, and you have faced a life being told, ‘it’s in your head, oh it’s not that bad, I don’t know what’s wrong!’ This is the common experience of people with rare conditions. The social media groups are filled with horror stories of poor treatment, medical gaslighting and a profound level of medical ignorance. It is appalling that here in Australia we do not have adequate trading of Dr’s in these conditions. I think most of us could recall a time when we have had a bad experience with medical treatment, imagine if that one experience was repeated many times over, over many years. At the same time you just continue to get more unwell. This is what it’s like to have a rare genetic condition. I believe that we can demand better from our decision makers. I believe that this is an opportunity for Australia to lead the world in coordinated treatment and research options for those with these conditions.

Imagine living, working, and otherwise contributing to a community where you have no power. Imagine feeling like your voice is never heard in your own home. Imagine being denied the right to vote… in 2022. That is the reality of being a permanent resident in so-called Australia, in this so-called democracy. Estimates suggest that there are 2 million Permanent Residents in Australia*. That's a hefty percentage of our population! For many, getting to this point has been a battle hard-fought. Tears, sacrifices and a significant financial impact are all worth it for many of us, for that sense of security (a sense denied to many of us who were still on temporary visas through the pandemic). Many of us have jobs, and pay taxes. Taxes we don’t get any say in how they are spent. We work in health, education, government, for non-profits - just like Australians. Some of us work those jobs no Australians will do, perhaps on the farms. Some of us volunteer, or get involved with our local community in other ways. We may be students, bettering ourselves for the sake of this country. Others still raise Australian children, our future generation. Some do it all, while some are just figuring it out right now. But even those who do “nothing” contribute to our economy, and more importantly, our society. No matter the level of these contributions, we should all count. Politics literally touch every tiny bit of our lives, every day. The rights we have at work, the protections we have as women, children, or people living with a disability, as well as our ability to access the healthcare and welfare systems. The list goes on. So, why don’t we just become citizens? It is not that easy. Not only is it a time-consuming process, you have to meet a lot of extra requirements. Plus - you guessed it - you have to pay more money (the costs just doubled last year). The wait lists are also pretty ridiculous… and the applications are not processed in order, despite claims to the contrary. Finally, many countries don’t even allow you to have dual citizenship! We are not asking for special treatment. I cannot possibly speak for everybody, but most of us are so grateful to be here. On a personal level, I believe the right to vote is so important. Women died for the right. In all patriarchal and/or white supremacist and/or classist societies, denying a marginalised group the right to vote has always been commonplace. Disgracefully, First Nations people were only given such a right (on stolen land) in 1962. This seems unthinkable now. While I cannot begin to imagine such oppression, surely this is shocking as well? The etymology of the word "democracy" roughly means "the will of the people". ALL people. Did you know? Other countries allow all residents to vote, providing they have shown at least some commitment. The commitment we have shown, I promise you, goes above and beyond. I have been here for almost 6 years, dedicating myself to this country and its people. I am far from the only one. I will pursue this campaign even after I proudly accept my citizenship, hopefully later this year. I love my Australian partner, my Australian friends, all of my opportunities. Chances are, you know someone like me - maybe you were someone like me - please let us be heard! Personally, I think we should allow anyone living here long-term the right (including prisoners), but let’s start with PR. This is our home, our FOREVER home, and we care about it - so we want the chance to make it better. *It is strangely difficult to find the exact numbers of Permanent Residents living in Australia. For the year ending 30 June 2020, there were over 7.6 million migrants living in Australia. 29.8% of Australia's population were born overseas. According to the most recent data from 2016, only 82% of respondents were citizens on Census night. In my city, Sydney, that figure dropped to 64%. Allowing for many temporary visa holders and even tourists, this still leaves a large amount of Permanent Residents unaccounted for. (Please note, 2021 data has not yet been published)

The severely immunocompromised are vulnerable to severe disease when infected with COVID19. Right now, COVID testing programs are insufficient to protect the immunosuppresed. Effective testing is difficult to access and costly to individuals. Supported COVID testing is needed. Severely immunocompromised people need to test those close to them regularly. They need to know when to shield themselves from others. Many severely immunocompromised people are unwell and not mobile and rely on support workers. Many live, study or work closely with others, and risk exposure to COVID, despite their best efforts to shield. Some, like the parents of children, are carers and find themselves in the impossible position of needing those in their charge tested, but can't because they simply can't risk sharing a car with a person with symptoms. It is simply not safe for the severely immunocompromised to line up for a PCR test. Time is of the essence for a severely immunocompromised person with COVID. This is because there are treatments available that can prevent severe disease, but these must be started early. They need ready and safe access to testing. Every day counts.

Children in the ACT deserve to safely walk or ride to school (or to public transport to get to school). Walking or riding to school improves children's fitness and independence. However, they are often driven over short distances to school because parents perceive that their child's journey to school is unsafe for part or the whole of the journey. As a result, our streets are subject to tens of thousands more car trips every year, making them even less safe and clogging up roads with unnecessary traffic during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Streets without footpaths and crossings with speed limits higher than 30km/h are not considered safe under the Safe System approach used in Australia and the ACT. The Safe System approach is the basis for and at the heart of all ACT Government transport policy making and efforts to improve road safety and achieve Vision Zero for deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Why we need Safe Streets to School: - Research shows that children cannot judge gaps in traffic consistently when cars go faster than 30km/h to safely cross a street - On streets where there are no footpaths and crossings, reducing the car speed to 30km/h would prevent most accidents: the stopping distance for a car traveling 30km/h is 13m. Stopping distance for a car traveling 50km/h is 37m. The risk of death or serious injury if hit at 30km/h is less than 10%; compared to 90% if hit at 50km/h. It is an unreasonable risk to place our children in harms way on their journey to school. Safe Streets to School will help: - achieve each of the four goals of the ACT Road Safety Strategy 2020-2025 - make Canberra a healthy, active and inclusive city, including being Australia’s most walkable city - the ACT reach its legislated target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, because it will help people if they feel safe enough to choose active travel and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Our children deserve the right to walk to school (or public transport to get to school), so they can have a healthy and safe future. We do not believe it is fair to wait for an accident to happen and our children to get injured or killed before they can walk or ride safely. Please make our streets to school safe now.

Djaki Kundu (Rocky Ridge in English), also referred to as 'the Gympie Pyramid' is being destroyed as we speak, for a highway upgrade carried out by the Department of Transport and Main roads Queensland. Djaki Kundu is an ancient and sacred healing site, connected to the Seven Sisters dreaming song-lines and stories, and a place to commune with the Star Ancestors.  Djaki Kundu is situated in Bunya Country near Gympie, in what is now called Queensland, Australia.  Kabi Elders and guardians of the site have inherited a religious and spiritual Djakurpa tribal Law responsibility to protect the sacred site, which was built thousands of years ago by Kabi Ancestors. Kabi tribal Elders are distressed that Queensland government authorities are destroying the site and it's ancient sacred relics in order to upgrade a highway, despite the fact Australian Laws make it illegal to destroy 'Aboriginal cultural heritage' or 'Aboriginal relics'. Human rights abuse will not be tolerated of Kabi Country. Urgent action needs to be taken, COME TO GYMPIE and follow posts by Kabi dreaming on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/Kabi.Dreaming/ SIGN PETITION and show your support by messaging Department of Transport and Main Roads QLD, QLD environment minister, governing authorities, offering legal assistance and sharing this breach of human rights in person and online.

Consumers right to choose, Fair Trade, Anti Bullying. This discussion sets a precedent that has the potential to negatively impact upon any stall holder at the markets.

It’s easy to talk about these issues at a macro level, you don’t have to take a stand. You make no enemies, but I’m not here to be liked, I’m here to do the right thing. To point out exactly how messed up this is, especially after now having heard from 100+ Punjabi and South Asian women about their abuse. In 2020 famous singer Dilpreet Dhillon (2 million followers) beat up his partner so badly he bruised her and left her with black eyes. Then he made a 40 minute+ video (now deleted) crying and asking people to stay out of his private life (after his partner was brave & went public). That’s right - No apology. No recognition of his abusive behaviour. Nothing. I couldn’t believe it. What’s worse? Within months he released songs with female leads - Gurlej Akhtar & Barbie Mann - one called “Cute Jeha” and now with one of Punjab’s biggest pop stars - Karan Aujla (500 million views+). Literally no one has boycotted this singer. No one. I believe people get a second chance, I believe we make mistakes and are all a little messed up in some ways. But redemption happens after you fully understand what you’ve done, publicly acknowledge it and show us you’ve changed. This man has not, instead he complained about the momentary reputation so damage and immediately released new music. The fact that this man got away with such horrific physical abuse is awful but the fact that women like Barbie Maan, Gurlej Akhtar & Karan Aujila couldn’t care less? That Punjabi diaspora across the world have not boycotted them or held them accountable? That shows you the deep rooted problems in our culture. The patriarchy is very real. We can abuse our women but we can’t ever humiliate our men or hold them accountable. They will be fine, and as for us women? Chup kar [be quiet] and listen to Cute Jeha [cute boy] ft Barbie Maan. It’s #SouthAsianHeritageMonth and one thing I’m proud of as a Punjabi? Standing up for the right thing. To speak up. We must also acknowledge the problematic aspects if we are to change them. We can’t tuck this under the rug. I would like my fellow diaspora Punjabis and allies to #DilpreetDhillonBoycott I also would like to request the Canadian, Australian & British government to put a ban on his entry when he inevitably shows up to tour his caste-ist bakwaas music post COVID. We need to call this type of behaviour out and demand better, my heart continues to break every time I talk to a woman in our community who has been abused. The acceptance of people like Dilpreet sets the conditions to normalise their fate. Many have asked why his partner has not filed a case? You see when she went public she thought people would get behind her, instead she thousands of threats and abuse from his fans. And she feels, like many women I spoke to at Soul House in Melbourne, that it’s up to Karma and God. Karma and god may have their say someday but right now this man is still highly successful and his career has only gone from strength to strength. Indian authorities may take no action, his fans may try to protect him but we as a collective have power to send a message. Australia, Canada and UK have very strong public campaigns & legislation against Domestic Violence. No it’s not just “a or ate matter” as Dilpreet and his fans claim. Domestic Violence is violence. Harvey Weinstein is a disgraced figure in the US. Gurbaksh Chahal (who hit his girlfriend 100+ times) is a disgraced figure in the US. Yet somehow Dilpreet Dhillon, a famous Punjabi singer has faced no repercussions since violently abusing his wife in 2020. This was all in the public domain in India. Let’s take a stance and ask our immigration ministers to issue a statement banning the entry of this ban based on publicly available information. Creatives! We need you, where the system fails - art is often more powerful. Share a 3 min or less parody song or sketch - you can use any of Dilpreet’s songs for inspiration with the #DilpreetDhillonBoycott What is a parody? an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect need ideas ? Check out this example about JEEP https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5sVmoOZRypk and this one about 1000 tampons https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OTnQ6N-K05s About the Pope https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcpc7TQxlNs