We believe that his latest article crossed the line and could potentially encourage anti Muslim vigilantes to seek their own brand of justice against innocent Muslims. We believe this "journalist" to be grossly irresponsible and seek to have him removed from writing editorials at the Herald Sun. Please sign our petition".

The current Australia Day public holiday celebrates a nation from the point of white settlement. It does not take into account the sovereign nations that lived here since the time immemorial. Australia is one of very countries that has a national public holiday to honour and pay respect the First Nations Peoples and cultures. It's time this changed. We can't change the past but we can change the future. Let's join together to create change so that we can all celebrate the ongoing custodianship role in caring for this country. We have a number of state and national public holidays to celebrate and/or commemorate religious traditions, British ties to the Monarchy, servicemen, pastoralist and sporting events. Arguably, Australia Day is meant to unite all Australians it is well recognised that this is not a day that is celebrated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Let's demonstrate our appreciation and privilege of having the longest living culture in the world.

Newstart Allowance has not been raised in real terms since the 1994 Federal Budget, when the payment was raised by a mere $2.95. Over the last two decades, the payment has stagnated, falling increasingly behind the rest of community, and creating widespread poverty for unemployed people. At $260 per week, or $37 per day, it is one of the lowest unemployment payments in the developed world, and well below the poverty-line. Newstart is now only 18 percent of the average wage, and 41 percent of the minimum wage. The low rate of Newstart profoundly affects the well-being of unemployed people, as well as making it harder for job-seekers to search for work. - 40 percent of Newstart recipients unable to pay their bills on time or see a dentist - 46 percent are only able to afford second-hand clothes most of the time - 44 percent of those surveyed reported having unsustainable levels of debt, owing more than they could afford - A majority turn off their heating and cooling to save money - 32 percent have skipped meals over the past year - 25 percent were suffering from 'housing crisis' – were spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing - 20 percent reported not having enough money for essentials like housing, food, and electricity - 63 percent reported that their income had fallen behind cost of living over the past two years - More than half are unable to raise $2,000 in the event of an emergency With government data indicating there are roughly five job-seekers for every job, Newstart is not a short-term payment. Over half of the roughly 750,000 unemployed people in Australia, through no fault of their own, are stuck on the payment for long periods, simply because there are not enough jobs to go around. Raising Newstart is affordable. The increase could be easily funded through budgetary measures that would not only affect small groups of very well-off people but would raise significant amounts of revenue. Savings generated from scrapping negative gearing ($15 billion), eliminating superannuation tax concessions for those on high incomes ($10.5 billion), and closing various tax loopholes for big business, could fund the long-overdue increase to the payment, with billions of dollars leftover. These figures dwarf the cost of raising Newstart: increasing the payment by $100 per week would cost roughly $4.5 billion per year.

An important Awabakal women’s place – The Butterfly Cave – is at real and immediate risk of damage from a subdivision being built 20m/65ft away. It's contextual bushland setting will be destroyed. If we lose the Butterfly Cave it will be an environmental and cultural tragedy. We have witnessed the destruction of too many precious sites in bush and city Australia. The desecration must stop and it must stop NOW. Women's business matters!

How can a group of people, including high profile people have a say in what cultural background you are when they don't know you? We have been fighting to be apart of a Native Title process and was told that we have no connection because of our other cultural background. Our families have connections with the land and sea for decades, since the mid 1800's. My cousin had to travel to Melbourne to get a DNA testing to prove to the authorities and groups of people that they were wrong about us. We have the proof now that we belong to the country we live on in Bowen, therefore the Native Title Tribunal and land councils processes are failing in many ways . Don't allow anyone tell you, who you are, when you know, who you are.

The Committee to Expose the Public Trustee is a group of family, carers and friends of people who are clients (some prefer the word victims) of the Public Trustee. We were all struggling in our personal circumstances against the Public Trustee who as substituted decision maker has consistently and systematically ignored the needs and will of our loved ones. The Public Trustee has committed them to poverty and isolation and charged very high fees to do it, including charging their clients (victims) for legal fees used by the Public Trustee to oppose the needs and will of their clients. We have all been round and round the roundabout of complaints, requests for reviews and appeals but are powerless in their system and our loved ones have even less power.  In Queensland, people with a disability, or people who someone has alleged has a disability, can be subject to orders from The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to remove their legal capacity to make all personal decisions. The tribunal has no rules of evidence or standards for the burden of proof and accepts the opinion of Public Guardian and Public Trustee officers as fact in their determinations, even when those opinions are disputed by other parties. The Qld Guardianship and Administration Act gives no clear indication of who should have their human rights removed, why they should be removed and to what extent they should be removed – but the tribunal routinely removes the rights of disabled people.

She was 23 years old, working long hours to pay the bills.In her prime she lost 30 pounds and was struck down with cancer. She could not afford the medication where she lived, as there were no subsidies in place and no health system to cover her as a citizen. She had curable cancer and if it weren't for the kindness of a stranger her destiny was death... This is a true story..the woman went on to survive because one Doctor asked another Doctor to give her the medication she needed. What was her fate otherwise. Death. If you believe it is time to make Australia a leading country that provides health care to all people regardless of their wealth, race or location SIGN THIS PETITION! We have the ability, as a Democracy, to ask for written legislation that guarantees this healthcare for our children. IT IS A PRIORITY... I ask you... Do you want to be another sad story? PLEASE SIGN AND SAY THANKYOU by doing this you will also be asking that legislation makes this a priority.

My name is Subeta and I'm a university student in Sydney. I am constantly confronted with how many people are living below the poverty line and struggling to cope with basic costs. For the 10 million Australians who will menstruate in their lifetime, getting your period isn't just inconvenient and annoying - it's expensive! Half the population menstruates and they shouldn't be financially penalised for it. If you still aren't convinced, let's consider some statistics: on average women, who make up the majority of people who use sanitary products, earn $262.50 per week less than their male counterparts, and they are also statistically at greater risk of living below the poverty line. Furthermore, this tax disproportionately targets those who may already be disadvantaged, that is the homeless and unemployed. So why force this underpaid, at risk and disadvantaged portion of society to pay more for basic essentials? Right now, the Australian government is reviewing the entire Australian tax system, saying that it's looking to make taxes lower, simpler and fairer. This review is a once in a generation opportunity to put the tampon tax on the government agenda for serious consideration, and get this unfair tax removed once and for all. Sign the petition and tell Mr Hockey loud and clear that a period is not a luxury or societal burden, it is an aspect of reproductive health. After all, the government should support and facilitate the availability of sanitary products, not actively restrict it.

Women’s choice of birth attendant has been diminished. Due to the sudden removal of insurance options, midwives can no longer provide midwifery care if they do not practice under the jurisdiction of a doctor, as an eligible midwife. Women therefore are no longer able to employ a non-eligible privately practicing midwife of their choice to provide care throughout their childbearing experience, narrowing their birth attendant options. Women choose a private practicing midwife because they want personalised service and continuity of carer – the internationally recognised gold standard for the safest form of maternity care for childbearing women and their babies. Some women have a deep desire to birth at home in familiar surroundings and others simply want reassurance that they will be cared for by a familiar and trusted midwife of their choice throughout their pregnancy, birth and postpartum period. Now this choice is being severely limited. Birthing policies must be based on women's desires, needs and safety. Women want to be able to choose their birth place and their midwife for their pregnancy care. Midwives should have the legal freedom to work to their full scope of practice. We need a system like that of New Zealand where the government provides indemnity insurance to all midwives and provides remuneration for the midwifery care of their choice to every birthing woman. Sign this petition now to let our Federal Health Minister, Hon. Sussan Ley MP, know we demand change to ensure birthing options safely meet the desires and needs of all women in Australia.

Please sign this petition if you believe parents have a right to choose what's best for their children and don't have to pay penalties for a well-informed decision. After all by trying to take away family and childcare payments from low income families who conscientiously choose to selectively vaccinate or not vaccinate, the Australian government is putting parents in the impossible position of having to choose between feeding and housing their families and vaccinating their children against their will, THIS IS NOT LEGAL CONSENT, IT IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND IT IS BLACKMAIL!

We are gravely concerned about the push by Adani and the Queensland Government to open up the Carmichael Mine on our traditional lands. Our traditional lands are an interconnected and living whole; a vital cultural landscape. It is central to us as a People, and to the maintenance of our identity, laws and consequent rights. If the Carmichael mine were to proceed it would tear the heart out of the land. The scale of this mine means it would have devastating impacts on our native title, ancestral lands and waters, our totemic plants and animals, and our environmental and cultural heritage. It would pollute and drain billions of litres of groundwater, and obliterate important springs systems. It would potentially wipe out threatened and endangered species. It would literally leave a huge black hole, monumental in proportions, where there were once our homelands. These effects are irreversible. Our land will be “disappeared”. Nor would the direct impacts be limited to our lands – they would have cascading effects on the neighbouring lands and waters of other Traditional Owners and other landholders in the region. And the mine would cause damage to climate, unleashing a mass of carbon into the atmosphere and propelling dangerous global warming. We could not in all conscience consent to such wholesale destruction. Nor could we allow such a project to contribute to the dire unfolding effects of climate change that pose such great risks to all peoples. We know that many other people who care deeply about conserving natural places, vital water resources, the great fauna and flora of central Queensland, and a health planet share our concerns about this mine. When we say No, we mean No. https://youtu.be/ZB2JC6yKy_E

We have probably all heard the statistic: one Australian woman dies at the hands of a partner or ex-partner every week. But so far in 2015, women are being murdered at double that rate, and in Queensland alone in 2013-14 there were more than 66,000 reported incidents of domestic and family violence. It's time to act. Urgent steps must be taken by our leaders and policy makers now, to ensure this shameful epidemic no longer ruins the lives of generations of families. Rest assured, someone you know has been affected by family violence. Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, whose own son, Luke, was murdered last year by his father, has campaigned fiercely for short-term and long-term change. In the long term, let's change the entrenched attitudes and gender inequalities that help create the environment for domestic and family violence in the first place (such as through respectful relationships education in schools); but in the short term, let's improve the support services and responses from organisations such as the police and courts, so victims know they are not alone. Rosie is supporting our campaign, and we are supporting her. Get on board and help be a force for change.