NewsMatch Alert: Press Release Summary | 9 December 2024
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Today's highlights
Review of Magnitsky-style autonomous sanctions
The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, through the Human Rights Subcommittee (the Subcommittee), has commenced a review of the amendments made by the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021. Pursuant to Clause 4 of the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021 the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade is required to commence a review of the operation of the amendments made by this Act as soon as possible after 8 December 2024.
Long-term unemployment rising while entry level jobs decline: New report
A new report by ACOSS has found entry-level jobs have declined while long-term unemployment has significantly increased, prompting calls for an overhaul of Australia’s employment services system which is systematically failing. The report, Faces of Unemployment 2024,found that since interest rates began to rise in mid-2022, employment at the lowest skill level has lagged, increasing only 1.9% compared with 7.8% overall. Job vacancies for that skill level have dropped by 39% compared to a 30% decline overall.
Rough sleeping surges as homelessness crisis worsens: New report
Rough sleeping has surged in Australia according to a landmark report into homelessness launched today. Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024 has revealed a 22% increase in people experiencing rough sleeping in the three years to 2023-24, nationwide. In New South Wales, rough sleeping has surged by 51% since 2020, largely driven by an increase in regional communities.
Rough sleeping in NSW surges amidst housing crisis
Rough sleeping in New South Wales has surged by 51% in the past four years amid historically low rental vacancy rates, according to The Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024 released today. The report produced by the University of New South Wales UNSW and The University of Queensland , supported by Homelessness Australia, found there were 2,041 rough sleepers counted in NSW in 2024, up from 1,353 in 2020.
Bush Heritage Australia launches campaign to protect vital piece of Murray-Darling Basin ecosystem
Leading conservation not-for-profit Bush Heritage Australia is fundraising to acquire a property that forms part of one of the most important waterbird breeding sites in Australia. Nil Desperandum, a 4,037-hectare property located in one of the least disturbed parts of the Murray–Darling Basin in north-western New South Wales is the property Bush Heritage have set their hopes on securing as healthy country protected forever.
CSIRO confirms: nuclear not right for Australia
In response to the release of the CSIRO’s latest GenCost study of energy options for Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear policy analyst Dave Sweeney said: “Australia’s chief science agency has again confirmed nuclear is the most expensive energy option for Australia. The CSIRO’s latest research comes after multiple other independent analyses have ranked nuclear as Australia’s most costly energy option."
New data shows kids in regional Victoria are more likely to be working
New data from Victoria’s child employment regulator shows kids in regional Victoria are more likely to join the workforce before the age of 15 than those in metropolitan Melbourne. Victoria’s child employment laws require businesses to hold a child employment licence before they employ anyone under 15 and to notify Wage Inspectorate Victoria of any children they employ.
New Consent Matters project boosts educator confidence in teaching Victoria’s at-risk youth about sexual consent
The Consent Matters pilot project led by Sexual Health Victoria and Women's Health in the South East is helping thousands of youths outside the mainstream education system understand affirmative consent, as highlighted by an evaluation report released today.
Monash expert: Australia’s growing arthritis burden
The number of people living with arthritis in Australia is projected to increase by a third by 2040, suggests a modelling study, published in The Lancet Rheumatology. The model projects about 5.4 million Australians will have arthritis in 2040, 1.3 million (31 per cent) more than the estimated number of cases for 2025. Monash experts are available for comment.
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Wise ways to say “no” and why you should think twice before using them
Learning how to say “no” can help manage excessive workloads and protect your career while fostering a healthy work-life balance, writes UNSW Professor Peter Heslin . As the end of the year approaches, many professionals, managers, and students face mounting pressures to wrap up projects, meet deadlines, and finalise commitments. With workloads already at capacity for many, adding extra tasks can become overwhelming.
Small male weight gains increase risk of back pain and disability, local study finds
A comprehensive two-decades long study of 695 men living in Geelong found that gaining as little as three kilograms of weight over five years is linked to back pain and high rates of disability ten years later, highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. This is the first study to link body composition and back pain in a population-based sample of men.
Wage theft response at Melbourne Uni must be rolled out nationally
The National Tertiary Education Union has called for the Fair Work Ombudsman’s new anti-wage theft model at the University of Melbourne – which underpaid workers $72 million – to be adopted nationally. The university has entered into a comprehensive enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman over the underpayments which affected more than 25,000 staff.
Improving the lives of children with disability in Australia and China through dance
Monash University’s new AllPlay Dance program is driving the development of inclusive dance programs and supporting the wellbeing of children in Australia and China living with disability. The AllPlay partnership with the first and only professional dance institution in China, the Beijing Dance Academy , will ensure - for the first time - children with disabilities outside of Australia will have access to the program.
Supporting nurses to deliver life-saving immunisation across the Pacific Islands
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is offering a new education program providing nurses and other health professionals in 22 Pacific Island countries and territories with life-saving skills through its immunisation course aimed at improving health outcomes in the region.
Charity unwraps early Christmas present for homeless new mum
A volunteer-run Melbourne charity that has been supporting homeless people for 37 years is calling for donations to help it buy homes to take people off the streets. Avalon Centre recently completed the purchase of its 15th property under the Avalon Homes for the Homeless initiative and is looking for funding to buy the next home and continue providing other services. Centre President and Co-Ordinator Deborah Holmes last week picked up the keys for a two-bedroom unit where a 26-year-old former refugee will live with her new baby.
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