This is a regular e-newsletter I receive, and this time there are a couple of items worth passing on, plus I thought some of you might be interested to know about it, and possibly sign up.
The items are a call for volunteers to work with detainees in Villawood Detention Centre, upcoming advocacy training courses and Women's Electoral Lobby conference info.
Clare *************************************************** Clare Pascoe Henderson http://www.clergyabuseaustralia.org Clergy Sexual Abuse in Australia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [piac-announce] PIAC E-Bulletin No:130 Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 16:56:42 +1000 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
PIAC E-Bulletin No:130 ----------------------
26 May 2004
Welcome to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's e-bulletin. Subscribe to the PIAC E-bulletin.
Homeless Persons Legal Service launched
The PIAC/PILCH Homeless Persons Legal Service (HPLS) was launched by the Hon. Bob Debus MP, NSW Attorney General at the State Library on 20 May 2004. Clover Moore MP, Lord Mayor of Sydney was guest speaker at the launch attended by approximately 200 people. In the weeks ahead, the PILCH volunteer lawyers involved in the Service will begin seeing clients at the various community welfare organisations hosting the Service. The HPLS will advertise for its full-time Co-ordinator and a part-time Administrative Assistant in the near future. For information about times of operation or any other inquiries please contact the interim Service Co-ordinator, Michelle Rabsch on 02-92997833.
_______________________________
Human Rights Kit Out Soon
PIAC is launching a community education kit - Protecting Human Rights in Australia - which will provide basic information about the human rights that affect people living in Australia.
The Kit, which is the culmination of months of consultation, will be launched by Professor Hilary Charlesworth, Director of the Centre for International and Public Law, Law Faculty, Australian National University and Chair of the ACT Bill of Rights Consultative Committee.
The launch will take place on Friday 4 June at 12.30 - 2pm in the Dixson Room at the NSW State Library. Light refreshments will be available. Please RSVP to Katharine Slattery at PIAC on 02 9299 7833 or by email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Kit will be available to download from the PIAC website on June 7th.
_________________________________
US Free Trade Agreement signed but not a done deal unless Parliament passes implementing legislation
A signing ceremony for the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement took place in Washington on May 18. However, This does not mean that the Agreement is finalised. The signing is a formality required by US law before the Congress can debate and vote on the Agreement, and is conditional on legislative processes in both the US and Australia .
In Australia, two parliamentary inquiries are still holding public hearings and will report in June and July. The agreement will not come into force unless Parliament passes implementing legislation expected to be debated in August. The ALP, Democrats and Greens have all said they are prepared to block the implementing legislation in the Senate if the Agreement undermines access to affordable medicines, Australian content in new media or other public interest policies.
Hundreds of individuals and community organisations have made submissions to the Parliamentary inquiries. A submission from Professor David Henry, Dr Thomas Faunce and other Health experts informed the Senate Inquiry that the USFTA will give US drug companies the right to reviews of decisions that will add $1.5 billion per year to the cost of the PBS. This was featured on ABC TV 7.30 Report on May 19 and in many newspaper stories this week. The submission is available on the website of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network www.aftinet.org.au
____________________________________
Upcoming PIAC Training Courses
Work the System: an introduction to advocacy - Wollongong 23 July, Penrith 30 July, Sydney CBD 15 September.
Effective Advocacy Skills and Strategies - Sydney CBD 20 October.
For more information, and a brochure, please contact Carolyn or Katharine at PIAC on 9299 7833 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
PIAC advocacy training in Far West NSW Far West Area Health Service is sponsoring PIAC to run advocacy training for community and consumer representatives in Broken Hill and Dareton. Places are still available at the following course:
* Dareton (near Mildura) - Friday 2 July, 9am-4pm
Topics to be covered include: understanding advocacy, lobbying, being an effective consumer/community rep and negotiation skills. For more information or to book a place, please call the Far West Area Health Service on 08 8080 1512. The one-day course is free of charge.
____________________________________
Volunteers needed to work with detainees (NSW and SA)
The ALIV program currently has over a hundred volunteers currently working inside Villawood Immigration Detention Centre (NSW) where they take kids and families out on camps and excursions and run a children's room inside the detention centre. The program at Villawood is being expanded and it has recently also been approved to operate at Baxter immigration detention centre (SA)
The ALIV program has four main projects: to take kids out on camps; to take kids out on excursions; to run a kids room inside the detention centres modelled after starlight rooms currently inside our hospitals and to take families out on family days.
According to Gary Taylor, ALIV President: "This program is very valuable to the kids and it makes a big difference to the kids and families' lives. If you have at least one day a month free to work with the kids ALIV could really use your help."
For more information and an application form you can visit the ALIV website. There is also a list of things the kids need if you aren't able to volunteer.
For more information please email: Villawood: [EMAIL PROTECTED] / Baxter: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
______________________________________
The Women's Electoral Lobby conference (Sydney) 12 and 13 June 2004
The Women's Electoral Lobby invites you to a national forum on whether our democratic processes are improving women's lives or 'hanging women out to dry'?
With a Federal election on the horizon, it is important to create a forum in which to analyse whether the decision-makers are getting it right for women and how progress can be achieved. The conference will consider the important themes of democracy, protecting women's rights, measuring quality of life and how to achieve culture change to improve the quality of women's lives rapidly rather than through incremental change.
Presenters include Dr Elaine Thompson (UNSW), Anne Summers (Journalist and author), Mary Crooks (Victorian Women's Trust), Prue Goward (Sex Discrimination Commissioner), Dr Eileen Pittaway (ANCORW), Michael Bittman (UNSW), Eva Cox (UTS), Dr Sioban Austen (Women's Economic Policy Unit, Curtin Uni, WA) and others.
The conference has been modestly priced at $75 or $65 concession. For more information visit the WEL website. for conference program and rego form or contact the WEL office on [EMAIL PROTECTED]
________________________________________
To contact the Public Interest Advocacy Centre
If you have any questions about any of the items in the e-bulletin please contact us. Articles from the e-bulletin may be reproduced as long as the source is acknowledged
Contact name: Katharine Slattery Contact email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
This article can be found on the Web at:
http://piac.asn.au/news/bulletins/140.html This message has been generated automatically using Social Change Online's AIMS Web publishing suite.
------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
