Category: News

Last week’s rally to demonstrate Brisbane’s solidarity towards the people of Gaza, ignited a spark of emotions, affirmations and a wave of protests which spread like wildfire all over the country.

This week, the fire blazed high with simultaneous protests in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.

Today’s demonstrations started with a walking tour around Queens street, organized by Mr. Phil Monsour, a singer, songwriter and an advocate for Gaza, to identify and boycott the stores that stock Sodastream products.

Sodastream, is an Israel based company which operates a major factory in an illegal settlement in occupied Palestine and manufactures  environmentally sustainable alternatives to bottled soda drinks.

Earlier this month, the factory came under public scrutiny for dismissing 60 Palestinian workers on July 2^nd, following an argument about the supply of insufficient food for the breaking of the Ramadan fast, since the employees were not permitted to bring their own food to work.

“ I have three words for the people gathered here today, boycott, divestment and sanctions,” Mr. Mansour said.

“ Through this act of boycotting sodastream, we have three objectives we wish  to achieve. End the international support for Israeli occupation and apartheid. Equal rights for all and the right for all the refugees to return back to their homeland,” he added.

“ There is virtually no support from our parliament and the many organizations that are supposed to be beside us today. We need to shift the solidarity in this country into a political power. Therefore I call upon all the students, religious communities and trade unions to join hands and join us in this movement.”

The boycott of Israeli goods is a part of an international movement known as the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’, initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations, which gained momentum internationally with the bombardment of Gaza.

Mrs. Isobella Jairus, a mother of two from the Gold Coast, was not aware of the intensity of the Gaza crisis until the shelling of a UN-run school in Gaza three days back.

“I was devastated by the horrific atrocity committed by the Israeli army. Until then I was not sure which side I was on, but after those little children and women were murdered in the shelling, I did my own research and found out that this is an asymmetrical war. The Israeli army targeted a UN run school and that shocked me, because people are not safe even under the protection of the United Nations. I realized that this is not a religious war but a freedom struggle of an oppressed people fighting to reclaim their land,” Mrs. Jairus said.

“I stand for a free Gaza,” she concluded.

After the walking tour, more than a thousand people gathered at the King George Square to demonstrate their solidarity towards the people of Gaza.

After acknowledging the elders of the land, Ms. Rebecca Barrigos quoted the words of Abu Yazan, a young political activist from Gaza, “ The Israeli cabinet is planning to meet up to negotiate ceasefire, but this time the victory is ours, take that fact and give up, Israel.”

Mr. Sameer Elegate, a Palestinian activist and a recent resident of Gaza whose relatives were victims of the war, was the second speaker.

“ I am from Palestine, my family is from Gaza . I called my sister two hours ago and she said that she and her family were safe, but she also said that they were afraid and they were just waiting . At this moment I don’t know if they are safe, that is the situation in Gaza,” Mr. Elegate said.

“ When I told her about our rally today, she said that she has a message for Brisbane. She said – I am a mother, I am a sister, I am a human being. I have every right to live like all of you in Australia, but I’m proud to remain in Palestine, I don’t want to leave Palestine because this is my home and I will hold onto it until I die,” he reiterated.

“She thanks all of you gathered here today to show your support, but she also said – please don’t stop, please support us until the end.

“ This is no longer a Palestinian issue, this is a human rights issue. We want to see non Palestinians from all over the world, people from different religions, color, culture and political alliance, we must all stand together in support for Palestine.

“ To make your actions matter you can do one thing. Boycott Israel, don’t buy any product made in Israel, don’t buy any product with a barcode starting with 729.

“They say that the Hamas is hiding behind the backs of the civilians to fight this war, yet after bombing hospitals, homes and schools repeatedly, the only dead bodies left behind are of women and little children. Please don’t fall for this deception anymore.”

Speakers Mr. Boe Spearim and Mr. Calum Clayton Dixon, representing the Brisbane aboriginal sovereign embassy affirmed their support for the movement by sharing the fact that even though the Aboriginal community and the Palestinian community were two different civilizations with separate cultural values, they share the same struggle for freedom from oppression.

“We say white Australia has a black history. Similarly Israel will always have a Palestinian history,”        Mr. Spearim said.

On behalf of the Queensland teacher’s union, Mr. Kevin Bates, the president, voiced his support for a free Gaza and an end to the oppression.

On the other hand two other speakers, Mr. Jake Schoermer representing the QLD Greens and Dr. Imran Ali from the QLD Shia Council, were shuffled off the stage after they offended the crowd during their speech.

The microphone was snatched from Mr. Schoermer’s grasp while the crowd heckled him, and a protestor even pelted a shoe at the Greens spokesperson after he denounced Hamas for ‘war crimes’. Meanwhile a policeman had to interfere in order to prevent Dr. Ali from provoking the mass any further.

After the commencement of the speeches, the protestors marched around Queens street chanting and demonstrating their solidarity for the people of Gaza.

Following publication of its report on the Rally for public parks in June, Westender approached Brisbane City Council seeking details of planned parks in the West End and South Brisbane on the basis of total hectares, and hectares per resident.

In a response received late last week Council advised Westender that it is, “delivering new open space for West End as part of the Neighbourhood Plan. Council has commenced the resumption process for 68 Vulture Street, West End and this will go before Council this Tuesday [July, 29] for consideration”.

Council also provided a memo sent by the Lord Mayor to Gabba Ward Councillor Helen Abrahams in June, saying that this response details Council’s commitment to delivering open space in West End. The requested details, quantifying publically accessible parkland in the West End and South Brisbane against the City Plan’s Land Provision Standard, were not provided.

When asked to comment, Cr Abrahams told Westender that:

“The data to support more parks for West End and South Brisbane just keeps growing. West End residents do not have a local park with the standard of 400 m from where they live. Also, they do not have the area of park that is specified in the City Plan 2014.”

Cr Abrahams added that, ‘”The Priority Infrastructure Plan specifies the amount of park for local informal use as 1.12ha per 1000 people. This KPI means 38.5 hectare of park yet there is only 15 ha. The proposed new park brings the total to 17 ha. The Lord Mayor’s response to letters from residents is to refuse to comment on the deficiency of parkland in West End. The Lord Mayor’s response fails to acknowledge he has removed proposed park in the City Plan 2014.”

“The Lord Mayor may think that if he does not comment, this issue will disappear but he is wrong. It is just not possible to squeeze 37,500 residents into West End and South Brisbane without more parks. They will demand parks and now is the time to keep to the commitment to provide the seven parks promised as part of the South Brisbane Riverside Neighbourhood Plan”

“The Lord Mayor’s legacy will be dormitory suburbs without space, greenery or quality of life” Cr Abrahams said.

West End Community Association (WECA) President, Dr Erin Evans told Westender that, “three

years after the Neighbourhood Plan was approved Council has failed to zone all seven of the new public open spaces identified.  Until these are zoned for, they remain unidentified and uncertain for the community. The current response from the Lord Mayor’s office does not address the issue or provide assurances of commitment.”

“The Lord Mayor can zone all seven parks with the stroke of a pen and the community calls on him to make good on this requirement to zone the parks and provide greenspace for the community. WECA has consulted widely with the community through discussions and surveys and provision of parks is one of the most important issues to all residents in the area”, Dr Evans added.

“The Lord Mayor needs to listen to the community rather than focusing on the wishes of developers,” Dr Evans said.

A WECA sponsored petition to Brisbane City Council demanding the provision of parks in West End has attracted over 500 signatures and will be presented to the Lord Mayor by Cr Abrahams on July, 29.

A subcommittee of the WECA meets regularly to respond to West End parks issues and it is currently finalising strategies for future action.

Dr Evans said that residents who wish to contribute their skills and ideas to this process are welcome and can contact WECA via its website at www.weca.org.au or via its Facebook Page.

I received a text message from a prospective client the other day— it’s how its done these days my daughter tells me — needing an electrician. It read, “we need an electrician, how much do you charge?” There was no enquiry about my experience, licensing or insurance just the bald question on price.

As a tradesman who actually cares about his clients, the quality of his work, fully licenced and insured, and insists on using quality Australian approved products; it was a disheartening text message.

For crying out loud, you want a stranger to come in and work on the most expensive investment you own based on price?!

Perhaps we should ask doctors and surgeons to offer a discount and see where that leads. Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t shop around for good prices, but not at the expense of quality and safety. Especially when dealing with electricity.

For too long we have been manipulated to accept mediocrity as the norm. We get angry when we purchase a ridiculously cheap product from a ‘Mega Store’, only to find when home, a part is missing, its already broken or it lasts for only two weeks. Did we actually want quality but didn’t want to pay for it? In our hearts I think we know it’s rubbish, but we buy it because it’s cheap. Unfortunately it wasn’t really all that cheap in the end, hey?

I used to own an electrical repair company. We were service agents for many products that you all know. These companies are good at producing shiny appliances that break during their warranty periods. These crafty manufacturers were using warranty agents to rectify the problems with their crappy appliances, doing R&D on the fly for them and not covering costs. We gave them all the flick and told them why.

Don’t get me started on built in obsolescence. Did you know that electrical tool motors have an hourly life rating? So if you buy a cheap drill or a pressure water cleaner it can have a life as little as a few hours. Some water cleaners can only run for 8-10 minutes before needing a rest or you’ll burn it out. Cool huh? You will be back in a month or two to buy another piece of junk for your garbage bin.
As a tradesman, I know that the only way to make a job cheaper is to cut the quality of the products or workmanship.

Look at LED lighting as an example. Cheap versions of these products are flooding the internet, market stalls and retailers and they are often under-performing, unapproved and even dangerous. I recently received a trade publication warning us that these products can block TV signals, disrupt mobile phones and Wi Fi signals, disrupt central locking systems on motor vehicles and present a fire risk through dodgy electronics.

Quality folks is the key. Ask questions before you jump in and buy a product or service on price alone. So be aware and take care. Don’t let quality die.

Yellow Brick Road West End will answer all those burning home loan, superannuation,insurance and other financial advice questions you’ve wanted to ask. Yellow Brick Road West End has announced its Ask an Advisor Day will be held on August 16.

“We decided to hold an Ask an Advisor Day here in West End because it’s important for everyone to be able to access quality professional financial advice so that they can understand how to make their money work harder for them and Yellow Brick Road is dedicated to helping our people do just that” says Yellow Brick Road West End’s Suzy Butterworth.

Research compiled from Australian consumers aged 30-49 in the major cities found that nearly 49% of individuals claimed they didn’t speak to a professional about their financial affairs because they found it to be too complex and didn’t have the confidence to have a conversation about their finances.

“The finance industry is very good at using confusion to their advantage. We want to cut through the confusion and start that conversion to help people understand their financial situation by being able to speak with a professional, which is why Ask an Advisor is so important for the people in our community,” says Suzy.

Residents who are interested in being a part of the Ask My Advisor Day can register at www.ybr.com.au/promotions/amad, or by contacting Suzy Butterworth directly at suzy.butterworth@ybr.com.au.

Queensland Law Society today commended the government for tackling alcohol-related violence but stated they may not achieve their desired outcome.

Appearing at a public hearing on the draft Safe Night Out legislation, QLS President Ian Brown said that harsher penalties proposed in the Bill may not achieve the desired result.

“We fully support the government’s efforts to address the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption,” Mr Brown said.

“However, we are concerned that harsher penalties and standard non-parole periods will not be effective in addressing the underlying issues.

“We are likely to see the changes impact disproportionately on vulnerable offenders, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those with a mental illness or intellectual impairment.

“There is no need to create new offences, including ‘unlawful striking causing death’, when offences for violent and anti-social behaviour already exist.

“Duplicating existing offences has the potential to cause confusion and in some instances may result in significant injustices without acting as an effective deterrent to potential offending.

“A further troubling aspect is that an accused will not be able to rely on long established defences such as accident and provocation.

“We urge the government to consider introducing reduced trading hours as part of a range of measures, including lockouts, as an option to address community concerns.

“Newcastle’s reduction in trading hours has been effective in reducing alcohol-related violence, with a 33% drop in alcohol-related, non-domestic assaults and a 26% reduction in alcohol-related hospital emergency department admissions.

“We also encourage the government to look at implementing sensible pre-emptive measures such as ensuring greater police resourcing.

“One of the most significant deterrents of offending behaviour is greater certainty of being apprehended and punished.

“Visible policing is a vital tool in achieving this.”

Australian businesses are missing out on billions of dollars by not adjusting their business models to take account of older consumers with disposable income, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

In a speech to be delivered in Melbourne to the CPA Masters Series today, Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, will report that the over 50’s have about $218 million in discretionary spending power.

“A staggering 40 per cent of Australia’s net wealth is held by mature Australians but all too often marketers, advertisers and businesses direct their attention only to the younger market. Not only do older consumers  miss out on the services and products they are interested in,  but businesses lose potential markets ,” said Commissioner Ryan.

“Australians are living longer and are healthy for many more years than previous generations. Retirement is longer and far more diverse than the out-dated stereotypes depict.

Many retirees are living active, healthy lives and they want to take part in our economy in all sorts of ways.

They are keen travellers. They look for slimmed down , accessible housing that suits their needs as they age.  They want products and services that meet their requirements and interests, but too often can’t find them. This is a failure of business strategy.

Deloitte Access Economics predicts that by 2030, more than 5 million Australians will be aged 55-70 and as we know, many are living well beyond that.

” I’d like to challenge Australian businesses to work on strategies that deliver to  both the bottom line and to older customers. If you look at the facts of demographic change, you will see including the mature dollar in your planning makes business sense,” said Ms Ryan.

To read Commissioner Ryan’s speech go to:

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/age-discrimination-workplace