Learn or earn is fine, as long a care is taken

THERE is some merit in the Federal Government��s intention to tighten qualifications for young people as part of its ��learn or earn�� jobs compact. The intention to discourage those under 21 from looking for work while receiving welfare payments means these people will now have to participate in appropriate training or education programs if they wish to continue to receive the Youth Allowance.

Make It Easy For Employment Advocates

The easier you make it for employment advocates to find you a suitable job, the more likely they will!

Rudd's Outlay Lifts Hope For Our Homeless

A $1.2 BILLION funding pledge to Australia's homeless has thrilled advocates for some of the Illawarra's most desperate people.

Pressure On Rudd Over Homeless

ADVOCATES for the homeless will urge Canberra today to take swift action before the global economic slowdown adds thousands more to the ranks of those sleeping rough.

Stress Hits Mental Health Workers

PUBLIC hospital and community psychiatric services are relying on untrained and vulnerable volunteers - themselves recovered patients - to do the work of qualified mental health workers, the first study to explore the employment of former patients in the NSW system has found.

A Whiff Of Compassion

After years in the cold, welfare advocates find themselves embraced by Government bureaucrats, but beyond the symbolism has anything actually changed? Adele Horin reports.

Calls For State Youth Watchdog

YOUTH advocates have called on governments to fund a NSW watchdog dedicated to helping young people with employment problems, in line with other states.

It's Time To Share The Load, But The Formula Doesn't Add Up

It will be harder for men and women to strike a fairer balance in their home and work lives under the Federal Government's proposed industrial relations system, academics and advocates said yesterday.

Workplace Agreement Plan Riles Unions

Workers would not be paid extra for "voluntary" overtime, under a workplace agreement template drawn up by a Federal Government agency.

Scheme For Older Workers Scrapped

The State Government's decision to scrap its Mature Workers' Program has stunned welfare advocates, who called for the decision to be reversed. The $3.1 million-a-year scheme, established about 15 years ago, has helped 12,000 unemployed older workers a year and was considered a model for the rest of

City Candidates Create Alliance

COMMUNITY advocates from across Wollongong united in Stuart Park yesterday to launch the campaign of the largest team of independents to contest the city's council elections.

Call For Bridge Theatre Help

SUPPORTERS should speak out to ensure the Bridge Theatre remains a community space, the venue's advocates said yesterday.

Dad's The World

Adrienne Burgess is all for fathering. But it wasn't until she stood back and let her husband ``in" as a father that she truly realised the value of what she advocates.

Refugees `now Part Of Society'

Many asylum seekers in Victoria have integrated into Australian society despite the prolonged psychological suffering caused by the visa system, research shows. A study due to be published on Tuesday by RMIT University's Centre for Applied Social Research has found that delays in processing applications to remain in Australia are causing ``immeasurable mental suffering and material disadvantage". But it says that after significant support from informal networks and advocates, most asylum seekers had s

Economic Growth Masks The Plight Of Jobless

ECONOMIC growth alone will not solve unemployment but no political party is prepared to set full employment as an achievable goal.

Greens To Push Ad Cost Cuts

CUTS to government advertising and taxes on high-value property-owners and pollution-creating industry are foreshadowed under a Greens employment policy to be released today.

Coast Must Work Harder For Jobs

The Central Coast should strive towards creating employment to stave off social and economic problems, suggests SANDY HOLLWAY.

Help The Disabled

FIRST Contact Human Resources has a position vacant on the Central Coast for an employment consultant.

Flagstaff's In The Forefront

The Flagstaff Group has become one of the first disability service organisations in Australia to gain accreditation under the Federal Government's new Disability Employment Services Quality Assurance system.

Turnbull The Unlikely Champion Of Paid Maternity Leave

Advocates of paid maternity leave across the political spectrum have seized on Malcolm Turnbull's call for more measures to increase fertility to push their case.