I think it’s important for context to realise this is specifically about Australia, and that there are things that won’t make sense to a lot of people from outside Australia.

Newstart – the dole, the looking for work payment. The government wants to not give it to young jobseekers for SIX WEEKS after they file for unemployment. Imagine how many people wind up homeless before that six weeks ticks down.

ATSI – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Our native peoples. Generational trama, abuse, and government policies of child removal that were calculated for maximum cultural genocide have understandably taken their toll. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have specific needs that aren’t met by cookie cutter, white-oriented services for welfare, health care and employment. Cutting the programs designed to work for ATSI people’s specific needs alienates them from necessary services and has a direct impact on their health, housing security, job security and happiness. This isn’t about special treatment, it’s about identifying and correcting inequality and providing services in a culturally sensitive manner. ATSI services are often employers of ATSI people, for obvious reasons, and cutting these services means these employees are out of a job, too.

Sell your land, etc. – This is about ATSI people, too. Native title means native people have a right to live and hunt and preserve their cultural heritage on designated lands. But government services to these lands are limited, and government will often refuse to provide services to remote places. This causes a bleed of people to the cities. Families need to work, need to eat, need medical services. Problem is, the government can muscle in and reclaim the land if too few people live on their country. And sometimes, they agree to send some services, but only if the people allow mining companies in. Fun fact, there’s a community right now trying to crowdfund cleaning their water. It’s full of uranium. There’s another that’s got water full of something left over from American nuclear testing. And that’s just a fraction of the problem. Sacred sites are often destroyed without so much as a sorry. These are places that have been used for ceremonial purposes for tens of thousands of years. There’s no replacing that.

All of these things hurt vulnerable people. Most of these things disproportionally hurt ATSI people, disabled people, and people without family to bail them out if things get really bad.

australian gothic

ileolai:

fluffmugger:

eatingcroutons:

devilrie:

– we all refer to the prime minister by their first name. we know them well, and they know us. all of us.

– there’s a man on the street corner who never leaves. “just waiting for a mate,” he says. you realise he is on every corner, of every street.

– you are swooped by a magpie in the same place, at the same time, every single day. “it’s swooping season!” says your neighbour. it has always been swooping season.

– sometimes you hear a woman whispering late at night – or early in the morning. “rage” she hisses. “rage”.

– the prime minister never seems to last long and often disappears through no discernible democratic process. one of them eats a raw onion in an attempt to assimilate. he is gone by morning, replaced by another.

– Someone offers you a meat pie. It burns your tongue. You have never asked what kind of meat is in a meat pie.

– The Prime Minister walks into the ocean and is never seen again. They say he was a traitor, defecting to the enemy, whisked away by submarines. You build a swimming pool in his honour.

– The grass is dead, or the grass is Long. You do not go into the grass when it is Long.

– An old man judges you silently as you buy an avocado. You already knew you would never own a home.

– You offer your friend a drink. They refuse. They say they are Designated. You apologise immediately. You meant no offence, and you would never disrespect the Designated. You have newfound admiration for your friend.

– The ground is lava. Your feet burn and blister as you sprint between the safety of the shadows. Everyone knows you can’t wear shoes.

– There are spiders in your shoes. There are spiders in the shed. There are spiders under the toilet seat. The biggest ones, you allow to stay. They lurk in the highest corners of the ceiling, but you know how fast they can run.

– Someone offers you a jam doughnut. It burns your tongue.

– You check your calendar and your house number three times before you turn on the sprinklers. Your neighbour’s face appears at their window. You wonder if you should check again.

– It is time for the Maccas Run. Nobody knows what time it actually is, but you all sense it is right. The Designated stands up.

– Whoever she is, whenever, wherever, whatever she is, she will always be right.

– It’s bin night. But which bin? The streets lie paralysed, homeowners lurking behind their gates, waiting for someone to make the first move.

– The sun is broiling the land dry. Half the country is on fire. You look up at the sky and worry about your flood insurance.

– There’s a new prime minister, but it’s the same prime minister. Now he’s gone. There’s a new prime minister. You change your smoke alarm battery.

– You don’t believe the stories about the creatures in the trees, but you take precautions. One day, you see an unwary traveller taking shelter from the blazing sun underneath a jacaranda. When you look back, he’s gone.

– The train is coming in five minutes. The train is coming in four minutes. The train is coming in five minutes. The train is coming in four minutes. The train is coming in five minutes. The train passes you without stopping. The train is coming in five minutes.

– No one knows where They came from, what They want, or why They never age or feel pain. Only the children know. ‘’Fruit salad,’’ they whisper. ‘’Fruit salad.’’

– A giraffe with blank eyes and a strange, fixed smile gives you health advice. You don’t question it.

– ‘’Where the bloody hell are you?’’ The woman asks. ‘’I don’t know,’’ you weep. ‘’I don’t know.’’ She asks again: ‘’Where the bloody hell are you?’’ She never stops asking.

lgbtlaughs:

Muslim designer’s ‘pride hijab’ to spread message of love at gay Mardi Gras

The headscarf, created as part of a campaign to push for same-sex marriage in Australia, sold out days after it was launched in October, Australian-Sri Lankan Azahn Munas told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

The designer said he was relaunching it for the Australian city’s famous festival on March 3 to“celebrate life and love”, and highlight the struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

“We have had such a great response including from countries in the Middle East and East Asia. People were so happy that we acknowledged their identity but not in a negative way,” said Munas, who founded the Melbourne-based label MOGA in 2016.

“They live in fear and persecution, they can’t live a free life because of where they live – we want to do this as a way to support them.”

Australia legalized same-sex unions in December after a national postal survey overwhelmingly endorsed marriage equality.