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Gay men and lesbians in Victoria are denied reproductive rights currently enjoyed by heterosexual couples, including access to:
• Adoption
• Artificial insemination
• Other in vitro fertilization techniques.
While many things have improved for gay and lesbian people over the past 50 years in Australia, there is still constant uncertainty about whether they will receive acceptance from families, friends, colleagues and service providers. The constant pressure of dealing with this uncertainty has an impact on health.
According to the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, 84 per cent of gay men, lesbians and bisexual Victorians have been discriminated against because of their sexuality. A 2006 study of 5,500 gay men, lesbians, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people in Australia found that nearly 70 per cent of GLBTI people modify their daily activities because of fear of prejudice and discrimination. It is no wonder that this has an impact on the health and wellbeing of gay and lesbian people.
While gay and lesbian people are as diverse as the rest of the population, their shared experience of discrimination creates common health issues. Australian society generally regards heterosexuality as the most acceptable sexual orientation, which means that gay men, lesbians and bisexual people may be marginalized and discriminated against.
Gay men and lesbians have higher rates of mental health disorders than the rest of the population. They also have higher rates of obesity, smoking and unsafe alcohol and drug use, and are more likely to self-harm. These conditions develop in response to the kind of scenarios listed below:
• ‘Coming out’, only to be rejected by family members and friends
• Being bullied or taunted by schoolmates on a daily basis
• Homophobic jokes or harassment in the workplace
• Being threatened or bashed when out on the street
• Hiding part of yourself in social situations for fear of being rejected or marginalized
• Feeling guilt and shame about one’s own sexuality in the face of negative messages being delivered by the society around you.
Source: Really Long Link
An Aussie scientist claims that eating kangaroos could massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Dr George Wilson, of the Australian Wildlife Services, has recently urged Australians to arm the country’s most iconic marsupials, roo roast could soon become a menu staple, and why not? Australia already makes, sells and eats kangaroo sausages, steaks and rissoles. If fact Australia is the only country to eat the animal that is part of the country’s Coat of Arms.
Wilson and Greenpeace claim that Aussies could dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by eating less beef and more of the local wildlife. Removing seven million cattle and 36 million sheep by 2020 and replacing them with 175 million kangaroos could lower national greenhouse gases by three per cent a year, says Dr George Wilson from the University of New South Wales.
Why? It's all because kangaroos don't ‘break wind’. Or, to put it rather more scientifically, whereas cows and sheep release vast quantities of methane through belching and flatulence, kangaroos release virtually none.
The report says cutting beef consumption by 20 per cent (and thus the amount of cattle reared) and substituting it with kangaroo steaks, mince, burgers, ribs and so on would reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 15 megatons by 2020.
It's not as mad as it sounds. On top of their impressive personal hygiene, kangaroos make model livestock. They need less food than sheep or cattle, are better adapted to drought and are far less damaging to the fragile topsoil than their sharply-hooved bovine counterparts.
And they don't taste bad either... With a distinctive gamey flavour, very tender, best brushed with oil and cooked rare to medium rare (to stop it becoming dry and chewy), it looks just like prime roast beef.
Modern Australians are uncharacteristically sentimental about an animal that has become a national icon and which pops up on the country's coat of arms (opposite an emu) and on the country’s coins. They claim it just feels wrong - disrespectful, almost - to be tucking into their national emblem.
The kangaroo industry, meanwhile, is doing its best to toughen them up and overcome their squeamishness and two years ago, amid much fanfare, it launched a five-year "eat roo" campaign. There were specialist recipe books (invaluable if you fancied a seared kangaroo salad, smoked fillet of kangaroo with brioche and pear chutney, or maybe a nice bowl of kangaroo tail soup). There were also new products (kangaroo microwave meals, kangaroo kebabs, kangaroo burgers) and a huge drive in supermarkets. Many now have whole sections dedicated to kangaroo meat - steaks, mince, readymade microwave meals, barbecue packs, kanga-bangers, you name it - nestled between the beef and chicken.
There was even a competition to come up with a new name that wouldn't put diners off their dinner - a sort of equivalent to pork for pig and venison for new deer. Sadly, this not a great success - after 2,700 entries from 41 countries, "australus" was chosen, but was dismissed by restaurateurs as "silly" and "pathetic" and was too similar to a brand of cosmetics (called Australis) to catch on.
It's enough to put a spring in your step - if you can just forget for a moment that you're eating poor Skippy.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Australia is actively marketing the region as a desirable immigration destination for skilled workers from the United States.
There is record unemployment in America's industrial states due to manufacturing plants shutting down or laying off workers. In response, Peter Beattie, former Queensland premier and now Queensland's trade commissioner who is who based in Los Angelas, issued press releases stating that "Queensland wants you!" to various media outlets in the affected states.
Queensland and the rest of Australia has a particular need for skilled workers especially in the manufacturing, mining, and engineering sectors. Labor shortages are an acute problem in Australia, prompting immigration authorities to increase its skilled immigration quotas for the current financial year.
Australia's lack of a language barrier and Queensland's focus on family, education, and work rights and the sunny climate makesfor an attractive destination for US workers from the northwest US states.
However, Australia is not only looking to America to fill its skills shortages. The country has a highly successful skilled immigration program that brings skilled workers to Australia from all over the world.
Source: Workpermit.com
An analysis of new census figures has shown that Australia is suffering from an unprecedented "man drought".
The statistics have revealed that there are almost 100,000 more females than males in Australia. The problem is worse in the coastal cities, where women have moved seeking better jobs and lifestyles, while many men have gone overseas
[ Click here to read more ]
Recent government amendments to Australian immigration programs have resulted in more foreign students being able to join the Australian educational system than ever before. Creating some of the best opportunities in the world for international students.
2007 saw around 455,000 international student enroll into Australian Universities. To put this into perspective that is a 30% increase over the previous five years
[ Click here to read more ]
More and more people are applying to work Down Under via the 457 Visa. This has however resulted in the need for a more efficient and quicker visa processing service.
The Australian government has shifted their immigration focus away from the need for permanent immigration to favouring the temporary worker instead. This is in order not to hinder the job opportunities of locals
[ Click here to read more ]
Informacion sobre nuestro primer seminario imigratorio en Bogota, Colombia.
El siguiente enlace es un video que explica la migración procedente de seminario que se celebra en Colombia
[ Click here to read more ]
The following link is too an interview that was recorded live on 4EB FM Community radio station in Brisbane, Australia.
The interview discusses the up-coming Twogether Society events. Including the society's participation in the up-coming Bridge to Brisbane Fun Run and the Society's first FREE information seminar & social evening
[ Click here to read more ]
The Australian Federal Government have increased the number of work and holiday visas on offer to migrants. Senator Chris Evans, revealed that this increase would take the number of work and holiday visas from 500 to 1,500.
Mr. Evans sees this increase as an important change for those migrants coming from Chile especially, making it easier to obtain an Australian visa so that they can “…experience the different cultures and have a closer contact with the local community
[ Click here to read more ]
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Comment by No Borders Migration Advocates 1
on International Students getting the Best deal in Australia
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