Articles - TheVocalMinority

Environment

Australia’s position on climate change untenable

The Biden presidency will push Australia into taking more action on climate change – regardless of what our prime minister says. Even if Morrison decides to take a final stand on coal and gas, it is inevitable corporate Australia will force his hand.

thevocalminority
November 16, 2020

Humanitarian

New Zealanders report psychological distress

Mental wellbeing of New Zealanders plummeted during the early stages of the pandemic. Lockdown successfully eliminated COVID from the community but it came at a significant psychological cost. Nearly one in three Kiwis reported experiencing moderate to severe psychological distress.

thevocalminority
November 11, 2020

Environment

In short: findings of the bushfire report

The bushfire royal commission has issued a stark warning. Its final 579-page report tells us how bushfires will affect Australia in the coming years. And, foreseeing a future marked by extreme weather, the commissioners are not mincing their words. Here are the report’s key points.

thevocalminority
November 7, 2020

Humanitarian

For our parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles

Australia has the knowledge, skills and capability to deliver a world class aged-care system. Instead, a royal commission uncovered systemic abuse, neglect and substandard care. Fixing residential aged care is a priority. But how can we do this?

thevocalminority
October 30, 2020

Environment

This week in the environment

It’s been a big news week for the climate. Among images of celebrating Melburnians, Europe heading back into lockdown and the non-stop footage of the US election, we discovered both heartening and downright infuriating reports. Here, we look at the biggest stories.

thevocalminority
October 30, 2020

Humanitarian

Demand for food relief up by 50%

A new report has found that 65 per cent of young Australians are experiencing food insecurity and go without food at least once a week. Each year, Foodbank releases a report into food insecurity in Australia, and as you can probably imagine 2020 paints a dire picture.

thevocalminority
October 23, 2020

Environment

Rainforest marked for development

While Far North Queensland is one of the most popular ecotourism destinations in the world, the threat to the Daintree lower rainforest is ongoing. The area is under threat of housing development proposals and a gas-fired power plant. The Daintree is UNESCO heritage listed so why this is even possible?

thevocalminority
October 23, 2020

Environment

No time to lose

The Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of its corals since 1995 due to warmer seas driven by climate change, a study has found. Small, medium and large coral populations have all declined, largely because of bleaching events in 2016 and 2017.

thevocalminority
October 21, 2020

Environment

Still no urgency to save climate

In the year of Australia’s worst bushfire crisis, the just-announced budget provides little in the way of new funding for environmental protection while throwing a lifeline to coal. Our world is facing irreversible destruction and still there’s no urgency in Australian climate policy.

thevocalminority
October 16, 2020

Humanitarian

Not-for-profits target of increased cyberattacks

In light of the ransomware attack on cloud software provider Blackbaud – which has many not-for-profits as its clients – legitimate questions are asked about data protection and privacy, and how well protected the social good community is.

thevocalminority
October 16, 2020

Humanitarian

Equality still a long way off

COVID-19 has left more women than men disadvantaged. A picture is emerging that shows unemployment, lowered incomes and underemployment, less secure work, greater household and family demands, and the crisis that is domestic violence.

thevocalminority
October 2, 2020

Environment

Behind the beauty of the reef

The next federal budget will allocate $33.5 million to nature-tourism projects and reef conservation work. It’s welcome news for Great Barrier Reef which suffered its largest bleaching event in February. Now, the first step to conserving the Great Barrier Reef is understanding what lives there.

thevocalminority
October 2, 2020