Community Announcements 30 November 2011

Posted 30 November 2011 by Ken Norling (Vic Division)

If you have anything you'd like included in this listing, please contact the NTEU Vic Division at knorling@vic.nteu.org.au. If you would like to receive these announcements as a weekly email, go to http://eepurl.com/W1K-.

DISCLAIMER: Forwarding this information to you does not constitute any form of endorsement by the NTEU Victorian Division of the matters therein.

Wednesday 30 November
BOOK LAUNCH! HUMPHREY MCQUEEN’S WE BUILT THIS COUNTRY: BUILDERS' LABOURERS AND THEIR UNIONS
We Built This Country charts the history of Australian builders' labourers and their unions, from their early beginnings as `Weird Mobs' of Irish and Italians, through to the radical days of the Builders' Labourers Federation green bans and worker control in the sixties, to the struggles of the present day. We Built This Country pictures builders' labourers as 'improvising nomads' who have shaped Australia socially and culturally as well as with concrete. Through this historical survey McQueen has opened a window into the making of the Australian working class. 6.30 pm in the NIBS Meeting-room, Basement floor, Trades Hall, 54 Victoria St Carlton. All welcome. Drinks and snacks will be available by donation. Entry will be by $2/5 donation to the Shop.

Wednesday 30 November
JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL
Remembering the devastating earthquake of March this year, the Japanese Film Festival takes a moment to pause in reflection as special guests, cinematographer Hirotaka Matsune, director Tsuyoshi Inoue and producer Mitsuhiro Kyota, shed light on helping stricken communities find hope through film. This is an opportunity to dig deep and donate to Save the Children, helping the children of Japan. FILMS: Yamakoshi: the Recovery of a Tiny Japanese Village (6:30pm, Hoyts Melbourne Central), The Town's Children (9:15pm, Hoyts Melbourne Central) More information: http://15th.japanesefilmfestival.net/specialevents_melbourne.html

Thursday 1 December
FILM SCREENING: MICHAEL MOORE'S SICKO
6:30pm. Resistance Centre, Level 5, 407 Swanston St, City (opposite RMIT). The words 'healthcare' and 'comedy' aren't usually found in the same sentence, but in film-maker Michael Moore's SiCKO they go together to make a sharp portrait of the crazy and often cruel US health system. Told from the vantage point of ordinary people faced with the challenge trying to get adequate treatment in a profit-based system, SiCKO uses humour to tell their compelling and often heartrending stories, leading the audience to conclude that an alternative system is the only possible answer. Entry by donation. Cheap meal from 6pm. For more info ph 9639 8622. Presented by Green Left Weekly & Socialist Alliance.

Friday 2 December
OVERLAND 205 LAUNCH/PARTY
To launch the last edition of a thrilling publishing year – and to thank our bloggers, contributors and, especially, our readers for the past 360ish days - Overland is having a merry launch/party. Come to Chez Regine, 270 Russell Street, Melbourne, at 6pm and let us buy you a drink. Issue 205 is to be launched by the spectacular Jane Gleeson-White, author and editor extraordinaire (and Overland’s fiction editor). First drink is on us, then you buy your own.

Friday 2 December
VOLUNTEERS IN AID: A CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION FOR INTERNATIONAL AID VOLUNTEERS
Have a love of travel and want to make a difference? Want to use your skills and interests in a volunteering capacity overseas? Interested in developing a global career? Then international volunteering may be for you. Come along and find out how. The Volunteers in Aid conference is for prospective volunteers of all ages and vocational backgrounds, from school and tertiary students to professionals and retirees. It is a unique opportunity to meet Australia’s leading volunteer sending agencies and to learn about volunteering in the international aid and development sector. Registrations are now open (concession rates apply). For more information and registration details, please visit: http://www.mandalafoundation.org.au/index.php?page=volunteers-in-aid-conference, email expo@mandalafoundation.org.au or phone 9005 0808.

Friday 2 – Sunday 4 December
FAIR@SQUARE FAIR-TRADE+ETHICAL FESTIVAL 2011
Federation Square. Includes Fair Fashion, The Ethical Fashion Show, live at the BMW Edge; Eco Innovators’ interactive and educational Fair Living space - a walk-through static display of an eco-friendly house; Exhibition Stands. http://moralfairground.com.au/fairsquare.html

Monday 5 December
BEYOND ZERO EMISSIONS DECEMBER DISCUSSION
Dr Richard Di Natale is Victoria's first Greens Senator, elected in the 2010 federal election. The son of Italian migrants, Richard grew up in Melbourne. Prior to entering parliament Richard was a general practitioner and public health specialist. He worked in Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and in the drug and alcohol sector. His key health priorities include preventative health, public dental care and responding to the health impacts of climate change. He also actively supports the Landholders' Right to Refuse Coal Seam Gas Bill 2011. Entry: Gold coin donation. 6:30pm - 8:00pm, Fritz Loewe Theatre (entry via level 2) McCoy Building University of Melbourne Cnr Elgin & Swanston Streets, Carlton. Info: www.beyondzeroemissions.org

Monday 5 – Tuesday 6 December
SAFE AT HOME, SAFE AT WORK CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP
The Domestic Violence Workplace Rights & Entitlements Project and Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse invite you to their inaugural Conference and Workshop. The Conference will bring together advocates from the fields of domestic violence and workplace relations, employers, unions, academics and policymakers to discuss domestic/family violence prevention in the workplace context, through enterprise bargaining and labour law reform. Robyn Dale, an experienced trainer and Project Officer at the Domestic Violence Workplace Rights & Entitlements Project will facilitate the workshop component of the conference. The workshop is open to all conference participants. Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, 210 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. For all enquiries regarding the Conference and Workshop, please contact the organisers: Ludo McFerran: (02) 9385 1806 / 0412 231 058, ludo.mcferran@unsw.edu.au, Robyn Dale: (030 9663 4555 / 0414 706 148, robyn@urcot.org.au

Tuesday 6 December
FILM SCREENING: THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD
The second screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks. Who knew fixing the world could be so much fun? The Big Picture screens films for social justice and the environment on the first Tuesday of the month. Entry by donation. 6pm. Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane, City. For more info ph 9650 1599. Presented by Environment Victoria.

Tuesday 6 December
GET THE LOW DOWN ON THE BASIN PLAN AND HOW IT COULD SAVE THE MURRAY
The draft Basin Plan comes out on November 28 and the best way to find out what it could mean for the Australia's food bowl, the Coorong, our river red gums and having a healthy Murray 20 years down the track is to come along to our Basin Plan Low Down evening. You'll hear from Healthy Rivers Campaigner Juliet Le Feuvre, on what's in the draft plan and what it means. You'll also hear from fellow campaigner Domenica Settle on how you can have a say on it. At this stage it's looking pretty bleak, but if enough people speak up we could turn it around, into a plan which looks after the lifeblood of our country, the Mighty Murray, for future generations. 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Ground floor meeting room, 60L Green Building, 60 Leicester St Carlton. There'll be drinks, nibbles and lots of time for questions. You don't have to RSVP, but if you do you've got a better chance of us not running out of food and drink! Email domenica.settle@environmentvictoria.org.au or call 9341 8165. More info: http://www.environmentvictoria.org.au/content/basin-plan-low-down-evening

Wednesday 7 December
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2011: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA?
Speakers: Rob Stary & Malcolm McClure. 6:30pm. Preston City Hall, 284 Gower St, Preston. Organised by City of Darebin. For more info ph 8470 8888 or visit http://www.darebin.vic.gov.au/Calendar/calendar.asp.

Wednesday 7 December
AAWL WORKSHOP: LIVING WAGES, NOT REPRESSION
To mark International Human Rights Day, an open workshop with international and local activists. Discussion on how to fight the repression labour movement activists in many countries face where workers can be jailed or killed for demanding improvements in wages and conditions. Genuine labour movement representatives from the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Pakistan and West Papua have been invited to participate via Skype link. All welcome. 6pm. Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton. Presented by Australia Asia Worker Links, aawl@aawl.org.au, aawl.org.au

Wednesday 7 December
LOOKING FOR THE LIGHT ON THE HILL - MODERN LABOR’S CHALLENGES
Australian Fabians event. With an introduction from Kath Bowtell, Troy Bramston will speak about his new book and views on what Labor needs to do to recover its electorate strength before the next election. Looking for the Light on the Hill argues that Labor is bedevilled by twin problems: the loss of its intrinsic culture of strong, bold, and innovative leadership; and an identity crisis that has emerged because Labor has failed to refresh its values, philosophy, and purpose for the modern era. Written by a party insider and former Rudd government adviser, the book draws on Labor’s history with fresh perspectives, and includes the secret components of the party’s recent internal review. 6:00 - 7.30pm, Melbourne Conference Centre, Corner Swanston and Lt Lonsdale Streets. Cost: Members, Students, Concession: $5, Non-members: $10. RSVP: vicevents@fabian.org.au (particularly if interested in a copy of the book so we can cater for the numbers).

Thursday 8 December
CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL
PBI Australia will celebrate three decades of nonviolent intervention into war and repression - wine, food and inspirational stories to celebrate such an important organisation, the volunteers and the people we accompany. Speakers: Tom Weber (author of Gandhi's peace army: the Shanti Sena and unarmed peacekeeping); Denise Cauchi (Director, Humanitarian Crisis Hub); Ellen Roberts (PBI Australia Coordinator). 5:30pm - 11:00pm, Top floor, Kindness House, 288 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. Please RSVP: to info@pbi-australia.org by Monday 5 December. Have a look at some of PBI's amazing history here: http://www.peacebrigades.org/about-pbi/pbi-history/

Thursday 8 December
NEW INTERNATIONAL BOOKSHOP CHRISTMAS PARTY!
6pm til late in the Bookshop. More details to follow in the weeks ahead, but rest assured, there will be drinks, a visit from Santa (or Marx, it's unclear), and rumour has it that a special guest in the form of WALLACE HIGGINS-BEAUMONT as appeared in The New International Comedy Debate will be making a follow-up performance. Spread the word.

Sunday 18 December
RHYTHM, ROCK, REGGAE, RAP, RECYCLE BENEFIT CONCERT
For books for libraries and schools in newly independent South Sudan. With The Mystic Trio , Quashani Bahd, Culture Crew, Majak & Deng, Black Orchid String Band, West Papuan Dance Group, Ben Jackson Band, Flybz. Speakers from South Sudan and West Papua. 2:30pm. Fitzroy Town Hall, 201 Napier St Fitzroy. Entry fee: Bring a book (new or 2nd hand) to donate to school/university libraries in South Sudan (children's and recent text books welcome) and/or donation to help with rebuilding after years of war. Organised by SSPARC (South Sudanese People in Australia Relief and Care, Auspiced by Multicultural Arts Victoria, with thanks to the City of Yarra. For more information contact Esther 0439 555 291 or Tania 0438 702 528.