A proposed bill to expand a Cashless Debit Card trial to Queensland promotes a form of second-class citizenship and betrays the original purpose of the development of social security in this country, says Griffith Law School academic Dr Shelley Bielefeld.
In her submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs, Dr Bielefeld (pictured, right) says the Bill to expand the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) to Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, increasing nationwide trial recipients to 15,000, has serious flaws.
She said the majority of participants in other trial areas indicated that violence in their communities had either increased or stayed the same since the CDC started and many experienced unnecessary financial hardship as a result of the card.
Research indicates that “48% reported not being better able to care for their children since being on the CDC”, with 50% reporting “that they have not been able to save more money since being forced
Category: Griffith University Feed
A snapshot of challenges and changes in the legal system in Queensland: June and July 2018
By Ms Zoe Rathus AM,
Director of Legal Clinic
One of the pleasures of being an academic is the opportunity to contribute to and participate in community and academic events dealing with critical current issues. Over the last few weeks I facilitated a community discussion about domestic violence and the legal system and attended a seminar about the tragedy of Indigenous women’s incarceration in Queensland and the launch of a service to educate relevant people about new laws protecting sexual assault counselling notes from being revealed in Queensland courts by way of subpoena.
Red Rose Foundation Seminar: Challenge the Legal System
The Red Rose Foundation is a community organisation dedicated to reducing the number of deaths caused by domestic and family violence. Its mantra is “change the ending” and the seminar held in June aimed to collect information and ideas from a wide range of people working in the domestic violence sector. The keynote
Griffith welcomes industry experts as Social Entrepreneurs in Residence
Griffith Business School and the Yunus Social Business Centre have welcomed four new Social Entrepreneurs in Residence as part of its ‘Executive-in-residence’ program to develop its ongoing offerings for 2019.
Ms Anna Guenther, Mr Tom Allen, Mr Tony Sharp and Ms Emma-Kate Rose make up the pilot cohort of social entrepreneurs who started with the University in June, leading a six-month program focused on sector development.
Ms Anna Guenther
“Supporting innovation is a key part of Yunus Centre strategy, so we’re delighted to have launched the ‘Social Entrepreneurs in Residence’ program with four exceptional people,” Yunus Centre Director Mr Alex Hannant said.
“During their time with Griffith, each of the Entrepreneurs will be working on a project that will contribute to the social business ecosystem, and we’re really excited to see what we can create together.
“The Social Entrepreneurs in Residence will also be available to support students and share their insights and expertise with
Griffith academic joins Cambridge University Energy Policy Research Group
Griffith University’s Professor Paul Simshauser will lend his expertise in economics to the University of Cambridge as the newest member of its esteemed Energy Policy Research Group.
Professor Simshauser joins more than 60 academics from highly regarded institutions around the world as part of the group’s cabal of Associate Researchers, and is one of only two from an Australian university to claim membership.
“I was humbled to be welcomed into the University of Cambridge’s Energy Policy Research Group as an Associate Researcher,” Professor Simshauser said of the appointment.
“The group has access to some of the world’s finest minds in economics, technology policy and political science, and I am excited to contribute to its vital work in improving decision- and policy-making for the electricity and energy industries.”
Under the direction of Cambridge’s Professor David Newbery, the Energy Policy Research Group is based at the university’s Judge Business School, and is responsible for delivering “rigorous
Improved dressings urgently needed for intravenous catheter failures
New ways of improving the effectiveness of dressings and securements for the prevention of peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) failure in adults is urgently required.
This is according to Professor Claire Rickard from the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research, a part of Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland, following new research published in The Lancet medical journal.
PIVCs are the most common invasive medical devices used in hospitals. Around 2 billion devices are sold globally each year, and most patients who are admitted to hospital require intravenous therapy.
PIVC failure is unacceptably common: up to 69 per cent of devices require removal due to dislodgement, pain, occlusion, leakage or infection.
“PIVC failure can lead to pain and anxiety, interrupted therapy, and morbidity and mortality associated with infection, and additional procedures are often needed to replace catheters, all of which substantially increases healthcare costs and workload,” says Professor Rickard.
The National Health and Medical Research Council funded the research which took place in Brisbane at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and
Fish communities impacted after heatwave on the Great Barrier Reef
Research published in Nature has found that fish respond to warming seas more strongly than they do to bleaching of corals.
Griffith University researchers played a key role in the study – which was led by the University of Tasmania and included researchers from James Cook University – that analysed data on fish, invertebrates and corals that were collected across the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea both before and after the 2016 ocean heat wave.
It identified important changes in reef-animal communities that may affect the resilience of coral reefs, potentially reducing the capacity of corals to rebuild after mass bleaching.
Credit: Rick Stuart-Smith
Recent mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef has devastated large areas of coral, and corals are a key habitat for many types of fish.
“We know that coral reef ecosystems are changing dramatically in response to global warming, but the focus has usually been on the fate of corals, with
‘My Green Butler’ aims to change tourist behaviour to help the environment
My Green Butler, a smart service for tourist accommodation that aims to help guests change their behaviour in order to promote conservation and was conceived by Griffith PhD candidate Mr Christopher Warren, has now launched online.
Mr Warren’s research findings showed that, contrary to popular belief, how much power, water and other resources guests consumed was not linked to their stay satisfaction.
In fact, when accommodation operators engaged directly with their guests about resource conservation, they experienced resource and cost savings as well as positive guest feedback.
This is because, he found, that the usefulness of resource-conserving technology such as solar panels and eco-friendly water systems is limited by guests’ wildly varied use of electricity and other utilities.
However, when guests were made aware of statistics such as average power consumption across a property – and when they were given useful advice and tools – they were more likely to bear in mind their
Griffith leads UNESCO project workshop in Beirut
Advancing work-based learning experiences for young people in the Arab region is the focus of an United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) project, led by Griffith University Professor of Education Stephen Billett.
Professor Billett led a multinational and multiagency workshop to discuss a series of country studies and other resources as part of a draft project report, in Beirut last month.
“It was a great learning experience to be in Beirut, and engage directly with representatives from countries who are concerned with vocational education and committed to the development of young people in their countries,” he said.
More than 30 government and industry delegates from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine and Tunisia attended the workshop.
The workshop involved representatives from the International Labour Organisation, UNESCO, and European Training Foundation.
Professor Billett is now incorporating comments and contributions from the workshop into the final report.
“Contributions provided at the workshop are being developed into
Griffith brings world’s leading design minds to Brisbane
Professor Ming Cheung presenting the QCA bid to host DRS2020
Queensland College of Art will bring the world’s leading design minds to Brisbane, after winning hosting rights for the Design Research Society (DRS) Conference 2020.
More than 600 world-class researchers, academics, designers and students will gather in Brisbane to share insights on design trends, and examine how these impact on the way we live, work and play.
The competitive bid, led by the Queensland College of Art in partnership with the Brisbane Convention Bureau, will see the biennial international conference return to Australia for the first time in 16 years.
DRS2020 co-chair and Queensland College of Art Head of Design Professor Ming Cheung said winning hosting rights for the conference was a coup for Brisbane and Australia’s design research community.
“Hosting DRS2020 will see Brisbane and Griffith University take the lead in promoting excellence in design research,” she said.
“With 600 of the world’s most talented
Griffith showcases creative arts on world stage
Griffith University will showcase its creative arts offerings at the George Town Festival in Penang, Malaysia, this month.
The Arts, Education and Law Group (AEL) are presenting The Griffith Creative Arts Room as part of the month-long celebration of arts and culture, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world. This is the first time a university has been invited to be an official festival partner.
The world-class program offers something for everyone, with an eclectic mix of photography, performance, film and poetry.
Faculty and students from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith Film School, the Queensland Conservatorium, the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, and the School of Education and Professional Studies will represent Griffith University at the festival.
Pro Vice Chancellor (Arts, Education and Law) Professor Paul Mazerolle said Griffith’s involvement in the Georgetown Festival provided a unique opportunity for the University to showcase its expertise and depth in the creative, performing and visual arts.
“Griffith has great strengths in the creative arts, having recently been ranked number one in Australia,” he said.
“The chance to participate in the