By Heather Wortes – University of Woollongong student Oxfam University group members from around Australia joined forces at a three day conference in Sydney last week. Students came from as far as Perth and Brisbane to share their success stories from past events and to brainstorm ideas for campaigns and events in 2013. The university […]
I have just returned from Papua New Guinea where the struggle for control of the country’s natural resources is raging. Communities are quite literally fighting for their lands, environment, livelihoods and culture – all of these are at risk from logging, palm oil and other so-called developments. Land is life, as they say in PNG. […]
The World Bank doesn’t know the environmental and social impact of the almost $20 billion it lends to private companies. A recent audit revealed that the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the IFC, “knows very little” about the impacts of its financial market lending, which accounts for 40% of its portfolio. The IFC has […]
Lorna Schmider-Woodcock is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman from Brisbane. She currently lives in Canberra where she is an Indigenous cadet through the Australian Public Service Commission program at the National Museum of Australia. On December 10th and 11th, 2012, I attended the Indigenous Knowledge is Eternal: Knowledge and Culture Sharing in Indigenous […]
Oxfam Australia CEO Dr Helen Szoke: The passing of the Act of Recognition Bill through the House of Representatives is an historic moment for Australia and marks a significant step towards a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in our country’s constitution. The Australian constitution entered into force in 1901 without input from Aboriginal or Torres […]
Tens of thousands of Australians are expected to take part in events in support of the Close the Gap campaign, which aims to achieve health equality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians by 2030. Community groups, health services, schools and individuals around Australia already are registering online to hold a Close […]
As a relatively new Oxfam volunteer with the Brisbane campaigns team, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to go out into the field and actually make a difference working on the GROW campaign and raising awareness of the impact of land grabs on small scale food producers in some of the world’s poorest […]
After years on the increase, food prices in Australia have recently been falling, according to New Limited analysis published on 7 January. Among the key factors, researchers cited the ‘nomalising’ of fruit prices after their sudden rise following natural disasters in Queensland and Victoria. Sadly, this reassuring news came before the record heat wave claimed […]
By Tabitha Laffernis via 3things Dressed like a ninja in lavender Nikes and armed with an arsenal of plastic bags and dishwashing gloves, I was waiting for nightfall. In my living room were three of my closest friends, and we were brainstorming code names. She-Wolf, Raven and Lara Croft were all suggested, but we eventually […]
Sold signs have been placed next to iconic land marks in several cities around the world, as Oxfam calls for action to stop land grabs in developing countries. Big land deals are tearing whole communities apart, leaving people hungry and homeless. It’s big business at a big cost. But the World Bank has the power […]
