Ecofest is an activity of Western Heights Uniting Church.

First held in 2010, Ecofest is returning on Saturday November 5th, 2011.

Mark this date in your diary

Ecofest is an environmental festival with; – Green Market, kids activities, cafe, food, speakers, workshops, fairtrade products,

Ecofest will run from 10am – 3pm.

Ecofestwill take place on the church grounds at 31 Douglass Street, Herne Hill, Geelong.

We look forward to seeing you there.

If you’re interested in being involved – partnerships, stall holding etc – please contact them at ecofest.wh@gmail.com or leave a comment on the blog.

@Ecofest_WHUCA (Twitter)

Many people are aware that clothing and footwear sweatshops overseas are often characterised by unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, rates of pay below a living wage, and extremely long working hours.

Yet many Australians are surprised to learn that these conditions also exist in Australia, with an estimated 50-70% of Australian made clothing being outsourced, usually to migrant women working at home or in backyard sweatshops in suburbs around Australian cities.

Over the years ‘both sides of politics’ have taken action to address the problems but more needs to be done.

On 1stJune 2007, as part of the election campaign, Prime Minster Julia Gillard, who was then the Deputy Opposition Leader, announced the policy with regards to outworkers that would be introduced if the Labor Party was elected. She was accompanied by a group of outworkers organised by FairWear and Asian Women at Work when she made this announcement. Here is what she said:

A Rudd Government will take some important steps to make sure that those Australians who are currently exploited as homeworkers have a better future – Julia Gillard

Following the Labor Governments election the funding has been delivered and some positive provisions around procurement have been introduced. Some outworker provisions were also included in the introduction of the Fair Work Act. However, these provisions did not live up to the Government commitments and fall short of a National set of protections based on the State provisions.

The Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania has supported the FairWear campaign for many years along with women’s groups, unions and community organisations.

FairWear is calling for urgent action.

Find out more and: TAKE ACTION

Refugee Week is a chance for all Australians to learn more about refugees and asylum seekers and celebrate the positive contributions they have made to our society. This year Refuge Week will be celebrated from Sunday, June 19 to Saturday, June 25, to coincide with World Refugee Day (June 20).

Find out about events happening in your area at the Refugee Week website here and join in the End Mandatory Detention Rally on Sunday the 19th of June. Full details of the rally are here

They are:

• Asylum Seekers and Refugees – Myths and Facts
• The Refugee Convention – what does it mean?
• Mandatory Detention of Asylum Seekers
• Detention on Christmas Island
• Offshore Protection of Asylum Seekers
• The case for Complementary Protection

And you can find them at http://www.unitingjustice.org.au/issues/refugees-asylum-seekers/refugees-resources.html

Do:

Prison reform brochure

UnitingWorld Everything in Common catalogue

Write:

Barriers to Peace between Israel and Palestine

Australian ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Be:

Peace reflection for Christmas

To read Di and Tiffany’s stories and to grab some handy tips on travel that benefits local communities and the environment go to the Harm Less Holidays action here.

Tiffany travelling ethically in Malaysia!

The cover reads “Just like Peter Crouch…we’re young, hot and have slept with prostitutes.“ Yes, it’s a weekly gossip magazine. Yes, like most girls, I’m guilty of reading it. And yes, even I surprised myself to have found within, inspiration for this blog!

More here

Consuming Passions

Events

• JIM Convention Registration Form – Saturday 2 October, 2010 9.30 AM – 4.30 PM
• JIM Convention 2010 Poster
• Walk against warming
• Festival of refugees
• Stand up and make noise
• Anti Poverty Week

Letter Writing Actions

• Curbing alcohol supply to children
• Murder most foul in the Philippines
• Defending the human rights of asylum seekers
• Education and prisons

Get Involved

• Prayer sheet
• Greening the church flier
• Seasons of creation flier
• Blocking child sexual abuse on the internet petition
• International Mission facilitation grants flier

Hardcopy of the August 2010 JustFocus

The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has documented that one female detainee reported being slapped, hit on the back of the head and being threatened with being buried alive while under interrogation. Another female detainee also alleged she was threatened with being buried alive while being interrogated.

The Philippines Government has promoted the two officers that were in charge of the raid that arrested the health workers, Colonel Aurelio Baladad and Lt Colonel Jamie Abawag.

The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has questioned why the detainees remain in military custody when it was a civilian court that issued the search warrant that led to their arrest. The Commission has reported that from 8 February to 14 February, the detainees were subjected to “continuous interrogation, especially at odd hours of the night”. The interrogations stopped for a brief period, and then resumed on 18 February.

The Commission on Human Rights’ doctors were allowed to visit the detainees on 11 and 18 February. The doctors found no signs of the detainees having been subjected to physical torture. The Commission has called on the Philippines authorities to ensure the detainees have access to their lawyers, relatives, priests or religious ministers and medical personnel in compliance with Philippines law.

In early March, the Court of Appeals rejected a petition of habeas corpus on behalf of the detainees to have them brought before court and have them released in a vote of 3 to 2 of the five judges involved in the decision. Lawyers for the detainees have stated that they will appeal to the Supreme Court.

The 43 detainees have been charged with illegal possession of explosives, with three of them also being charged with illegal possession of firearms. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also labelled the 43 detainees as members of the communist armed opposition group, the New The Philippines National Police have admitted that they are no longer looking for the person who was on the search warrant that formed the basis for raid that led to the arrest of the 43 health workers. This is despite the fact the person named on the warrant was not among those arrested.