My teenage daughter committed suicide after the Family Law System allowed her father, a convicted child sex offender, access to her when she was just a child. The Family Court System failed my little girl. And they failed me, a protective mother, who in my attempt to protect my children from contact with their abusive father, faced being dismissed as a ‘hysterical woman’ and a ‘vindictive wife’.   How can this happen? The legal system, designed to protect vulnerable children, is instead allowing them access to convicted sex offenders and exposing them to further assaults. The family law policy of wanting kids to have a “meaningful relationship with both parents” drove the decision making that would eventually lead to the death of my darling girl. I can’t describe the pain of losing her - it’s been 3 years since she died. She was just 17 and such a loving and caring daughter and friend. It makes me physically sick to imagine what she went through. In 2002, Abbey's father was charged with the sexual assault of her 8-year-old best friend and sent to jail for a pathetic two years. The abuse occurred at regular sleepovers.    I’m desperate to fight for children and parents who’ve been grossly let down by the dysfunction of the Family Court System. The Court restricts children from doctor and counselling visits during legal proceedings, discounts their word against a parent's, views reports of sexual assault as vindictive and favours the most financially stable parent. It’s shameful and dangerous. My darling daughter had her whole life ahead of her, but by adding your name to this petition, we can bring about change for other kids. I am supporting Bravehearts call for a Royal Commission into the Family Law System of Australia to examine their damaging failings in protecting our children. It follows a report by Bravehearts which  highlights the failings of the Family Law System. It’s called Abbey’s Project. This will be Abbey’s legacy.

My 15yr old daughter was the first child murdered by an online predator in Australia – after a paedophile spent 18 months grooming her. But it’s still not a crime for monsters like this to pretend to be a minor online in Australia. Carly's killer masqueraded as a teenage boy before luring her to a secluded beach - he bashed and suffocated her face, then threw her into the water to drown. I could barely listen when I was read the court reports. This predator had 200 fake online identities to groom teenage girls for sex. My daughter had such a big heart and a bright future. She was so robbed of her life. It's a disgrace that Senators voted against a law to fix this in the past. I’m sickened by our legal system’s failure to recognise this crime, as well as the appallingly weak sentencing for child sex offenders. I’m calling on Malcolm Turnbull & Bill Shorten to immediately commit to ‘Carly’s Law’ – a law that would make it illegal for adults to misrepresent their age to minors online for the purpose of grooming with the intent to meet that child.

There are hundreds of thousands of aged pensioners who barely survive each week on our meager pension which is below the poverty line. many of us eat only one meal a day, we turn of the hot water for 6 months a year so that we can survive. we can't afford a phone, never mind the Internet. Getting medical/ dental care is beyond our reach. those of us who have to rent pay over half our income to have shelter, leaving us almost destitute. We want an independent tribunal to set our pensions, as described in today's Press club address, with no political influence. 

I am so sick of it. Politicians are freely getting away with funding personal trips, spending tens of thousands of dollars, at the expense of the taxpayer. Australia urgently needs a Federal corruption watchdog to stop this unfair abuse of entitlements! The Health Minister’s New Year’s Eve trips to the Gold Coast, the Foreign Ministers trips to the polo, Minister for Finance taking his wife to the AFL Grand Final, the leader of the opposition flying his wife all over the country while he used an RAAF plane - all funded by us hardworking taxpayers. This is just the start of it - the list goes on. At the moment, politicians are able to twist the rules and rort the system. While Centrelink payments, pensions, health services, education face ongoing funding pressures and we are constantly told WE the taxpayers need to tighten our belts - our politicians continue to abuse the system to live rock star lifestyles. It has to stop. Please sign & share - unless an independent Federal watchdog is established to hold them accountable, this unconscionable behaviour will continue.

There’s no womb in society for a tampon tax. Did you know there is a GST on Tampons AND they are called a ‘luxury’?  I don’t know about you, but they don’t seem like a luxury to me. Condoms, lubricant, incontinence pads or sunscreen on the other hand are GST free. What’s with that?  It’s a bloody outrage. Putting a tax on products women need as a direct consequence of their biology is fundamentally sexist.It’s a stain on our national image. Half the population of Australia -- approximately 10 million women -- will pay tax on these products for the greater part of their lifetime. Costing us about $1000 for buying an essential health product. The Tampon Tax is ridiculous. Period. Luckily, women of childbearing age - those of us who need tampons - will be key voters in the upcoming election. So they'll need to listen if they want to woo us for our votes!It’s a bleeding disgrace. As Australians, as voters, as women, we request that the Federal Government the Opposition end this inherently sexist and unfair unfair tax. This tax is really cramping my style. Tampons belong on the GST free health products list - they're not a luxury. They're a necessity. Can you help me out by sharing the petition on Twitter and Facebook -- with all your friends and everyone else? Let's pull the plug on the Tampon Tax! #BloodyOutrage

  As of May 1st the following changes will be implemented to women's Pap Smears: "-women will be invited when they are due to participate via the National Cancer Screening Register-the time between tests will change from two to five years-the age at which screening starts will increase from 18 years to 25 years-women aged 70 to 74 years will be invited to have an exit test. The new program will commence from 1 May 2017 when the new Cervical Screening Test will become available on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Until this time, women aged between 18 and 69 years who have ever been sexually active, should continue to have Pap test when due." The government run website states that: "Based on new evidence and better technology, the National Cervical Screening Program will change from 1 May 2017 to improve early detection and save more lives." Prior to May 1 the website advises: "It is very important that women continue to participate in the current two yearly Pap test program to ensure they are not at risk of developing cervical cancer. Pap tests have already halved the incidence and mortality from cervical cancer since the introduction of the National Cervical Screening Program in 1991. Women will be due for the first Cervical Screening Test two years after their last Pap test."   "The new Cervical Screening Test detects human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which is the first step in developing cervical cancer. The procedure for collecting the sample for HPV testing is the same as the procedure for having a Pap smear. A Health Care Professional will still take a small sample of cells from the woman’s cervix. The sample will be sent to a pathology laboratory for examination. While the current Pap test can detect abnormal cell changes, the new Cervical Screening Test will detect the HPV infection that can cause the abnormal cell changes, prior to the development of cancer. Persistent HPV infections can cause abnormal cell changes that may lead to cervical cancer. However, this usually takes a long time, often more than 10 years."   Some of the reasoning behind the changes are: " -cervical cancer in young women is rare (in both HPV vaccinated and unvaccinated women)-despite screening women younger than 25 years of age for over 20 years there has been no change to the rates of cervical cancer or rates of death from cervical cancer in this age group-investigating and treating common cervical abnormalities in young women that would usually resolve by themselves can increase the risk of pregnancy complications later in life-the HPV vaccination has already been shown to reduce cervical abnormalities among women younger than 25 years of age and, in contrast to screening, is ultimately expected to reduce cervical cancer in this age group." Please see petition updates and responses. Dr Michael Gannon has responded to the petition.    

My name is Hayley and I’ve been in and out of homelessness since I was 14 years old.    I know people often wonder about how people become homeless, or how they stay homeless for such a long time. I’m here to tell you a bit about my story. When you’ve had such fractured relationships since childhood, it’s hard not to allow those relationships to negatively affect you as a person. Coming from really volatile environments, you get used to being treated badly and being manipulated. I had no idea what a healthy relationship looked like for the first 20 years of my life. I had never had a healthy relationship with anybody, especially myself. I walked around with a chip on my shoulder, I can admit that. So much shit had happened to me and I was sour. I acted out because there was so much going on inside of me. Once you get a house and start to seem settled, you’re never settled. When you are able to actually stop being hypervigilant after dealing with a lot of trauma, that’s honestly when you start feeling everything and that’s the point where I think people need the most support. That’s the point where you can crash. At first being in my own home was overwhelming, because it all hits you that you’re an adult and you have to take responsibility. The main thing that motivated me to move forwards in my life was thinking, “I’m not going to let what happened to me ruin the rest of my life.” That was my driver. I am not going to be scared because of my past. I’ve had a lot of support from my social worker and I’ve needed it. I want people to see people for who they are, not their stereotype. I want you to know who I am now. Proper housing means getting on with your life. We need more housing that’s affordable for people in my situation. A home gives you hope, stability, a sense of self and the chance to straighten up your life without having to move all the time. I want our government to commit to more public and community housing in Australia. Please help by signing my petition. Young people who become homeless really need housing they can afford, but also ongoing support so they can stay housed.

For four years I’ve lived in fear. My ex was impersonating me online, inviting strangers to my family home to ‘rape, humiliate and torture’ me — it’s been hell. But right now, Malcolm Turnbull is still refusing to make ‘revenge porn’ a crime. He's instead proposing perpetrators of this hate just pay a mere fine. The new laws could be voted on within days. Senators, experts and lawyers are all saying this needs to be criminalised to be effective. Please sign my urgent petition telling Malcolm Turnbull to make this cyber rape a crime and not let women suffer like I have in this hell. These dangerous people need to be in jail. Over 50 strangers have appeared at my family home demanding sex - I still freeze with fear every time the doorbell rings. Images of me are online somewhere without my permission. Even the police admitted there was nothing they could do to help me - police can’t prevent or punish this behaviour unless it is a crime. It’s not good enough that Malcolm Turnbull refuses to make this a criminal act, instead saying these perpetrators of cyber rape only deserve a fine. Women are being left powerless. The UK, USA, Canada and Japan have all introduced specific legislation to protect revenge porn victims - it’s time for Australia to urgently follow their lead. Malcolm Turnbull — don’t allow perpetrators of revenge porn to get away with a fine and leave victims suffering. Make revenge porn a crime.

The government and Vertex were unable to reach an agreement yesterday, meaning that Orkambi has not been approved for the PBS in Australia. Cystic Fibrosis is the most common chronic illness in Australian children. Orkambi is providing CF sufferers with an opportunity for an improved quality of life and normalises some lung functions. Without the PBS approval, this drug will not be accessible for the majority of Australians as it is too expensive.  Vertex needs to understand the impact this drug would have on Cystic Fibrosis sufferers and just how devastating this news has been on not only people with CF, but families, friends, loved ones and supporters. Something needs to change!

I call him the monster. I refuse to speak his name after he raped and tormented me. He targeted me for my disability — I have cerebral palsy, and I and other residents of Yooralla were raped and sexually assaulted by a Yooralla care worker in our shared accommodation house. My name is Jules. I use a wheelchair and need assistance with all of my personal care needs. It means I am very vulnerable when being cared for. The "monster" knew this. He sexually abused me in my own room, called me a slut and raped me on my bed. It’s disgusting how common this is — I've heard of many other victims with disabilities who’ve been sexually assaulted by staff in care homes, reports of abuse going unheard. That’s why I’m petitioning for a Royal Commission into the Abuse of People with a Disability, to expose the extent of abuse and achieve important reforms. At every opportunity the monster got when he was attending to my personal care requirements, such as showering me, taking me to the bathroom and lifting me into or out of bed in my hoist, he sexually abused me. He would cover my mouth so I could not call out for help on the occasions when other care workers were in the house. Imagine how helpless, vulnerable and betrayed I and the monster's other victims felt having to endure such abuse on almost a daily basis, and now knowing that Yooralla management were warned by other care workers that his conduct was unacceptable, and all they did was move him from house to house. I didn't ask for it. I didn't want it. I hate it. And I hate him for what he has done. He threatened to 'throw Lexby my pet cockatiel on the BBQ' and kill him and that he would kill me too, if I ever told anyone. I don't trust care homes anymore. Yooralla knew about the monster for years before he raped me – there were complaints made by other staff and reports of misconduct at other houses, and effectively Yooralla management did nothing to protect me and his other victims that cannot speak as well as I can and even were more vulnerable than I am. They failed us by allowing the “monster” to continue working unsupervised and alone with us. And they tried to silence me when I reported him. I'm fed up with these people who we rely on to protect us and for sweeping reports of abuse under the carpet to protect themselves and their own jobs. We are just as important as any other victim of crime and the problems with this system of abuse in disability care must be heard. The system needs to be fixed and fixed now. No more reports, no more lack of action. It is time the government does something to fix it and protect us from violence and abuse. I am using my voice to get a Royal Commission into the abuse of people like me with a disability in institutions. It is important now more than ever for me to speak out for future people who might be not able to speak or are too scared to speak out. It's a pretty horrendous thing to go through, and I feel very let down. Please sign my petition to support me.