Opinion piece first published by the Herald Sun newspaper on 16 October 2019: Despite the disadvantages faced by too many of the First Peoples of Australia, we have organised ourselves on a vast scale to improve the wellbeing of our people and communities across our country. This includes creating more than 3,000 Aboriginal and Torres […]
First published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, 13 May: Modest response to Australia’s most disadvantaged group Ngarra Murray is a Wamba Wamba and Yorta Yorta woman and the National Manager of Oxfam Australia’s First Peoples Program. In this election campaign, the major parties have together pledged more than $100 billion in new spending commitments, […]
First published in RendezView on Thursday, 9 May: The climate crisis is here. That’s why our vote matters Dr Helen Szoke is Oxfam Australia’s Chief Executive. While the Australian Government attempts to defend its indefensibly weak emissions targets, Mozambique is coming to terms with the devastation caused by an unprecedented two deadly cyclones in less than […]
In the midst of raging bushfires in Queensland, and in the wake of dire warnings from the world’s climate scientists on the perils of new coal, Adani has announced it will proceed with opening up the last major untapped coal resource in Australia by self-financing its Carmichael coalmine. From worsening fire seasons to the heartbreaking […]
Today, the signatures of about 170,000 concerned Australians from across the country will be handed over at Parliament House, calling for the Government to get all refugee children off Nauru. The Kids Off Nauru campaign has mobilised people in support of getting children off the tiny island country and raised awareness of the fact the […]
First published in The Herald Sun newspaper on 21 May 2018 The impending monsoon rains are bearing down on the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh and there’s no getting around it – it’s going to be a really tough time. I’ve just returned to Melbourne from three weeks working for Oxfam’s Rohingya crisis response team. […]
On the island of Masig in Australia’s remote Torres Strait, engineering officer Songhi Billy feels a sense of hopelessness as he watches his home being ‘eaten away’ by the sea. Meanwhile, across the Strait on Boigu Island, residents are watching the graves of their ancestors at risk of being washed away. These are the confronting […]
Twenty-five-year-old Anju works in a factory in the bustling capital of Bangladesh, where she makes 37 cents an hour sewing together sweaters sold in Australian shops. The sweaters made by Anju eventually make their way into the wardrobes of thousands of everyday Australians. But not before Anju has toiled six days a week, sometimes from […]
Twenty-five-year-old Anju works in a factory in the bustling capital of Bangladesh, where she makes 37 cents an hour sewing together sweaters sold in Australian shops. The sweaters made by Anju eventually make their way into the wardrobes of thousands of everyday Australians. But not before Anju has toiled six days a week, sometimes from […]
By Dr Helen Szoke Anaya* was sick and bedridden, having just given birth to her second child after a difficult pregnancy, when her husband left her for someone else. She begged him to stay and even offered for her husband’s new wife to live with them, but he declined. Like many women in India, Anaya […]