Leadership in Action

On the premise that in many cases individuals arise as leaders to formulate and assert their vision when motivated by a specific situation, this Section will feature case studies of individuals taking on leadership roles when faced with a particular situation. 

As leadership skills can be developed and enhanced incrementally through out one's life and can be demonstrated in certain aspects of one's life as opposed to every aspect, the interviews will focus on exploring what triggered the individual to take on a leadership role, the consequences of doing so and the course of action the individual intends to follow to implement their vision.

Click on the name below in the Index Table.

Federal Labor MP Dr Carmen Lawrence

Although Dr Carmen Lawrence is recognised by many as a leading Politician, it is her resignation from the Australian Labor Party Shadow Cabinet and Ministry on 5 December 2002 that is being focused in this Section.  Announcing her decision to resign, shortly after the ALP caucus agreed to a new policy on asylum seekers and sighting that  her party had lost its direction, and that it had become too conservative and poll-driven, Dr Lawrence

"To develop good polices that are consistent with our claims to be progressive we have to start with a set of values and yes - even ideals - to which we aspire as political activists."

"It's part of our task in politics to bring the Australian community with us and not to treat them as if they're incapable of changing their views and in fact assuming that they're terminally bigoted. That's not a view I can possibly accept as a member of the Labor Party."

"It is easy to be distracted by the minutiae of the arguments for or against an attack, with or without U.N. approval, but we sometimes forget to ask whether the arguments or the evidence in support of them can justify the killing of tens or even hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people. Or the flow on effects, including greater instability in the region, and the probable generation of a new wave of anti-western extremism. 

It is often those who have seen war, who most revile the use of force. A war correspondent who has seen the end result of “orders from far away” describes his experience in Vietnam and anticipates the likely effects of the waves of B52 bombers which will be used in Iraq. He remembers the “children’s skin folded back, like parchment, revealing veins and burnt flesh that seeped blood, while the eyes, intact, stared straight ahead.” 

We desperately need a peaceful resolution to this and conflicts like it.  We have to ask, if containment and surveillance have worked until now, why abandon them? Have we really explored all means less terrible than war? Is it really beyond human imagination and intelligence to devise other diplomatic and security solutions such as those proposed in recent days by France and Germany? Is killing Iraqis really the only course of action open to us?"

She also identified a new role for herself in line with her objectives for herself and her Party.

"So my plea to the young members of the Labor Party - to the members of the party who've kept the faith - is that mine is not a decision to abandon the Labor Party. It's a decision to move into a different phase of my life, to work with activists to encourage young people to join up to this great party and to try with many others - because it isn't something that anyone could do alone, to re-capture the values that I think underpin the Labor Party."

In her interview, Dr Lawrence is asked about what led her to  resign from the Australian Labor Party Shadow Cabinet and Ministry, how it affected her personally and what role she sees herself undertaking as a Backbencher. 

Together with the interview is a Commentary entitled,  Responses to my Resignation by Dr Lawrence. Also featured is a Transcript of her Press Conference at Parliament House, Canberra on Thursday December 5, 2002; as well as her article, War, refugees and Labor.

Interview with Dr Carmen Lawrence

Responses to my Resignation & Press Conference by Dr  Lawrence

War, refugees and Labor by Carmen Lawrence 

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Suzanne Nield, Pastoralist near Balranald

Suzanne Nield has lived on 'Benilke Station' in western New South Wales for 21 years.  She created a Project called 'Friendship Quilts' to bring women, and men, together to take their mind off the drought.  Although Suzanne Nield does not see herself as a leader, CLW recognised her leadership qualities in her creation and implementation of an idea to bring women together and give them a purpose that is challenging, fulfilling and positive, amidst the relentlessness and despair of one of Australia's harshest droughts.  

In this interview, Ms Nield was asked what led her to create the Friendship Quilt Project, how did she put the idea into action, the level of support she received and how the experience affected her personally. 

 An interview with Suzanne Nield

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Rural Australians for Refugees Founders: 

Anne Coombs, Susan Varga and Helen McCue

Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) began in the Southern Highlands of NSW, in October 2001.  Formed in response to, and reaction against, the bi-party policy on asylum seekers, it is a  grass-roots movement with rapidly growing support  across regional Australia.  Its initiatives include Welcome Books, Welcome Towns, The Welcome Lobby and The Tampa Human Rights Award 2001. RAR groups appear to be springing up all over the country, from Denmark in WA, to Wangaratta in Victoria, to Katherine in the Northern Territory. With a vision in the form of a Ten Point Plan for the Australian Government to undertake, it calls on the Government to:

"Receive all asylum seekers in accordance with our obligations under the UN Convention on Refugees which Australia signed in 1954...

Abolish existing holding centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea and abandon any further plans to pay our poorer Pacific neighbours to take in refugees for processing.

Stop military intervention against boat people. Using Australia's military against the victims of oppression is totally inappropriate.

Abolish the Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs), which were introduced specifically for asylum seekers, who mainly arrive by boat. These visas deny people access to crucial services such as English lessons, and work and housing assistance which are available to other refugees...

Close all detention centres in their present form. Asylum seekers should be held in detention only to establish their identity and for criminal clearance, along the lines of the Swedish model...

Take any detention facilities out of the hands of private enterprise. Such facilities should be publicly accountable and open to scrutiny... 

and...Increase Australia's refugee intake by recognising how small our current quota of 12,000 refugees per year is, and doubling the quota to 24,000 per year."

Founders, Anne Coombs, Susan Varga and Helen McCue explain that RAR began with three depressed people in a lounge room, feeling angry and helpless and saying, 'what can we do?' "The answer we came up with was: 'let's work locally'. Three weeks later, after leaf-letting in the streets and outside the supermarkets, and promotion in the local press and on the radio, we put on a hugely successful public meeting in Bowral, attended by nearly 500 people. We also collected over 400 signatures for an open letter which was published in the local paper, protesting the Government's policies. After that first meeting we were inundated with supportive emails and phone calls. Since then at least a dozen RAR groups have formed in country towns all over Australia.  RAR is also networking with many other organisations committed to justice for refugees."

Interview with Anne Coombs, Susan Varga and Helen McCue

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Pru Goward, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner 

Pru Goward, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner launched her interim paper on the issue of Paid Maternity Leave in April 2002. Of the public and political debate that has ensued since then, she asks,

"We have to wonder, is the volume of debate that has been generated around this issue really warranted? This is not a debate about hard hitting ethical issues. We are not contemplating stem cell technology, the finer points of human cloning or the right to life.

This is a debate about providing women in Australia with a basic payment. A payment that has been available to women in most other countries for decades now. Introducing a national scheme of paid maternity leave in Australia in the year 2002 is hardly revolutionary thinking! It is not going to place Australia at the global forefront of innovative social policy measures.

To the contrary - it will simply counteract our lag!"*

Arguing that the amount of money required to "fund a national scheme of paid maternity leave - considering the objectives and nature of such a scheme - is hardly a figure to raise eyebrows"* and that "despite hard evidence, Australian companies record higher retention rates since introducing paid maternity leave and that she will not "recommend that employers alone pay for paid maternity leave,"*  Goward continues to vigorously and publicly debate those who believe that paid maternity leave is not a desirable option.  This has clearly meant going against the Government that appointed her and continues to oppose the introduction of paid maternity leave.

"Under our current system of paid maternity leave - ad hoc and employer pays - women with high education and skill levels in full time work have greater access to paid maternity leave...It is women on low incomes who are therefore least likely to have access to paid maternity leave, and who, along with their babies, would benefit most from the introduction of a national scheme of paid maternity leave." *

* (Speech delivered by Pru Goward, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner at Frozen Futures, co-hosted by the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health and National Investment for Early Years, University of Sydney, 14 November 2002)

Interview with Pru Goward

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Jack Heath - Executive Director, Inspire Foundation

The purpose of the Inspire Foundation is to benefit others by using the Internet to inspire young people, foster generosity and build community. Inspires works closely with leading corporates, government, and community organisations to develop highly innovative and practical Internet-based projects that deliver substantial benefits to young people. Inspire has an impressive track record in using Internet and communications technology to pioneer new models of social services delivery. Our flagship project Reach Out won the 2000 Australian Information Industries Association Award for Best Use of Technology by a Community Organisation and both the 1998 and 1999 Australian Internet Award for Best Community Web site.

In late 1995 when the Net was a relatively unknown phenomenon for many people, we came up with the idea of using this technology to prevent youth suicide. No one had done it before and there were many sceptics and cynics. We had no models to work with. When we started the Reach Out! project we never knew if we'd be successful (but we had a good hunch). Since then we've had over 500,000 visitors, won awards but most importantly saved lives. We've also extended our work around a host of other initiatives which seek to deliver social services online - these can be found at www.inspire.org.au

We currently have requests to replicate the Reach Out! service in New Zealand and The Philippines. We have had preliminary discussions about extending our Digital Bridge Program to the Asian region.

I am the Executive Director and Founder of the Inspire Foundation. I spent many years in the Public Service where I worked in a number of key departments including Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Prime Minister and Cabinet. I was Speechwriter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Trade prior to taking up a Speechwriter and Senior Adviser position with Prime Minister Keating.

I am also a father, husband and Buddhist who has spent too much of my life doing overly serious things.

Interview with Jack Heath

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Sheila Jeffreys 

Founding member of the Australian branch of Coalition Against Trafficking in Women

Sheila Jeffreys is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. She is a founding member of the Australian branch of Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, www.catwa.com 

She has been active in feminist campaigns against sexual violence and pornography, and in lesbian feminist politics since 1973. In UK in the 1980s she was involved in setting up Central London Women Against Violence Against Women, the London Lesbian History Group, the Lesbian Archive. 

She moved from London to Melbourne in 1991. She is the author of 5 books on the politics of sexuality, including The Idea of Prostitution, 1997, Spinifex, and Unpacking Queer Politics, 2003, Polity.

In this interview, Sheila Jeffreys explains why prostitution should not be criminalised in Australia and why such an occupation should not exist in any form for women. Together with this interview is an article written by Sheila Jeffreys entitled, The Women in Pornography: a Response to Don Chip. Sheila Jeffreys, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia. This article was written by Sheila Jeffreys in response to  what Don Chip was to say to launch the porn industry exhibition, Sexpo, in Melbourne in November 2003. 

 Interview with Sheila Jeffreys

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Susan Boucher

 MindMatters Program Joint Projects Manager

Australian Principal's Association Professional Development Council

MindMatters is a program to support Australian secondary schools in promoting and protecting the mental health of members of school communities. 68% of secondary schools and in excess of 30,000 school based personnel have been involved in the training. MindMatters uses a whole school approach to mental health promotion and suicide prevention. 

The program aims to enhance the development of school environments where young people feel safe, valued, engaged and purposeful. Social and emotional wellbeing have been linked to young people’s schooling outcomes, their social development, their capacity to contribute to the workforce and the community and to reducing the rate of youth suicide.  

The MindMatters program is being conducted by the Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council and is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

Susan Boucher is Joint Projects Manager of the MindMatters Program.  Her role is to ensure that the program delivers quality professional development to Australia’s secondary schools and that the  team of professional officers working at both the national and state level have sufficient resources and innovative strategies for them to have an impact.   

Interview with Susan Boucher and 

more information about MindMatters

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Diana Hill

President of UNICEF Australia

UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund. Set up in 1946, the Fund was originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.   UNICEF was originally designed to be a short-term operation bringing relief to children in 13 European countries who had suffered from the impact of the Second World War. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent fixture in the UN system. 

UNICEF Australia is a non-government organisation established more than 30 years ago. It is just one of 37 National Committees around the world who play a vital role in generating public support and awareness for the organisation's work.  

A key part of UNICEF Australia's role, is raising awareness and mobilising public opinion in favour of all children. These efforts are directed at deepening understanding among individuals and government bodies about the needs of children everywhere. Through community education and information outreach, UNICEF Australia contributes to a deeper understanding in the Australian community of the relevance of overseas aid, its principal focus and objectives.  80% of funds raised worldwide go directly into programs to save lives. 

Diana Hill is President of UNICEF Australia. In this interview, Ms Hill discusses what her role entails, her views on how to eradicate poverty and how UNICEF's programs are organised.

Interview with Diana Hill

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Anthony Healey 

Dairy Farmer, Bega

Anthony Healey is a Dairy Farmer living in Brogo, 25 kms north of Bega in NSW.  

In 1950 when he was 16 years old, he started recording the rainfall which fell on his farm. He used a rain gauge that consisted of an old jam tin on top of a post with a small ruler marked in 1/10 inch to measure the depth of water in the tin with 1/10inches equalling 10points. 54 years on, Mr Healey is still recording rainfall figures for Brogo.  

Today he measures rainfall with a manual and an automatic gauage and only 2 years ago, he transferred his data of 54 years into the Computer using Excel which he taught himself.  As "the weather (and rain) is always foremost on farmers' topics of conversation" with "people on the land" being "so dependent on rainfall," Anthony Healey's informative statistics has been a trusted resource during critical times, as in the current drought that the region is still in the midst of.  

Mr Healey's interpretation of the data that he has collected and his reflection on water as a sustainable resource in the context of global warming is significant and exemplary of grassroots leadership that is self-initiated and self-perpetuated. It is based on a passion of what is a vital element in the world of the farmer, an interest in helping his community and in a desire to make meaning of scientific trends and patterns, and apply it to his day to day living.

Interview with Anthony Healey 

54 YEARS RAINFALL MEASUREMENTS BY A. HEALEY

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Juliette Terzieff

International Journalist

Juliette Terzieff is a freelance journalist currently based in Pakistan . She has worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, WomensENews, CNN International, and the London Sunday Times. Over the last decade she has covered some of the world's top stories from the Balkans, Middle East, and South Asia, and has sought to focus much of her reporting on human and women's rights.

Interview with Juliette Terzieff 

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Pauline O'Loughlin

UTS Shopfront

Pauline O’Loughlin is the Program Manager of the UTS Shopfront, the University’s community research and advocacy centre that was established in 1996. She is responsible for the overall activities and administration of the Shopfront. 

UTS Shopfront is a university-wide program that acts as a gateway for community access to the University. It links disadvantaged and under-resourced community groups to university skills, resources and professional expertise. This allows projects that would not otherwise proceed to be completed with multiple benefits for both the community and students. Community-based projects are carried out by students through their subjects under the supervision of academics. The process is collaborative: students and community groups are involved in all facets of the projects' development and implementation.  

Interview with Pauline O'Loughlin

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Eddie and Alison Boyle

 Toy Share

This is the story of how Eddie Boyle with the support and help of his wife Alison Boyle created Australia's first community toy store, Toy Share which began in September 2001 and is thriving today in the city of Wollongong in Sydney's south coast.  

The Toy Share vision is to provide a means by which all members of the local community can utilise their talents and resources to develop a true spirit of sharing and help those less fortunate.

Eddie Boyle's Story of how he and his wife started Toy Share

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Connie Loden

Executive Director, Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance

Connie Loden , Executive Director for Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance, coordinates community economic development projects in Central Wisconsin , and has become an internationally recognized leader in rural development, holding leadership roles with the Community Development Society and National Rural Development Partnership.  

The Community Progress Initiative program Loden developed in partnership with the Community Foundation of South Wood County to revitalize their economically struggling community has received award recognitions on a state and national level. 

She served as Past-President of Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program and Wisconsin Rural Partners, the state’s rural development council. Connie also served as chair of the Wisconsin State Trails Council, Wisconsin Community Leadership Summit and Wisconsin Community Resource Teams (now TeamWorks!). 

Connie consults as a community economic development specialist, having assisted over 30 communities in the US , Australia , New Zealand , Cuba , Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom .

Interview with Connie Loden

Strategic Partnering: Partnering for Change By Connie Coley Loden

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Sandra Butler

Author and Activist committed to Israel/Palestine peace

Sandra Butler is a Jewish lesbian-feminist who has been active in the movements to end violence against women and the politics of breast cancer, and is now committed to Israel/Palestine peace and justice activism.

Butler is on the steering committee of Bay Area Women in Black, the author of Conspiracy of Silence: The Trauma of Incest, and co-author with Barbara Rosenblum of Cancer in Two Voices, and a film-maker who has adapted Cancer in Two Voices, and co-produced Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House.

Butler’s writing, teaching and political organizing center on the urgent need for Jewish activists to take the teachings of tikkun olam (mending, restoring and transforming the world,) into our hearts and our daily lives. Sandra is currently based in Berkley, California.

Sandra has written an article which she offers as the reflections of a Jewish woman struggling to face her responsibilities-- spiritually, morally, politically and ethically in Israel/Palestine.

The Heart of the Matter.pdf *

*(This article will be (in December) published in Turning Wheel: a Journal of Socially Engaged Buddhism, published by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. Their web address is: www.bpf.org)

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Dr Ngaire Caruso

Western Australia Doctor working in the war zone of Lira, Uganda

Médecins Sans Frontières' volunteers are working in 70 countries around the world to help victims of natural disasters, epidemics, famines and wars. 

Ngaire Caruso is a Doctor from Crawley in Western Australia who graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from University of Western Australia in 1997. Currently Dr Caruso is on her third mission with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Lira, northern Uganda. 

Read Dr Caruso's article in which she explains in detail the difficult  context of working in a war zone trying to assist displaced civilians and former child soldiers.

From the field

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Steve Biddulph 

Author and Psychologist

Founder of the SievX Memorial Project

The Siev X National Memorial Project was begun by Steve Biddulph, author and psychologist, and Rod Horsfield, minister at Pilgrim Uniting Church Launceston.  It is supported by several organisations working jointly - including Rural Australians for Refugees, and the Uniting Church in Australia.

Steve told an SBS interview “The political, and the justice aspects of this, are important, but that is not our job. What we are doing with this memorial, is saying - these lives mattered. And every Australian should know about these terrible events. We need to make sure nothing like it ever happens again."

Interview with Steve Biddulph

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Chai Hicks, Anna Crotty, Phil Sleeman, Alan & Sue Bainsbridge, Skye Crotty, Barbara Maloney & Andrew Maloney, John Maloney & Dale Warburton  

The story of a team of Australians who organised the sending of tents to Pakistan in October 2005

Around $A6.64 billion worth of damage was caused by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 38,000 people in northern Pakistan on October 8 at 8.30am local time. 

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said, "The overall assessment - government, private sector and infrastructure - would be close to (US) $5 billion." "We need tents, tents, tents," said  Aziz, noting the first snow had fallen on the peaks near Balakot, one of the worst-hit towns in Frontier province.

"We need prefab housing, we need to repair what can be repaired. We have appealed to the whole world to ship tents and blankets to Pakistan."

This is the story of a team of Australians from Byron Bay who  organised the sending of tents to Pakistan in October 05. Chai Hicks, Anna Crotty, Phil Sleeman, Alan & Sue Bainsbridge, Skye Crotty, Barbara Maloney & Andrew Maloney, John Maloney & Dale Warburton  used the resources available through the camping industry and the radio media in Australia and sent 1060 tents to Pakistan. They organised with Quantas and Pakistan Air the transport of the tents and Medicine Sans Frontier and the Fred Hollows Foundation agreed to be the people on the ground to deliver the tents to those in need.

Read their full story 

Update 2006:

Our small group, after our initial success in sending 1,000 tents to Pakistan, has embarked on the NEXT STEP TO MANUFACTURE IN PAKISTAN A FURTHER 6,000 TENTS/SHELTERS for distribution to some of the 500,000 people who are still homeless. The winterised tents will be manufactured in Pakistan and are designed for the harsh terrain of the Himalayan winter.  Each tent will shelter a family of 6 to 8 people and it is estimated that a variety of sizes will cost between $200-$300 AU. Donations of tents can be done individually or collectively so why not get together a group of friends of colleagues to make this valuable contribution.  Any donations towards the purchase of a tent will also be greatly appreciated. The need is dire as the bitterly cold winter sets in.  For full details on the project see http://www.tents4peace.com/

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Bernadette McMenamin AO
Chief Executive Officer, Child Wise

UNICEF reported that in 2005, six million children were trafficked.

Child Wise is the Australian member of ECPAT International, a global network working in 77 countries aiming to prevent sexual exploitation of children. Bernadette McMenamin AO is the Chief Executive Officer of Child Wise™ Limited, based in Melbourne , Australia .  

Bernadette has a Masters in International Social Work and is highly regarded in Australia and overseas as a successful advocate and innovator in the prevention of child sexual abuse. She has devoted 22 years of her life to the issue.  

In 1992 Bernadette became a founding member of ECPAT International in Thailand - a global campaign against child sexual exploitation. The campaign now exists in over 70 countries.  In 1993 Bernadette returned to Australia and established ECPAT in Australia (now known as Child Wise Limited).  As the National Director of Child Wise, Bernadette has been responsible for developing innovative child abuse prevention programs, managing extensive and multifaceted education and training programs and advocacy campaigns against global child sexual abuse and exploitation.  She has also been responsible for many “firsts”; including successful advocacy campaigns which have led to significant political, legal and social changes.  Of particular note is the enactment of the Child Sex Tourism law in 1994 to make sex with children overseas a prosecutable offence in Australia .   

Bernadette is a qualified trainer and has developed numerous child abuse prevention training programs that have been delivered successfully in Australia and overseas. She has conducted thousands of workshops and has trained extensively internationally including: Thailand , the Philippines , Cambodia , Indonesia , Japan , Fiji , PNG, New Zealand , Switzerland and the United Kingdom .  

Under Bernadette’s leadership Child Wise’s work is considered ground breaking, both nationally and internationally, and for these efforts Child Wise/ ECPAT has been recognised with multiple human rights awards.  In recognition of her contribution to the protection of children from sexual exploitation, Bernadette won the 2004 Victorian nomination for Australian of the Year and was awarded the Order of Australia (AO) in June 2004.

Interview with Bernadette McMenamin

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Associate Professor Elizabeth Eckermann 

Medical Sociologist, Co-founder of the Centre on Quality of Life at Deakin University

Associate Professor Elizabeth Eckermann ( M.A., Ph.D) is a medical sociologist in the Arts Faculty at Deakin University where she teaches sociology of health and illness, and  supervises postgraduate candidates completing  health sociology doctoral and masters studies. She is co-convenor of the Australian Centre on Quality of Life at Deakin University and from 2002 to 2005 was Associate Dean: Research in the Arts Faculty. In the past 10 years she has undertaken more than 20 consultancies for the World Health Organization (WHO), in Geneva and at the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) in Manila , on gender and health issues. Most recently she completed an evaluation for WHO of a pilot Maternity Waiting Home project in Lao PDR ( in August 2005) and in January 2006 she edited a book for WHO, WPRO on gender-based violence in the Region. Her key areas of research interest and publication cover, women’s health, gender and health, domestic violence, quality of life and indicators of health status, health  promotion and public health. Associate Professor Eckermann is on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies and coordinates the Lao PDR chapter of the International Wellbeing Index. She is a spokesperson for the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index research project which has involved a collaboration between Deakin University and Australian Unity since 2001.  

This interview focuses on the The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index which is a comprehensive measure of personal and national wellbeing.

"Unlike traditional economic indicators of quality of life such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index is a subjective measure that investigates how Australians feel about their life and life in Australia. The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index rates our satisfaction with various aspects of life – both personal aspects such as our relationships with others and national aspects such as our satisfaction with government.

The growing demand for alternative and credible measures of wellbeing attests to the increasing value society is placing on this aspect of human existence. Since its launch in April 2001, the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index has established itself as the leading and most comprehensive measure of wellbeing in Australia.

While every survey examines personal and national wellbeing, each one also investigates a particular issue of social importance to Australians and its impact on wellbeing. Every survey involves a fresh national sample of 2000 people, that proportionately represents Australia’s geographically-diverse population. All survey participants are aged 18 years and over.

Contrary to popular belief, wellbeing is different from ‘happiness’. Happiness can come and go in a moment, whereas wellbeing is a more stable state of being well, feeling satisfied and contented.

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index is based on average levels of satisfaction with various aspects of personal and national life. Satisfaction is expressed as a percentage score, where 0% is completely dissatisfied and 100% is completely satisfied. So a survey score of 76.5% on personal wellbeing means Australians, on average, feel 76.5% satisfied with their life.

Elements of the Personal Wellbeing Index are satisfaction with:

• Your health;
• Your personal relationships;
• How safe you feel;
• Your standard of living;
• What you are achieving in life;
• Feeling part of the community; and
• Your future security.

Elements of the National Wellbeing Index are satisfaction with:

• Australian social conditions;
• Australian economic situation;
• The state of the Australian environment;
• Australian business;
• National security; and
• Government.

As well as looking at personal and national wellbeing, each survey explores issues of social importance as they relate to wellbeing. For example, survey 13 investigated caring at home, and the impact that providing informal care to a family member has on the wellbeing of carers. Other survey topics have included the effects of terrorism, personal financial debt, relationships and household structure, health and body weight and job security." 

(Source: http://www.australianunity.com.au)

Interview with Associate Professor Elizabeth Eckermann

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Kids for Kids

What is Kids for Kids?  

Interview with Kids for Kids Founder 

How you can help Kids for Kids

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Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on 13 October 2006 to  Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, both from Bangladesh for their efforts to create economic and social development. 

Read about Professor Yunus' efforts to eradicate poverty using Grameen Bank to loan money to those who have nothing.

2006 Nobel Peace Laureate

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Ocean Robbins

Interview with Ocean Robbins 

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Dr Sarah Maddison

To what extent have Australian feminist struggles achieved a substantive and lasting gender equality? The gender report for the Democratic Audit of Australia considered this question, investigating legislation, representation, policy machinery and the women’s non-government sector. The picture that emerges from this assessment is deeply worrying. Whereas Australia was once a world leader in the global struggle for gender equality, it is now clear that in recent decades the nation has resiled from this commitment and undone many earlier achievements. Was it all for nothing?

Sarah Maddison lectures in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales. She is co-author of the Gender Audit for the Democratic Audit of Australia (2007). CLW's interview with Dr Maddison focuses on this Report.

Interview with Dr Sarah Maddison

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Julie Gale

Founder of KF2bK (Kids Free to be Kids)

Julie Gale, a Melbourne mother and performer, has attracted huge support for her campaign against the sexualisation of children. In this interview,  she explains the genesis of a new organisation called Kids Free 2b Kids (Kf2bK ), her achievements and difficulties.

"When my kids were very young, I heard them listening to music and giggling wildly to the lyrics ‘Oooh I am so sexy, soft and smooth’, only to discover it was a song on my six-year old daughter’s ‘Barbie Pool Party’ CD. I thought, ‘Something’s wrong here. Someone in a board room somewhere, has decided that it’s OK for this song to go on a CD for very young girls’.

My list of examples is long. I’m no prude. I’m a fun adult who enjoys life. I write comedy for goodness sakes. And I have no problem talking about sexuality with my kids, when I feel they are ready for it."

With a background in writing and performing, Julie Gale decided to write a one woman show about the sexualisation of children.

"I spoke with many parents while researching material, and discovered that I was not alone in my concerns. When The Australia Institutes ‘Corporate Paedophilia’ research paper was published, I immediately contacted Dr Emma Rush. I think her research has been instrumental in encouraging a mostly silent public to start speaking out.  One line in the paper particularly grabbed my attention:  ‘... there has, as yet, been no sustained public debate about the sexualisation of children in Australia.’ There seemed to be people talking and writing about the issue, but there was no apparent co-ordinated campaign.  It was an easy decision to scrap the one-woman show and turn my attention to raising public awareness."

Ms Gale formed Kf2bK, Kids Free To Be Kids with the dedicated help from two other mothers at her children’s school. They joined forces with Young Media Australia, who have been committed to the healthy development of children in the media for over 50 years.

"It’s been a steep learning curve. I’m still learning about our regulatory bodies and, as a parent, I believe self-regulation is currently failing our children. Billboard advertising is not vetted before it goes out to the public domain. Where is the consultation with child development experts? Young kids magazines have no regulation whatsoever. Our tween market is worth around10 billion dollars per year to the Australian economy – with so much money at stake, who’s looking after the welfare of our kids? Recently, I witnessed first hand, highly sexualized and completely inappropriate images posted by computer savvy 11 yr old girls on their websites. This is not uncommon. Children are reportedly experimenting sexually at a much younger age – and according to many social workers, oral sex in the first year of high school is also not uncommon. Sexually transmitted infections, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders are all increasing in our kids’ lives.  Psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers working at the coalface with young children are concerned. They see, both from a research base, and from their clinical experience, strong evidence of harm. "

It’s time we adults started taking responsibility for what our kids are being exposed to.

Interview with Julie Gale

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