Southern Highlands bus for students a possibility?

Travis Holland is a Wollongong university student and a Southern Highlands resident who is trying to make life easier for himself, and many other students.

Travis has put  into motion a campaign for another bus service to run between the Southern Highlands and the university. An extra bus service could mean hundreds less cars traveling between the two points and free-up parking at the university.

Travis joined Crossfire this afternoon to explain his concerns and possible solutions to the problem.

AL-ANON family groups – support for family and friends

Al-Anon is a support group and program for friends and family of problem drinkers.

For more than 55 years and across more than a hundred countries, people have been meeting, listening and sharing their experiences dealing with an alcoholic in their lives.

The process usually begins with a person acknowledging that their own life is being affected by a friend or family members drinking problem, the Al-Anon twenty questions can help determine how prominent this problem is.

The next step is often to attend an Al-Anon family group meeting. In an interview with a member of this support group Crossfire found out what a new-comer could expect when stepping into a group support meeting for the first time.

Visit Al-Anon Australia for more information, and visit Al-Anon for international information.

A group catered to help young people, Alateen Australia, is also available.

The second interviewee in this Crossfire series is a gentlemen who joined Al-anon group meetings while with his ex-partner who was a problem drinker.

The last interivew of this series is with a woman who ahas been a member of Al-anon for more than 20 years and represents perhaps the majority of those seeking support from Al-anon groups.

Donate it, don’t dump it

Wollongong is working its way towards a greener community with the help of twenty-first century technology. Recycling is making a comeback. And it’s not just our landfills reaping the rewards.

Mobile phone recycling is a simple and effective way to reduce waste in landfills, conserve African habitat and land and clean out the drawers at home.

There are numerous campaigns around the world trying to raise awareness about the dangers of mobile phone waste and encourage people to get involved with recycling their old and unused handsets.

Programs such as the Australian Recycling Program also offer the benefit of not just recycling unusable phones, the reuse handsets in reasonable condition – delivering them to third world countries.

For more information about the universities recycling program and where to drop off your phones please visit the Environmental and Sustainability Initiatives Unit.

$7 million dollars for schools in the region

Schools in the Illawarra region have received more than $7 million dollars in funding as part of the second round of the National School Pride Program. Melissa Jaros spoke to Minister for the Illawarra David Campbell and Woonona High School Principal Martin Arrowsmith about the funding for schools in the region.

What’s in your Headspace?

Headspace is an Australian National Youth Mental Health Foundation focused on providing physical and mental health advice and care to people between the ages of 12 and 25.  The foundation has launched a television ad campaign to raise its profile and has a strong presence online where its target audience tend to go first for help. Kellie Marshall, Deputy CEO of the Illawarra Division of General Practice spoke to crossfire about what services Headspace clinics provide.

For more information check out the Headspace website.
If you would like to talk to someone at Headspace Illawarra call: 02 4225 1184

Headspace Illawarra full details

Address: 1A Denison Street Wollongong NSW 2500
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Contact Details: Phone: 02 4225 1184, Fax: 02 4225 0606, Email: headspace@idgp.org.au

Generation Next: education on the young for the old

Generation Next is a seminar series designed explain the foreign world of youth to parents, teachers and others dealing with young adults and teenagers.

Cyber safety, drug and alcohol use – amongst other topics, are addressed by the presenters. Dr Ramesh Manocha, a GP medical researcher and educator, developed the Generation Next seminars in consultation with academics and experts in the relevant areas.

Dr Manocha spoke to Crossfire briefly about some of the bigger issues facing youth.

Chasing the occupation

Job hunting is often a daunting and painful experience. Especially when you are first entering the workforce or changing occupations. In this tough economic time the job market is becoming more competitive as less and less jobs become available. Keith McGowan is a careers councilor and psychologist at Wollongong TAFE. He offered his expertise and advice to Crossfire and gave some insight into the art-form we call job hunting.

World at a Cross Roads

Activist from around the world will descend on Sydney this Easter weekend to discuss the international issues affecting us all, and possible solutions, at the Worlds at a Crossroads Conference.

Source: Resistance.org.au

Wollongong socialist representative and co-founder of Resistance, Jess Moore, will be speaking at the conference.

Jess explained to Crossfire that she believes this generation of youth can help Australia, and the world, address these social, environmental and political issues.

Funding for infrastructure nation wide

On Friday the Federal government officially announced a $4.7 billion Nation Building Package focused on infrastructure. The investments are another economic crisis combat tool from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Labor Government.

 

The package will be divided between road, rail and education infrastructure; in many cases bringing already approved and future projects forward. Tax changes for Australian businesses will also be implemented.

 

$1.2 billion of the package will be put into the nation’s rail network. $580 million of that will go towards the railway connecting the Hunter Valley coal mines and Newcastle Port.

 

$711 million will be put towards road construction and improvement projects and will push funding for the Black Spot Program to $110 million from $50 million.

 

Four NSW road projects have been fast tracked in the package. The Woomargama Bypass and Tarcutta Bypass on the Hume Highway and the Bulahdelah Bypass and Sexton’s Hill, Banora Point projects on the Pacific Highway.

 

No funding has been put towards the Princess Highway and local Liberal members have criticized this decision by the federal government.

 

In education, $1.6 billion will be invested in Universities and TAFE’s nation wide. The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard announced a new Teaching and Learning Capital Fund for Higher Education which will inject $500 million into universities.

 

NSW universities will receive $153 million of this fund; Wollongong University is to receive $10.1 million. Wollongong University will also receive its already secured $35 million from the Higher Education Endowment Fund for the SMART Infrastructure facility (Simulation, Modeling, and Analysis for Research and Teaching).

$500 million will also be delivered to public skills and training through The Teaching and Learning Capital Fund for Vocational Education and Training.

 

Questions have been raised by the federal opposition about the possibility of the budget being dimished and put into deificit by Mr Rudd’s investments and rescue packages. Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull described last weeks cash handouts as a “sugar hit” and suggested that tax cuts would have been the better defence against recession.

Kevin Rudd says this latest national investment package will not put the budget into deficit.