December 1 - 31, 2024: Issue 637

Our Youth page is for young people aged 13+ - if you are younger than this we have news for you in the Children's pageNews items and articles run at the top of this page. Information, local resources, events and local organisations, sports groups etc. are at the base of this page. All Previous pages for you are listed in Past Features

Play Her Way – the next wave in women’s sport

The NSW Government has announced its plan for the next wave in women’s sport with the release of its new women’s sport strategy – Play Her Way.

Play Her Way is a four-year plan that aims to get more NSW women and girls playing, and staying involved in, sport.

The strategy builds on the groundswell of support for women's sport, which has seen a massive increase in participation and viewership at both grassroots and professional levels.

Play Her Way will support the next wave of young females on their journey to the top of sport as well as ensure more women and girls can participate in fun, safe and inclusive sporting environments.

Key themes of the strategy include participation, leadership, culture, partnerships and investment with a particular focus on addressing the low rates of participation among adolescent girls.

To achieve this, the NSW Government will partner with the sports sector to break down barriers preventing adolescent girls participating in sport and identify new opportunities to increase participation.

The strategy was launched at URBNSRF Sydney Olympic Park where a group of the next generation of female athletes caught a wave together to symbolise the next wave in women’s sport.

For further information on the Play Her Way women’s sport strategy visit:  www.sport.nsw.gov.au/play-her-way

Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said: 

“Women’s sport has seen tremendous growth and success in recent years through the performances of the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the success of NRLW as well as the Australian women’s cricket team and the recent Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“But there is still work to do to maintain this momentum and capitalise on the next wave of women’s sport.

“Crucial to achieving this is addressing the low rates of participation among adolescent girls and working with the sector to develop new and innovative opportunities for teenage girls to play sport their way.”

Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said:

“The NSW Government is committed to providing safe, inclusive and supportive environments for all women and girls to participate in sport.

“We want more women playing sport. We want them in coaching and leadership roles as well, so that sport is truly being played ‘her’ way.

“Play Her Way is our plan to achieve this so that more women and girls can play, and stay involved in, sport.”

Construction ramps up on Harbour Bridge Cycleway project

November 29, 2024

Work is ramping up on the new $38.9 million Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway project with major work set to kick off before Christmas.

In March, Western Sydney construction company Arenco (NSW) Pty Ltd was awarded the contract to build the cycleway. Around 700 workers will be involved in delivering the project, with materials being sourced and manufactured across Australia.

When complete, the 170 metre-long and 3 metre-wide ramp will link the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Milsons Point, sparing cyclists the hike up 55 stairs and making one of Australia’s most iconic bike routes easily accessible for riders of all ages and abilities.

New renders showcase the final design from Redfern design firm ASPECT Studios, paying careful attention to the historical significance of the site and honouring the heritage of the Harbour Bridge.

The balustrades are being cast by Evermil in Unanderra NSW, structural steel bridge sections are being fabricated by Alfabs in Kurri Kurri NSW, and stone for the artwork paving is being sourced from NSW, Queensland and South Australia.

Granite for sections of the paving is coming from Moruya on the NSW South Coast; the same granite used for the original Harbour Bridge pylons, tying together the old and the new.

The pavement will form an Aboriginal artwork design, developed by Aboriginal artists Maddison Gibbs and Jason Wing, drawing on the imagery and themes of Gadigal and Cammeraygal land and waters.

The new ramp will connect riders from the bridge to the bike network in Milsons Point. From Bradfield Park, riders can then join a new 150 metre-long and 2.5 metre-wide two-way dedicated cycle path and new shared zones in Milsons Point.

Transport is also contributing to improvements in Bradfield Park, with a $2.5 million funding grant to North Sydney Council. Pedestrians will benefit from safer connections, with new footpaths and a new pedestrian crossing on Alfred Street South. A new paved plaza area will be created to connect the new cycle path and ramp into Bradfield Park. The plaza will be a welcoming community space with seating, a bike repair station and water fountain, for visitors or commuters heading to Milsons Point station and beyond.

Major work will kick off in late 2024 including ground preparations for the new ramp and eight new columns in Bradfield Park, with preparation works now underway. Construction has been carefully planned to reduce impacts to the local community as much as possible. Work is expected to be completed by 2026.

For more information on the project and to view the designs, please visit: nswroads.work/cycleway.

Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:

“Around 2,000 trips are taken across the cycleway each weekday, making it not just our only cross-harbour bike link, but one of Sydney’s most heavily used – and we’re expecting those numbers to rise once the ramp is complete.

“Every cyclist deserves to have safe and easy access to what is undoubtedly one of Australia’s most famed bike routes. Whether you’re 8 or 80 – this ramp has been designed with riders of all ages and abilities in mind.

“Great cities are always evolving, and our Harbour Bridge is no exception. This cycleway will be a modern addition, while honouring its rich history – from the First Nations artwork to the Moruya granite paving.

“The Harbour Bridge cycleway project has created hundreds of jobs for our state – and what an incredible legacy each of those workers will leave behind.

“We’re so proud to be bringing our beautiful 92-year-old bridge into the modern age, making it more attractive for cyclists all over the world.

Sydney Harbour Bridge history:

  • The Sydney Harbour Bridge was officially opened on 19 March 1932 after eight years of work by over 1,600 people.
  • Excavations for the formation began in January 1925.
  • The arch was joined at nearly midnight on 19 August 1930.
  • Tramways were removed in 1958 and replaced by two extra road lanes. Bus lanes also were added in 1972.
  • The Bridge was originally 6 lanes with 2 tram lines and 2 rail lines. Now it is 8 lanes and 2 rail lines, a pedestrian path and a bicycle path.
  • The Cahill and Warringah expressways and the Western Distributor have all been connected since the Bridge opened.
  • The bridge is a National Engineering Landmark and an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
  • The Bridge weighs 52,800 tonnes and spans 1149 metres. It has more than 6 million hand-driven rivets and, although, the Bridge looks curved however every piece of steel is straight.

A tram and a train arrive at Milsons Point station, circa 1935 - courtesy Royal Australian Historical Society - Flickr page:   https://www.flickr.com/photos/royalaustralianhistoricalsociety/6433345329/

Whale Beach SLSC Members in Beach to Bush 2024

First off, have a plan – 5 ways young people can stay safe at schoolies

Alison Hutton, Western Sydney University

Year 12 exams are finishing around Australia and celebrations are beginning. Thousands of students will mark the end of high school in coming weeks with “schoolies”.

This is an important rite of passage for many young Australians. About 20,000 school leavers are expected to party at Surfers Paradise in one of the main schoolies celebrations. Other festivals are planned for Lorne in Victoria, Victor Harbor in South Australia, Byron Bay in New South Wales, Bali and Fiji.

I am an expert in young people’s health and safety at large-scale events. What steps can you take to stay safe at schoolies and make sure you have a great time?

1. Plan ahead

Having a plan can reduce stress and help keep everyone on track.

Know where you’ll be staying and how you’ll get there and back from the main events. Check to see if there are free bus services and how to access them.

The schoolies websites can also help you plan where to get food, water, charge your phones and seek medical help.

2. Plan what you bring

Don’t take too many valuables. When you’re thinking about your outfit, think about where you phone will go so it is safe. A bum bag can be a great way to keep things secure.

Believe it or not the main reasons for using the medical tent is twists and sprains of ankles and cuts and blisters from shoes – so take comfortable footwear that is good for dancing and walking around.

3. Stay in groups

You will have already decided who you are going to hang out before you go. So stick with your friends and look out for each other. Avoid going anywhere alone, especially at night, and always organise a meet up spot if you do get separated or your phone dies.

Before you go, talk with friends about how you will support each other. Is someone designated as a non-drinker for the evening? Do you want to organise an hourly check-in on a group chat?

A crowd of young people at a concert.
Work out a meeting place if you get separated from your mates. Franz Pfluegel/Shutterstock

4. Stay in safe places

Only attend official events and parties. These areas are well lit and there is security and medical assistance available if you or your friends need it.

5. Know your limits

Think about how many drinks you can have beforehand – understand your limits and carry some water and snacks.

If you are feeling like you need a rest, you could try the nearest chill out tent. It’s a great way to make new friends and there are free drinks and snacks

If you are considering taking pills, go and visit the drug checking site. Drug checking is free and confidential and will let you know what you are taking to stay safe.

What if something scary or unexpected happens?

There are peer-support programs at schoolies to help you if you are upset or stressed.

On the Gold Coast, you can look out for Red Frogs or the Schoolies Support Team, who are there to support young people at events where alcohol is consumed.

In South Australia, there is the Green Team, who are young people from Christian backgrounds. The Green Team will stay with you while you are looking for your friends, walk you back to your tent and they know where all the free eating spots are.

In main schoolies areas there will also be police walking around and security guards, depending on the event. All of these people are there to give judgment-free support – so you will not get into trouble if you ask for help for yourself or one of your friends.

If a friend gets too drunk or has taken something and needs support, take them to a quieter spot with good lighting and stay with them. If you can, get someone else to go and find some help from the medical tent. Try and lay your friend on their side so that they can vomit, especially if they are passed out. Don’t try and give them water or more to drink, just make sure they are comfortable while someone is getting help.

If something scary happens – yell out and try and attract attention. Move into a well lit place if you can. Remember to trust your instincts and find a safe place.

Once you feel safe, tell event staff or police what happened – it helps them to look out and make sure it doesn’t happen again. You can also call 000 at any time.

Remember, schoolies is your event. With some simple planning you can make it a week you will always remember for the best reasons.The Conversation

Alison Hutton, Professor of Nursing, Western Sydney University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

TAFE Fee-free* courses - semester 1 2025 enrol now

NSW Fee-free* TAFE is a joint initiative of the Australian Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments, providing tuition-free training places for eligible students wanting to train, retrain or upskill.

Places are limited and not guaranteed. Enrolling or applying early with all required documentation is recommended. The number of funded NSW Fee-free* TAFE places is determined by the terms of the skills agreement between the Australian Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments.

Semester 1 2025 Fee Free* TAFE Certificates and Diplomas.

Enrol Now in:

  •  Aboriginal Studies and Mentoring
  •  Agriculture
  •  Animal Care and Horse Industry
  •  Automotive
  •  Aviation
  •  Building and Construction Trades
  •  Business and Marketing
  •  Civil Construction and Surveying
  •  Community and Youth Services
  •  Education and Training
  •  Electrotechnology
  •  Engineering
  •  Farming and Primary Production
  •  Fashion
  •  Food and Hospitality
  •  Healthcare
  •  Horticulture and Landscaping
  •  Information Technology
  •  Mining and Resources
  •  Music and Production
  •  Screen and Media
  •  Sport and Recreation
  •  Travel and Tourism
  •  Water Industry Operations

Who is Eligible for NSW Fee-free TAFE?

To be eligible, you must at the time of enrolment:

  • Live or work in New South Wales.
  • Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, permanent Australian resident, or a humanitarian visa holder.
  • Be aged 15 years or over, and not enrolled at any school.
  • Be enrolling in a course for the first time for Semester 1 2025 and your studies must commence between 1 January 2025 and 30 June 2025.

You are strongly encouraged to apply if you fall under one or more of these categories:

  • First Nations people
  • LGBTIQ+ community
  • Veterans
  • Job seekers
  • Young people
  • Unpaid carers
  • Women interested in non-traditional fields
  • People living with a disability
  • People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Find out more and enrol via:  www.tafensw.edu.au/fee-free-short-courses

Science To Revive Our Oceans: SIM's has a PHD Opportunity - operation Crayweed

The Sydney Institute of Marine Science is a collaborative research and training institute bringing together researchers from four NSW universities plus state and federal marine and environmental agencies.

SIMS conducts multidisciplinary marine research on impacts of climate change and urbanisation, eco-engineering and habitat restoration, ocean resources and technologies, and outcomes of marine management approaches.

By bringing together NSW’s leading marine scientists in a collaborative hub, SIMS ensures the efficient use of resources for research on Australia’s critical coastal environments.

They currently have an opportunity for someone to join the Operation Crayweed team. Pittwater Online News has been running updates on this project since 2014. There are a LOT of local connections here, from Barrenjoey to Manly should you feel inspired to get involved.

Image: A SIMS scientist planting crayweed at Cabbage Tree Bay, Manly. Photo SIMS

More on Operation Crayweed on the SIMS website at: www.operationcrayweed.com


You can peruse those previous reports at:

Details:




Laura Enever, Tom Hobbs and Tom Carroll at the Bondi planting event. Photo by Frame.co

Study subsidies: NSW’s health workforce

More than 3,900 students across NSW have already benefitted from the NSW Government’s $120 million investment in tertiary health study subsidies, with all subsidies now awarded for the 2024 calendar year, the government announced on October 3.

The recipients of the subsidies include 1,840 nursing students, 280 midwifery students, 1,020 allied health, 520 medical students and 262 paramedical students.

Students beginning their degrees will receive subsidies of $4,000 per year over three years.

The subsidies, announced as part of the 2023-24 Budget, are also expected to support a further 8,000 healthcare students over the next four years.

Students seeking to receive the subsidy in 2025 can apply from mid-January 2025 and must be willing to make a five-year commitment to the NSW public health system.

The subsidies form part of a series of measures introduced by the Minns Government to further strengthen the state’s health workforce, including:
  • Implementing the Safe Staffing Levels initiative in our emergency departments
  • Providing permanent funding for 1,112 FTE nurses and midwives on an ongoing basis
  • Abolishing the wages cap and delivering the highest pay increase in over a decade for nurses and other health workers
  • Beginning to roll out 500 additional paramedics in regional, rural and remote communities.
The full list of 2025 eligible workforce groups will be available in October 2024 on NSW Health's Study Subsidies Webpage.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“I am so pleased more than 3,900 people across NSW have already benefitted from our health worker study subsidies.

“The subsidies help students with costs such as fees, technology, travel, and helps us keep talented people here in NSW, working in the country’s largest public health system.

“Attracting skilled healthcare workers is a longstanding challenge, and while there is a long way to go rebuilding our healthcare system, we are committed to doing it so that people can access the care they need, when they need it.”

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“We are shoring up the future of our health workforce in NSW and we’re honouring our election commitment to reducing financial barriers to studying healthcare.

“When we boost our health workforce we improve health outcomes, it’s as simple as that.

“It’s encouraging to see such a strong subscription of these subsidies.”

season 3 of She’s Electric competition now open for female surfers

Hyundai She’s Electric is returning for a third season, offering female surfers across Australia, aged 16 and over, the opportunity to showcase their talent in this exciting online competition. Surfing Australia and Hyundai are proud to continue their mission to recognise and amplify grassroots female athletes on a national scale. By uploading a video of your best wave, you could win a share of $58,500 worth of prizes.

Simply record yourself surfing your best wave and submit it for the chance to win weekly prizes and join Hyundai Team Electric. These athletes will gain access to expert coaching and national exposure. The top scorer will walk away with $1,000 in cash, a 12-month Hyundai vehicle loan, a VIP experience at the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Grand Final on the Gold Coast with Laura Enever in March 2025, and will be named a Hyundai ambassador for 12 months.

Female surfers are invited to submit their best wave clips to be judged by Surfing Australia’s panel of female experts. The competition runs until November 22, with the Top 5 finalists to be announced as Hyundai Team Electric. These athletes will receive invaluable support and exposure, including professional coaching and media opportunities, helping them advance to the top levels of the sport.

Hyundai Team Electric: Training, prizes, and national spotlight

At the end of Season 3, the Top 5 athletes will join Hyundai Team Electric and attend a three-day intensive surf camp at the Hyundai Surfing Australia High Performance Centre (HPC) . The camp will include surf analysis form some of Australia's top surf coaches, surf-specific workshops, and workshops led by surfing icons and pioneers of women’s surfing.

Team Electric will then compete in a knockout surf-off, with the overall winner taking home $1000 cash, a one-year Hyundai ambassadorship, a 12-month loan of a Hyundai vehicle, and a VIP experience at the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle (ABB) Grand Final alongside former World Tour surfer and Big Wave Record Holder, Laura Enever. Athletes placing 2nd–5th will each receive $1000 in prize money.

Season 3 also marks the return of the Hyundai Bright Spark award, given weekly to a surfer who demonstrates enthusiasm, courage, and commitment, no matter how long or short their ride lasts. The award aims to encourage surfers of all abilities to enjoy the process, commit to wipeouts, and have fun along the way. Each Hyundai Bright Spark winner will receive an MF x Laura Enever Collection Palm Springs surfboard, valued at over $700.

Paving the way for future female surfing talent

Hyundai She’s Electric is designed to elevate and inspire the next generation of female surfers, providing them with the tools, exposure, and support to reach their full potential. The program celebrates the diversity and skill of women’s surfing across Australia, offering athletes the opportunity to connect with some of the country’s best coaches and surfing icons.

Last year’s winner of Hyundai She’s Electric, Rosie Smart, said: "I loved the online format because it really allowed us girls to open up, experiment, and try new things with our surfing without the pressure and expectation of surfing in a 20-minute heat. From charging big barrels to air reverses and rail surfing, it was clear that we were all pushing each other and being inspired by the clips submitted each week.

"The HPC camp brought the Top 5 girls together to surf, hang out, and use the amazing training facilities the HPC has to offer. I really enjoyed the breath work training, something I had never been exposed to before, which gave me insights on how to stay calm when faced with a scary wipeout or long hold down. Winning She’s Electric opened up new opportunities, including commentating the Australian Boardriders Battle, running amok with Laura Enever, and the bonus prize money helped fund my 2024 Challenger Series campaign. As we move into the third season of Hyundai She’s Electric, the level of female surfing is rising so fast—I can’t wait to see some of the clips that will come out this year."

Surfing Australia Manager of Boardrider Clubs and Judging, Glen Elliott, said: "This initiative has been instrumental in showcasing the extraordinary talent we have in women's surfing. The online format, introduced last year, provides more surfers, regardless of their location, the opportunity to participate and be discovered. The standard of entries continues to rise each year, and we’re incredibly excited to see what Season 3 brings."

Hyundai Australia Chief Executive Officer, Ted Lee, said: “Hyundai is proud to further extend our great partnership with Surfing Australia into a third exciting season of Hyundai She’s Electric. Last time round we were delighted to witness the amazing surfing skills on show, not only of our talented winner Rosie Smart, but all of the competitors who boldly took part. Hyundai She’s Electric will continue to unearth the greatest of female surfing stars in Australia and we look forward to Season 3 being as inspiring as ever.”

Join the competition and learn more

Athlete profiles, competition updates, and wave submissions will be featured throughout the competition on Surfing Australia's Instagram. Stay tuned for the official announcement of the Top 5 athletes later this year. For full details on how to enter, and to follow the journey of Hyundai Team Electric, visit the Surfing Australia website.

Ready to make your mark? Submit your best wave now for a chance to join Hyundai Team Electric, win amazing prizes, and gain national exposure. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just love the thrill of surfing, Hyundai She’s Electric is for you!

Conditions apply, visit surfingaustralia.com/sheselectric for full Terms and Conditions and prize details. 

Promotional Period: starts 12.01AM AEST 16/09/24, ends 11.59PM AEDT 11/12/24.

Entry Period: starts 12.01AM AEST 16/09/24,ends 11.59PM AEDT 22/11/24.

Open to female AU residents 16+, with AU motor vehicle driver licence (full, provisional or learner permitted).Parent/guardian approval required if under 18.

Max 1 entry per person per week of entry period.

Entry is free.

Prize 1&2 winners announced 27/11/24, prizes 3&4 announced 11/12/24.

Promoter: Hyundai Motor Company Australia Pty Limited & Surfing Australia Pty Ltd. By entering you agree to the promoter’s Terms and Conditions and privacy policies.


Pic: Enter now for your chance to win an MF x Laura Enever Collection Palm Springs surfboard. Credit: Cathryn Hammond / Surfing Australia

Take a ferry to Rolling Sets this December
Pre-sale sign up at: https://rollingsets.com.au/


Your Voice Our Future: have your say

The NSW Government is seeking feedback from young people on how the government can better support them in NSW.

The Minister for Youth, the Hon. Rose Jackson, MLC and the NSW Government is seeking feedback from young people aged 14 to 24 years on how the government can better support young people in NSW. The online survey asks about:

  • the important issues that young people face
  • what is not working well for young people in NSW
  • how the NSW Government should support and better engage with young people.

Your feedback will be summarised and and shared with the Minister for Youth, the Hon. Rose Jackson to inform ministerial priorities. It will also be promoted across NSW Government departments to help deliver better programs and services for young people. By completing the survey, you can go in a monthly draw to win a gift card of your choice up to the value of $250*.

This survey has been developed by the Minister for Youth, the Hon. Rose Jackson, MLC, the Office of the Advocate of Children and Young People (ACYP) and the Office for Regional Youth.

When we ask for your name and contact details

If you opt in to receive more communications about this work, you will be asked to provide your contact details so that you can be kept updated. You may also be contacted to see if you would like to participate in further surveys or activities.

If you opt in to enter the monthly draw, your contact details will be needed to request your preferred e-gift card so we can deliver it via email, if you win. If you win, we may publicise your first name, age and suburb on NSW Government webpages, social media and other public communications.

If you are under 18, you will also need to provide the contact details of your parent/guardian who may be contacted directly to confirm consent for you to participate.

*View the terms and conditions (PDF 140.28KB) and privacy policy (PDF 140.26KB)

Have your say by Tuesday 31 December 2024.

You can submit your feedback via an online survey, here: https://www.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say/your-voice-our-future


School Leavers Support

Explore the School Leavers Information Kit (SLIK) as your guide to education, training and work options in 2022;
As you prepare to finish your final year of school, the next phase of your journey will be full of interesting and exciting opportunities. You will discover new passions and develop new skills and knowledge.

We know that this transition can sometimes be challenging. With changes to the education and workforce landscape, you might be wondering if your planned decisions are still a good option or what new alternatives are available and how to pursue them.

There are lots of options for education, training and work in 2022 to help you further your career. This information kit has been designed to help you understand what those options might be and assist you to choose the right one for you. Including:
  • Download or explore the SLIK here to help guide Your Career.
  • School Leavers Information Kit (PDF 5.2MB).
  • School Leavers Information Kit (DOCX 0.9MB).
  • The SLIK has also been translated into additional languages.
  • Download our information booklets if you are rural, regional and remote, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or living with disability.
  • Support for Regional, Rural and Remote School Leavers (PDF 2MB).
  • Support for Regional, Rural and Remote School Leavers (DOCX 0.9MB).
  • Support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander School Leavers (PDF 2MB).
  • Support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander School Leavers (DOCX 1.1MB).
  • Support for School Leavers with Disability (PDF 2MB).
  • Support for School Leavers with Disability (DOCX 0.9MB).
  • Download the Parents and Guardian’s Guide for School Leavers, which summarises the resources and information available to help you explore all the education, training, and work options available to your young person.

School Leavers Information Service

Are you aged between 15 and 24 and looking for career guidance?

Call 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337).

SMS 'SLIS2022' to 0429 009 435.

Our information officers will help you:
  • navigate the School Leavers Information Kit (SLIK),
  • access and use the Your Career website and tools; and
  • find relevant support services if needed.
You may also be referred to a qualified career practitioner for a 45-minute personalised career guidance session. Our career practitioners will provide information, advice and assistance relating to a wide range of matters, such as career planning and management, training and studying, and looking for work.

You can call to book your session on 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337) Monday to Friday, from 9am to 7pm (AEST). Sessions with a career practitioner can be booked from Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm.

This is a free service, however minimal call/text costs may apply.

Call 1800 CAREER (1800 227 337) or SMS SLIS2022 to 0429 009 435 to start a conversation about how the tools in Your Career can help you or to book a free session with a career practitioner.

All downloads and more available at: www.yourcareer.gov.au/school-leavers-support

Word Of The Week: Narrative

Word of the Week remains a keynote in 2024, simply to throw some disruption in amongst the 'yeah-nah' mix. 

Noun

1. a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. 2. the practice or art of telling stories. 3. a representation of a particular situation or process in such a way as to reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values; e.g. a political party or media corporation narrative.

Adjective

in the form of or concerned with narration.

From late Middle English (as an adjective): from French narratif, -ive, from late Latin narrativus ‘telling a story’, from the verb narrare (see narrate).

Narrate

Verb

1. give a spoken or written account of.

From mid 17th century: from Latin narrat- ‘related, told’, from the verb narrare (from gnarus ‘knowing’).

Australia’s social media ban for kids under 16 just became law. How it will work remains a mystery

Kampus Production/Pexels
Lisa M. Given, RMIT University

The federal parliament has passed legislation to ban people under 16 from having an account with some social media platforms.

In doing so, it has ignored advice from a chorus of expertsand from the Australian Human Rights Commission, which said the government rushed the legislation through parliament “without taking the time to get the details right. Or even knowing how the ban will work in practice.”

The ban is, however, backed by 77% of Australians, according to a new poll. It won’t take effect for at least 12 months.

So what will happen before then?

What’s in the final bill?

The legislation amends the current Online Safety Act 2021 and defines an “age-restricted user” as a person under age 16. However, it does not name specific platforms that will be subject to the ban.

Instead, the legislation defines an “age-restricted social media platform” as including services where:

  1. the “sole purpose, or a significant purpose” is to enable “online social interaction” between people
  2. people can “link to, or interact with” others on the service
  3. people can “post material”, or
  4. it falls under other conditions as set out in the legislation.

The legislation does note that some services are “excluded”, but does not name specific platforms. For example, while services providing “online social interaction” would be included in the ban, this would not include “online business interaction”.

While it remains unclear exactly which social media platforms will be subject to the ban, those that are will face fines of up to A$50 million if they don’t take “reasonable steps” to stop under 16s from having accounts.

While there are reports YouTube will be exempt, the government has not explicitly confirmed this. What is clear at the moment is that people under 16 will still be able to view the content of many platforms online – just without an account.

The legislation does not mention messaging apps (such as WhatsApp and Messenger) or gaming platforms (such as Minecraft), specifically. However, news reports have quoted the government as saying these would be excluded, along with “services with the primary purpose of supporting the health and education of end-users”. It is unclear what platforms would be excluded in these cases.

In passing the final legislation, the government included additional amendments to its original proposal. For example, tech companies cannot collect government-issued identification such as passports and drivers licenses “as the only means” of confirming someone’s age. They can, however, collect government-issued identification “if other alternative age assurance methods have been provided to users”.

There must also be an “independent review” after two years to consider the “adequacy” of privacy protections and other issues.

What now for the tech companies?

As well as having to verify the age of people wanting to create an account, tech companies will also need to verify the age of existing account holders – regardless of their age. This will be a significant logistical challenge. Will there be a single day when every Australian with a social media account has to sign in and prove their age?

An even bigger concern is how tech companies will be able to verify a user’s age. The legislation provides little clarity about this.

There are a few options social media platforms might pursue.

One option might be for them to check someone’s age using credit cards as a proxy linked to a person’s app store account. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said previously that this strategy would be included in the age verification trials that are currently underway. YouTube, for example, has previously enabled users to gain access to age-restricted content using a credit card.

However, this approach would exclude access for people who meet the age requirement of being over 16, but do not hold credit cards.

Another option is to use facial recognition technology. This technology is among the various strategies being trialled for the government to restrict age for both social media platforms (for ages under 16) and online pornography (for ages under 18). The trial is being run by a consortium led by Age Check Certification Scheme, based in the United Kingdom. The results won’t be known until mid-2025.

However, there is already evidence that facial recognition systems contain significant biases and inaccuracies.

For example, commercially available facial recognition systems have an error rate of 0.8% for light-skinned men, compared to nearly 35% for dark-skinned women. Even some of the best performing systems in use currently, such as Yoti (which Meta currently offers to Australian users ahead of a global rollout) has an average error of almost two years for people aged 13 to 16 years old.

What about the digital duty of care?

Earlier this month the government promised to impose a “digital duty of care” on tech companies.

This would require the companies to regularly conduct thorough risk assessments of the content on their platforms. And, companies would need to respond to consumer complaints, resulting in the removal of potentially harmful content.

This duty of care is backed by experts – including myself – and by the Human Rights Law Centre. A parliamentary inquiry into the social media ban legislation also recommended the government legislate this.

It remains unclear exactly when the government will fulfil its promise to do just that.

But even if the duty of care is legislated, that doesn’t preclude the need for more investment in digital literacy. Parents, teachers and children need support to understand how to navigate social media platforms safely.

In the end, social media platforms should be safe spaces for all users. They provide valuable information and community engagement opportunities to people of all ages. The onus is now on the tech companies to restrict access for youth under 16.

However, the work needed to keep all of us safe, and to hold the tech companies accountable for the content they provide, is only just beginning.The Conversation

Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Welcome to Babel: new documentary charts the creation of painter Jiawei Shen’s three-storey magnum opus

Greg Weight/Bonsai Films
Joanna Mendelssohn, The University of Melbourne

When Jiawei Shen first came to Australia, he bought a copy of that great western ideological text, the Bible. The doctrine that had shaped his life until then had come from the writings of the great Marxist thinkers – Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and of course, Mao Zedong.

It made sense, therefore, to study the source of the ideology that supposedly shaped this strange new world. Right near the beginning, in Genesis chapter 11, he found the intriguing story of the Tower of Babel, a myth on the origin of linguistic and cultural confusion.

It tells of a time when all people spoke the same language, and out of pride, they built a tower to the heavens so it would be seen from wherever they went. God realised if they continued to collaborate, nothing could stop them:

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.

The tower was abandoned – and the people scattered across the earth, with many different languages.

Many years later, when Shen contemplated the way his life and his wife’s life had been shaped by ideology and circumstance, he remembered the lesson of the Tower of Babel

Settling in Bob Hawke’s Australia

In June 1989, when student demonstrations in Beijing resulted in the Tiananmen Square massacre, Jiawei Shen was in Australia. As all affected Chinese citizens were granted asylum by then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, he was able to settle in Sydney.

He was soon joined by his wife, fellow artist Lan Wang, and their baby daughter, Xini. While Lan Wang worked as a cleaner, Jiawei Shen started his Australian career by drawing portraits for tourists at Circular Quay. Most art competitions are by invitation only, but in 1993 when he entered the open-entry Archibald Prize with a portrait of Professor John Clarke, his work was hung.

He soon became an Archibald favourite. The smooth, almost photographic finish that characterised his style made him a popular artist for portrait commissions. In 1995, he was awarded the Mary MacKillop Art Award. His interpretation of the future saint pleased the conservative hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1997, Shen and Wang bought a small fisherman’s cottage at Bundeena on the edge of the Royal National Park. After the changing political climate in China saw his art (which had been out of favour) come into fashion once more, Jiawei Shen considered the nature and impact of ideology.

Jiawei Shen and Lan Wang (pictured) both lived through the Great Chinese Famine, yet their experiences of it were starkly different. Bonsai Films

He thought again of the story of Babel – and how it could be seen as a metaphor for what had happened to the original ideals of Communism.

On October 30 2017, exactly 100 years after the Bolshevik Revolution, Shen began to paint his magnum opus, The Tower of Babel. The painting is so large it fills the walls of the three storey house that was built to contain it.

James Bradley’s documentary, Welcome to Babel, records both the painstaking process of making the painting – as well as the contradictions and commonalities of Jiawei Shen and Lan Wang’s lives in both China and Australia.

The documentary played at the Sydney Film Festival earlier this year. Bonsai Films/Peter Solness

A vision to build the communist mansion

The painting itself (which remains in Shen’s possession) is divided into four parts, one for each wall: Utopia, Internationale, Gulag and Saturnus.

The images are drawn from both historic documents and copies of works of art made by artists identifying with Communism. Utopia, the first painting, starts with Lenin and the ideals of the Bolshevik revolution, which evolved into the tyranny of Stalin and, in China, Mao.

Utopia is one of four murals that make up Shen’s colossal painting. Bonsai Films/James Bradley

Portraits of the great men evolve into images based on the propaganda they spread about the new society they were creating. As their ideas spread around the world, they influenced many artists – such as Picasso, Matisse, Léger, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera – who came to admire the idealism of this brave new world.

Shen was a child of Mao’s revolution. Born in Shanghai in 1948, he was the son of loyal party members. In his childhood he knew “we were building the Communist mansion”. He still honours the idealism of the those thinkers who imagined a world where all can flourish.

His childhood within the Party is contrasted with Lan Wang’s experience of childhood as a daughter of a despised “Rightist”. Throughout the film, her sometimes tart observations give essential leavening to her husband’s heroic narrative.

The third wall, “Gulag”, shows the cost of unthinking ideology. He remembers being hungry in Mao’s Great Famine, when overeager Party figures falsified production numbers to please their leader and people starved. Wang remembers seeing the dead.

The third wall, Gulag, captures a darker side of unchecked ideology. Bonsai Films/Greg Weight

As with other students, they were both sent to work in the country alongside peasant farmers. But while Shen remembers this as “the happiest time in my life”, Wang was sent to a remote northern province where it was cold and people starved.

‘He didn’t experience the suffering’

Jiawei Shen’s career as an artist came from his time in the country when his painting, Standing Guard for our Great Motherland, attracted the attention of Madam Mao.

Jiawei Shen’s painting Standing Guard for Our Great Motherland caught the eye of Madam Mao. Bonsai Films

His status as a heroic worker artist ended after Mao’s death, and he became an art student. The same event also freed “children of the dogs” like Lan Wang, to be educated, and so she become an artist. Her painting is whimsical and decorative, with a sense of fantasy that is absent from her husband’s work.

Lan Wang photographed in China during her youth. Bonsai Films

Wang’s experiences, as well as Shen’s own time spent out of favour, colour the wall he calls Saturnus – the dark side of the revolution. The great art featured here is Goya’s Saturn devouring his son. Shen argues China’s Cultural Revolution and the French Revolution have a great deal in common, wherein “good intentions bring about the most evil results”.

The success of Welcome to Babel largely comes from the contrast between Jiawei Shen and Lan Wang’s approach to their new life. He is the showman, turning his memories, and those of others, into a giant collage – a painting that will be his legacy “for the people of China”.

Wang grows a small garden behind the imposing new house. “He is able to create this work because he didn’t experience the suffering,” she says.The Conversation

Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Australian printmaker Ruth Faerber has died aged 102. She never stopped making art

Joanna Mendelssohn, The University of Melbourne

In 1974, when a local Sydney newspaper wrote on the success of two local artists, they were introduced using their husband’s names. Ruth Faerber, who has died aged 102, was named as “Mrs Hans (Ruth) Faerber of Castle Cove”.

This was later expanded to indicate the “housewife, mother of two is the wife of Hans Faerber, a design engineer”, before describing her prizewinning work and noting she was also the art critic of the Jewish Times.

Ever polite, always elegant, Faerber never vocally contested such categorisations. However, from girlhood until her extreme old age, she was first and foremost an artist.

A young interest in art

Ruth Levy was born in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, on October 9 1922. After a less than pleasant experience at Sydney Girls High with an art teacher she later described as an “absolute whacko”, she became a boarding student at Ravenswood.

Here, she was inspired by her teacher Gladys Gibbons and introduced to printmaking as an art. When Ruth told her father she wanted to leave school and be an artist, he agreed on the condition that “you’ve got to be able earn your own living”.

She enrolled at Peter Dodd’s Commercial Art School. Dodd’s friends included the radical modernists Frank and Margel Hinder, recently arrived from the United States, giving the students a surprisingly radical art education.

Two years later, as the impact of World War II led to young women being encouraged to take the jobs of departed men, the 17-year-old worked as a junior commercial artist.

At the Market Printery she was introduced to photogravure printing and made her first experimental etching.

Ruth continued her studies at East Sydney Technical College. In 1944 she enrolled in Desiderius Orban’s Rowe Street Studio. The refugee Hungarian artist taught that rules were to be broken, that artists must experiment, and to have faith in her creativity.

These were lessons she never forgot.

Making a life as an artist

In 1946, Ruth married Hans Faerber, a young design engineer who had escaped from Germany in 1938.

Despite postwar cultural pressures prescribing that women should solely devote themselves to their families, Ruth continued to paint, turning the garage into her studio and running children’s art classes from home. She wanted to learn printmaking but in Sydney this was not possible: the only lithography course was limited to printing apprentices, and only men were eligible to apply.

In 1961 Joy Ewart donated her lithography press to create Sydney’s first public access print workshop at the Willoughby Arts Centre. Faerber became one of its most active participants.

In 1963, the year of her first solo exhibition, the family moved to a house on Sydney’s north shore. Her new studio was built into the base of the cliff. To provide safe access without the bother of planning permission, Hans removed the floor of the broom cupboard and placed a ladder down to the studio.

Faerber’s ability to disappear into a cupboard straight after dinner did sometimes disconcert her children and visitors, but it gave her time to make art as she worked through the night.

Continual experiments

By 1968 her prints had been acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of NSW, but she knew she needed to learn more.

She received a scholarship for New York City’s Pratt Center. In New York, she saw Rauschenberg’s Experiments in Art & Technology and remembered Orban’s dictum to constantly experiment. She started to use spray paint as a medium and to incorporate photographic images in her work. One print includes a newspaper photograph of Leonard Cohen, made after she saw him perform.

Her return to Australia saw continual experiments. She also began to write, becoming the art critic for the Australian Jewish News. Her reviews were characterised by a generosity of spirit, especially noticing artists at the beginning of their careers. Women and printmakers were favoured subjects.

One of the most significant costs for printmakers is the cost of imported handmade paper. In 1980, Faerber was invited to attend the first hand paper-making workshop at the Tasmanian School of Art’s Jabberwock Mill.

There she realised the possibilities of paper as a medium rather than as a surface.

She abandoned standard shapes. Her experiments with paper became irregular, then sculptural. Paper began to be made with different materials, including tapioca flour and cold tea. She found if she sprayed a paper sculpture with the kind of aerosol paint designed for cars, she could simulate an impression of aged stone.

While she kept a close eye on the latest technical developments, her best tools of trade were sometimes found in the home. Electric frying pans, food processors and a microwave oven were repurposed to make art. An ironing board with a mesh base was used as a press for making paper. She had a long fascination with archaeological sites, realising how fragile civilisations and human life may be.

As she became physically frail, Faerber changed her practice towards making digital prints, seeing how far she could stretch the new media to her ends.The Conversation

Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


Ruth Faerber at her 100th-birthday celebration at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, October 2022. Photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Felicity Jenkins

Who really was Māui, the demigod portrayed in Moana? And did Disney get him right?

Disney
Mike Ross, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

I enjoyed Disney’s 2016 film Moana. My relatives and I attended the Reo Māori release here in Aotearoa, in a packed theatre of Māori language supporters. Watching the film in our own language was emotional and powerful.

Moana is a seagoing adventure portraying the courage of its Pacific characters. I see many aspects of Māori communities represented in the film: our elders, our voyaging history, our language and culture, our ability to adapt, our sense of spirituality and our hope.

I see the characters in my own whānau (extended family). My nephew is similar to the character of Māui, the demigod voiced by Dwayne Johnson. He’s a likeable “big-boned” fulla with a quick wit – an overly confident rascal who draws others to him with a playfulness that gets him into (and out of) trouble.

At the same time, movies like Moana – in which non-Indigenous creators try to tell Indigenous stories – raise sensitive questions about authenticity, cultural appropriation and veiled forms of continuing colonisation.

Disney’s bottom line is to develop characters and storylines that suit a global market and will ultimately be financially viable. Perhaps this is why it missed so many key characteristics of Māui as he is known to the Polynesian people.

Māui returns to the big screen in Disney’s Moana 2. Disney

In Moana, there is a mystique around Māui’s demigod status; he sits in the space between the gods and humanity. Like the Māui of Polynesia, he can shapeshift, wields a magic hook and is courageous.

Yet this Hollywood Māui would have no chance against the Māui of Polynesia, who is not a god to be worshipped, but a spirit – a set of characteristics identified through the actions of a person. Māui’s spirit lives today and can be activated by his descendants to do extraordinary things.

Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia make up the Pacific islands. Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

A Māori view of Māui

Māui’s biggest muscles were in his head and stomach (where Māori believe the core being of a person is located). However, there is no record of him having an appearance that made him stand out in the community.

When Māui decided to rejoin his birth family as a young man, he lined up with his brothers, and his mother was unable to see a difference between the siblings’ physical builds. This is in contrast with his unusually large build in Moana.

He also wasn’t the playful, reckless larrikin depicted in Moana. He saw the world through clear eyes and calculated his way forward, courageously approaching challenges as opportunities to demonstrate his mastery.

He was innovative, intelligent, confident and resourceful – and most of what he did would benefit the whole community. That said, he could also be devious, cruel and jealous as he pushed to achieve his goals.

One of his names is “Māui-pōtiki”, or “Māui the youngest sibling”, which signals the characteristics of someone who challenged the status quo – a free thinker and a clever trickster.

Supernatural power leads to supernatural deeds

Māui faced a series of challenges. Some were forced on him, such as surviving his infancy. At birth he was presumed dead (or near death) and was abandoned to the sea. His grandfather rescued and raised him, teaching him skills, knowledge and karakia – the spiritual means to bend the laws of the universe in his favour.

In Māori lore, Māui is said to have used his fish hook to pull up the pacific islands, including New Zealand. Wilhelm Dittmer/Wikimedia

He faced many challenges in his world, and his responses conveyed important social and life lessons. For instance, the days were too short and people were unable to complete their work before nightfall. So Māui’s answer was to slow the Sun’s journey across the sky. He convinced his sceptical brothers to help him and they went to the pit where the Sun rose each day.

Armed with plaited ropes, infused with spiritual power to hold the Sun, as well as the sacred jawbone of his ancestor (which he also used as a hook), they stationed themselves around the pit and waited.

As the Sun rose into the morning sky, the brothers pulled their ropes to form a tight net, trapping the Sun. Māui quickly climbed onto the Sun and began to beat him (the Sun is personified and thought to be masculine in Māori belief) with his ancestor’s jawbone.

Dazed and battered, the Sun asked Māui the reason for the attack, who then gave him an ultimatum: “Slow your movement across the sky (or I’ll be back)!” The Sun, from fear and injury, slowed down, providing a useful length of daylight for the people.

While violence may not be a justifiable approach to change, there’s still much to learn from this incident. When you need to get something done, you should have a plan, build a team, make use of the resources available to you, be courageous and go for it.

Stories spread across the seas

Māui is credited with many other exploits. He hauled islands up across the Pacific. He spoke with the gods and creatures of the Earth. He even brought fire to the world from the goddess Mahuika and came close to conquering death.

Māui and the fire goddess, 1952, Wellington, by E Mervyn Taylor. Purchased 2004. Te Papa (2004-0026-1). Museum of New Zealand/Te Papa Tongarewa, CC BY-SA

Each story contains layers of knowledge, explaining important aspects of the world and human behaviour. This information was so significant that these stories have been passed down through generations for hundreds of years – spread with our voyaging ancestors across the Pacific, the largest continent in the world.

As such, Māui pops up in stories all across Polynesia, reaching into Melanesia and Micronesia. While the tales about the character, attitude, aptitude and mana (the spiritual lifeforce) are similar, variations exist across Polynesia.

Moana aims to entertain and speak to us and our children. Perhaps the sequel will now reawaken Māui-based discussions on marae (Māori communal spaces) and other Pacific forums. Or perhaps the spirit of Māui will see this “harmless rascal” persona as a launch pad to galvanise his descendants into addressing the ills that face them today.

Kia ara ake anō te kawa a Māui – let the spirit of Māui arise. And enjoy the movie.The Conversation

Mike Ross, Head of School, Te Kawa a Māui, School of Māori Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Cool water from the deep could protect pockets of the Great Barrier Reef into the 2080s

marcobrivio.gallery/Shutterstock
Chaojiao Sun, CSIRO and Craig Steinberg, Australian Institute of Marine Science

For coral reefs, climate change is an existential threat. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has endured seven mass bleaching events over the past 25 years. Five have occurred in the past eight years.

But amid the story of decline, something curious is happening. Surveys from the air and on water show a few reef groups, such as the Ribbon Reefs in the far north and the Swains and Pompey reefs in the south, are consistently escaping severe bleaching while their neighbouring reefs suffer.

But how? In our new research, we found their survival is due to cold water. That is, most of these reefs are periodically bathed in cooler water even as other parts of the reef bake in marine heatwaves. This stems from the phenomenon called upwelling, where cooler waters from the deep mix with warm surface waters. These reefs are likely to be buffered from the worst of climate change.

While the world’s oceans are heating up steadily, the deeper waters remain cooler than surface waters. Our modelling suggests cold currents could protect these vital refuges at least into the 2080s, even if continued high emissions lead to sea surface temperatures 2-3°C hotter than now. Safeguarding these refuges offers the best chance to preserve some of the reef’s rich array of species and – potentially – to allow corals to adapt to new heat regimes and eventually repopulate degraded reefs.

figure showing Great Barrier reef, currents and cooler water safer zones
These figures show where upwellings of cooler water are protecting some reefs among the thousands making up the Great Barrier Reef. These refuges are visible as areas of cooler water (dark blue patches) relative to the average sea surface temperatures over January to March. Author provided, CC BY-NC-ND

Where are these refuges from heat?

Coral reefs are very sensitive to heat. When marine heatwaves strike, heat stress can make coral polyps bleach by expelling their symbiotic algae. These colourful “zooxanthellae” algae provide coral energy and nutrition from photosynthesis in exchange for shelter. Bleached coral can recover if given a reprieve. But if the heat stress continues, it can die.

Climate change is loading the dice for more heat, more often. This is why we are now seeing parts of the Great Barrier Reef record the worst coral loss in 39 years.

In our research, we looked at why some reefs are less affected by heat. We found upwellings of cool water are protecting them. The reefs are climate refuges – areas where local conditions allow species to survive while other areas become unlivable.

We define these cooler refuges as areas where average summer sea surface temperatures are at least 1°C cooler than nearby regions. These safer zones lie along the ends of the northern and southern Great Barrier Reef and run over 200 kilometres along the continental shelf, where coral reefs are densely packed.

Off northern Australia in the eastern Torres Strait lie the Ribbon Reefs. These climate refuges are located near a steep continental slope with deep channels.

satellite image of cape york and torres strait islands
The Ribbon Reefs are acting as a climate refuge in the far north of the reef. In this satellite image of Cape York and the Torres Strait, these reefs are the long, narrow reefs to the right. AIMS/NASA, CC BY-SA

On the southern reefs, a key refuge is the Swains and Pompeys reef complex, 135 km offshore from Mackay. These reefs lie right on the continental drop off where the East Australian Current raises cold water closer to the surface.

When strong tidal currents flood through narrow reef channels, cooler water from the deep can be drawn up over the continental shelf and mixed with warm surface water, acting like a cold bath for the fringing reefs and giving relief to coral.

These effects can last up to a week or more, if conditions are right, and can occur several times over a summer. Currents can trap these cooler waters behind a long, skinny ribbon reef, giving sustained relief.

satellite image of queensland coast and pompey coral reefs
Pompey Reefs, the southern refuge. These reefs lie offshore from the Whitsundays (Whitsunday Island is pictured near top left). This is a cropped NASA image taken by satellite in 2000. NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, CC BY-NC-ND

Will these refuges vanish?

To detect these refuges, we looked for unusually cool water in satellite temperature maps and ocean models. Then we ran these models forward in time, to see if these life-sustaining cool flows would persist in the 2050s under a high emissions scenario, and again in the 2080s. The good news: currents of cool water will continue at least to 2080.

This is because even as surface waters warm and marine heatwaves arrive more often, the currents carrying cooler water to the surface in these refuge reefs will continue. But if climate change continues unchecked, even deeper waters will warm to a level that coral cannot tolerate.

What about changes in ocean currents? At present, the South Equatorial Current carries warm water westward toward the Barrier Reef but then splits into the north-flowing Gulf of Papua Current and the south-flowing East Australian Current.

Our research found the location of the split is steadily moving southward. This could change where current-dependent larvae of coral and coral-eating crown of thorns starfish end up. But our modelling shows these changes won’t greatly affect upwellings over our time period.

Protecting these refuges is vital

If we keep these refuge reefs as intact as possible, we may be able to preserve more of the reef’s staggering biodiversity. If these corals find ways of adapting to the new heat regimes, it might be possible to use them to replenish harder hit reefs. Scientists in the collaborative Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program are already exploring ways to make coral better able to tolerate heat.

Overfishing, damage from shipping and crown of thorns outbreaks also pose threats to these remote reefs. We should protect them as best we can. That’s not to say we should give up on tackling threats to the reef more broadly – only that these reefs are particularly valuable.

Climate change poses the largest threat to coral. Every living thing has temperature limits and adaptation can only go so far. The corals of the Red Sea evolved to tolerate hotter water. But they had thousands of years to do so, while today’s climate is changing far faster. Other researchers have found coral refuges would break down when warming goes past 3°C.

Could coral on these more protected reefs adapt fast enough to take advantage of cool upwellings? If so, could heat-adapted coral larvae repopulate worse-hit areas? We don’t know yet. If they could, some version of the Great Barrier Reef might survive.

But if global warming continues unchecked, these reefs, too, could feel the heat. Sharply reducing emissions is our best option to control global warming and help the Great Barrier Reef endure into the next century.The Conversation

Chaojiao Sun, Research Group Leader, physical oceanographer, CSIRO and Craig Steinberg, Physical Oceanographer, Australian Institute of Marine Science

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The beach is an amazing place to teach kids about science. Here are 3 things to try this summer

Chris Speldewinde, Deakin University

Summer is a wonderful time for families to go the beach and for small children to get to know the water and the sand.

But aside from being a place to relax, my new research shows how the beach provides many ways to teach young children about science.

My ‘beach kinder’ research

I research science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning in bush kinders. These are programs where preschool children regularly go into the natural environment with their daycare centre or kinder/preschool, to gain an appreciation for nature.

Educators do not take any toys, balls or games, so children are reliant only on what is available in nature for play.

Bush kinders often happen in parks, forests and gardens but educators and researchers are increasingly looking at the benefits of education around beaches. These “blue spaces” provide children with wide open spaces to learn through play.

But so far there has been little research on educational benefits of beach learning in early childhood settings.

Last year, I observed a “beach kinder”: where childhood educators and four- and five-year-old children went to the beach along Victoria’s Surf Coast. They were spending between three and five hours per week at the beach for a term as part of their regular kinder/preschool program.

What I noticed was how many opportunities the beach provides to teach little kids about science. Here are a three examples families can try on their next visit to the beach.

1. Rockpool life

When the tide is low, the ocean can expose a wide range of plant and animal life. Small fish, crabs, starfish, sea plants and maybe even an octopus can be found in rockpools. You can ask your child:

How many different animals can you see?

You can also search for barnacles that look like small volcanoes or periwinkles – the little snails that live in the splash zone. You can talk about how animals can sometimes be very small or hiding – just because we can’t see them does not mean they are not there.

You can talk to children about how these small animals survive as the tide rises and falls. For example, crabs bury themselves in the sand away from the water or other types of shellfish can shut their shells tightly to keep the water out. If possible, gently lift one for a look and then replace it just as gently.

You can explain life cycles and simple biology as you walk among the rockpools. For example, sea turtles lay their eggs on sandy beaches, then the baby turtles make their way to the sea where they mature into adults.

2. Sticky sand

Sand is an amazing thing to play with and it changes, depending on where you are on the beach.

Far away from the waters’ edge, have your child take a handful of dry sand and watch what happens as it slips through small hands. Walk closer to the water and do the same thing. Ask your child:

Have you ever wondered why dry and wet sand are so different?

You can explain how the water in the sand actually acts like glue, making the sand grains stick together. This lets us talk to young children about chemistry and how different materials interact with each other.

Try making sandcastles with wet sand and dry sand and see the difference.

Is one version harder to work with than the other other? What happens if you mix wet and dry sand together?

Two young children play with dry sand on a beach.
Kids can compare what it is like to build with different types of sand. Irina Mikhailichenko/Shutterstock

3. Watching the waves

The waves can teach us about floating, sinking and the force of water.

Children can have a lot of fun using pieces of seaweed or small sticks as boats, letting them bob up and down on small waves. They can even have “seaweed races” learning about how waves can move materials around.

Sea waves and ocean currents are really important as some marine animals such as dolphins and turtles use waves to move around. In fact, some animals migrate thousands of kilometres to and from breeding grounds.

You can then replace the seaweed pieces with shells and ask your child to observe what happens:

Why does the seaweed stay on top of the water, but the shell goes underneath?

Talk about how the shell is heavier than the water and so will sink. This helps them understand the physics of floating and sinking as well as the patterns associated with wave motion.

This summer when you’re at the beach, think about all the science happening around you. This could include the animals and habitats you encounter, as well as all the many, changes things happening with the sand and surf.The Conversation

Chris Speldewinde, Research fellow, Research for Educational Impact Institute, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Minerals in hot springs performed a key chemical reaction for early life on Earth, new study confirms

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Luca Micheli/Shutterstock
Quoc Phuong Tran, UNSW Sydney

One of the biggest scientific mysteries is where life on Earth started.

Research has often focused on the role of deep-sea hydrothermal vents – those towering structures on the ocean floor constantly pumping out a melange of organic and inorganic material. Within these plumes are minerals called iron sulfides, which scientists believe could have helped trigger early chemical reactions that created life.

These same minerals are also found in hot springs today, such as the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Hot springs are bodies of groundwater heated by volcanic activity beneath Earth’s surface.

Our new research adds to a small but growing body of evidence that ancient versions of these hot springs could have played a pivotal role in the emergence of life on Earth. This helps bridge the gap between competing hypotheses regarding where life could have emerged.

Geochemistry to biology

Carbon fixation is the process by which living organisms convert carbon dioxide, in the air and dissolved in water, into organic molecules.

Many life forms, including plants, bacteria and microorganisms known as archaea, have different pathways for achieving this. Photosynthesis is one example.

Each of these pathways contains a cascade of enzymes and proteins, some of which contain cores made of iron and sulfur.

We can find proteins with these iron-sulfur clusters in all forms of life. In fact, researchers propose they date back to the Last Universal Common Ancestor – an ancient ancestral cell from which scientists propose life as we know it evolved and diversified.

Iron sulfides are minerals that form when dissolved iron reacts with hydrogen sulfide – the volcanic gas that makes hot springs smell like rotten eggs.

If you look closely at the structure of these iron sulfides, you will find that some of them look incredibly similar to iron-sulfur clusters.

This connection between iron sulfides and carbon fixation has led some researchers to propose that these minerals played a crucial role in the transition from early Earth geochemistry to biology.

Our newly published research expands on this knowledge by investigating the chemical activity of iron sulfides in ancient land-based hot springs which have similar geochemistry to deep-sea vents.

Custom-built chamber

We custom-built a small chamber that would allow us to simulate hot spring environments on early Earth.

Then we spread synthesised iron sulfide samples through the chamber. Some were pure. Others were dosed with other metals commonly found in hot springs. A lamp above these samples simulated sunlight on the early Earth’s surface. Different lamps were used to mimic lighting with different amounts of ultraviolet radiation.

Carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas were constantly pumped through the chamber. These gases have been shown to be important for carbon fixation in deep-sea vent experiments.

We found that all of the iron sulfide samples synthesised were capable of producing methanol, a product of carbon fixation, to varying extents. These results showed that iron sulfides can facilitate carbon fixation not only in deep-sea hydrothermal vents but land-based hot springs too.

Methanol production also increased with visible light irradiation and at higher temperatures.

Experiments with varying temperatures, lighting and water-vapour content demonstrated that iron sulfides likely facilitated carbon fixation in land-based hot springs on early Earth.

An underwater mount covered in worms and lobsters, releasing a plume of black smoke.
Hot springs have similar chemistry as deep-sea hyrdothermal vents, such as this one on the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of North America. University of Washington; NOAA/OAR/OER, CC BY-NC-ND

An ancient pathway

Additional experiments and theoretical calculations revealed that the production of methanol occurred through a mechanism called a reverse water-gas shift.

We see a similar reaction in the pathway some bacteria and archaea use to turn carbon dioxide into food. This pathway is called the “acetyl-CoA” or “Wood-Ljungdahl” pathway. It is proposed to be the earliest form of carbon fixation that emerged in early life.

This similarity between the two processes is interesting because the former happens on dry land, at the edge of hot springs, while the latter takes place in the wet environment inside cells.

Our study demonstrates methanol production in a wide range of conditions that could have been found in early Earth’s hot springs.

Our findings expand the range of conditions where iron sulfides can facilitate carbon fixation. They show it can happen both in the deep sea and on land – albeit via different mechanisms.

As such, we believe these results support the current scientific consensus suggesting that iron-sulfur clusters and the acetyl-CoA pathway are ancient and likely played an important role in the emergence of life – regardless of whether it happened on land or at the bottom of the sea.The Conversation

Quoc Phuong Tran, PhD Candidate in Prebiotic Chemistry, UNSW Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

A man scouring Google Earth found a mysterious scar in the Australian outback – and now scientists know what caused it

Author provided/Google Earth
Matej Lipar, Curtin University

Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched into the barren landscape.

The find intrigued scientists, including my colleagues and I. Upon closer investigation, we realised the scar was created by a ferocious tornado that no-one knew had occurred. We outline the findings in new research published today.

Tornadoes are a known threat in the United States and elsewhere. But they also happen in Australia.

Without the power of technology, this remarkable example of nature’s ferocity would have gone unnoticed. It’s important to study the tornado’s aftermath to help us predict and prepare for the next big twister.

tornado forming over farmland
Tornadoes are not just a US phenomena - they can occur in Australia, too. Shutterstock

Australia’s tornado history

Tornadoes are violent, spinning columns of air that drop from thunderstorms to the ground, bringing wind speeds often exceeding 200 kilometres an hour. They can cause massive destruction – uprooting trees, tearing apart buildings and throwing debris over large distances.

Tornadoes have been reported on every continent except Antarctica. They most commonly occur in the Great Plains region of the United States, and in the north-east region of India–Bangladesh.

The earliest tornado observed by settlers in Australia occurred in 1795 in the suburbs of Sydney. But a tornado was not confirmed here by Western scientists until the late 1800s.

In recent decades, documented instances in Australia include a 2013 tornado that crossed north-east Victoria and travelled up to the New South Wales border. It brought winds between 250–300 kilometres an hour and damaged Murray River townships.

And in 2016, a severe storm produced at least seven tornadoes in central and eastern parts of South Australia.

It’s important for scientists to accurately predict tornadoes, so we can issue warnings to communities. That’s why the Nullarbor tornado scar was useful to study.

A whirlwind mystery

The Nullarbor Plain is a remote, dry, treeless stretch of land in southern Australia. The man who discovered the scar had been using Google Earth satellite imagery to search the Nullabor for caves or other karst features.

Karst is a landscape underlain by limestone featuring distinctive landforms. The discovery of the scar came to the attention of my colleagues and I through the collaborative network of researchers and explorers who study the Nullarbor karst.

The scar stretches from Western Australia over the border to South Australia. It lies 20 kilometres north of the Trans-Australian Railway and 90 kilometres east-north-east of Forrest, a former railway settlement.

We compared satellite imagery of the site over several years to determine that the tornado occurred between November 16 and 18, 2022. Blue circular patterns appeared alongside the scar, indicating pools of water associated with heavy rain.

My colleagues and I then travelled to the site in May this year to examine and photograph the scar and the neighbouring landscape.

Our results have been published today in the Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science.

map of Australia's southwest coast with dots showing recorded tornadoes
Map showing tornado events in Western Australia and South Australia between 1795 and 2014. The location of the tornado scar in the study is shown with a red dot. Source: Severe Thunderstorm Archive/Australian Bureau of Meteorology

What we found

The scar is 11 kilometres long and between 160 and 250 metres wide. It bears striking patterns called “cycloidal marks”, formed by tornado suction vortexes. This suggests the tornado was no ordinary storm but in the strong F2 or F3 category, spinning with destructive winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour.

The tornado probably lasted between seven and 13 minutes. Features of the scar suggest the whirling wind within the tornado was moving in a clockwise direction. We also think the tornado moved from west to east – which is consistent with the direction of a strong cold front in the region at the time.

spiralling masks in dry earth
‘Cycloidal marks’ in the tornado scar, caused by multiple vortexes. Google Earth satellite imagery

Local weather observations also recorded intensive cloud cover and rainfall during that period in November 2022.

Unlike tornadoes that hit populated areas, this one did not damage homes or towns. But it left its mark nonetheless, eroding soil and vegetation and reshaping the Earth’s surface.

Remarkably, the scar was still clearly visible 18 months after the event, both in satellite images and on the ground. This is probably because vegetation grows slowly in this dry landscape, so hadn’t yet covered the erosion.

Predict and prepare

This fascinating discovery on the Nullarbor Plain shows how powerful and unpredictable nature can be – sometimes without us knowing.

Only three tornadoes have previously been documented on the Nullarbor Plain. This is likely because the area is remote with few eye-witnesses, and because the events do not damage properties and infrastructure. Interestingly, those three tornadoes occurred in November, just like this one.

Our research provides valuable insights into the tornadoes in this remote and little-studied region. It helps us understand when, and in what conditions, these types of tornadoes occur.

It also emphasises the importance of satellite imagery in identifying and analysing weather phenomena in remote locations, and in helping us predict and prepare for the next big event.

And finally, the results are a stark reminder that extreme weather can strike anywhere, anytime.


This article has been amended to clarify that a reference to early tornado observations relates only to the period after British colonisation.The Conversation

Matej Lipar, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The world at your finger tips: Online

With current advice to stay at home and self-isolate, when you come in out of the garden, have had your fill of watching movies and want to explore something new, there's a whole world of books you can download, films you can watch and art galleries you can stroll through - all from at home and via the internet. This week a few suggestions of some of the resources available for you to explore and enjoy. For those who have a passion for Art - this month's Artist of the Month is the Online Australian Art Galleries and State Libraries where you can see great works of art from all over the world  and here - both older works and contemporary works.

Also remember the Project Gutenberg Australia - link here- has heaps of great books, not just focused on Australian subjects but fiction works by popular authors as well. Well worth a look at.

Short Stories for Teenagers you can read for free online

StoryStar is an online resource where you can access and read short stories for teenagers

About

Storystar is a totally FREE short stories site featuring some of the best short stories online, written by/for kids, teens, and adults of all ages around the world, where short story writers are the stars, and everyone is free to shine! Storystar is dedicated to providing a free place where everyone can share their stories. Stories can entertain us, enlighten us, and change us. Our lives are full of stories; stories of joy and sorrow, triumph and tragedy, success and failure. The stories of our lives matter. Share them. Sharing stories with each other can bring us closer together and help us get to know one another better. Please invite your friends and family to visit Storystar to read, rate and share all the short stories that have been published here, and to tell their stories too.

StoryStar headquarters are located on the central Oregon coast.

NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

The doors may be temporarily closed but when it comes to the NFSA, we are always open online. We have content for Kids, Animal Lovers, Music fans, Film buffs & lots more.

You can explore what’s available online at the NFSA, see more in the link below.

https://bit.ly/2U8ORjH


NLA Ebooks - Free To Download

The National Library of Australia provides access to thousands of ebooks through its website, catalogue and eResources service. These include our own publications and digitised historical books from our collections as well as subscriptions to collections such as Chinese eResources, Early English Books Online and Ebsco ebooks.

What are ebooks?
Ebooks are books published in an electronic format. They can be read by using a personal computer or an ebook reader.

This guide will help you find and view different types of ebooks in the National Library collections.

Peruse the NLA's online ebooks, ready to download - HERE

The Internet Archive and Digital Library

The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge." It provides free public access to collections of digitised materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, movies, videos, moving images, and millions of public-domain books. There's lots of Australian materials amongst the millions of works on offer.

Visit:  https://archive.org/


Avalon Youth Hub: More Meditation Spots

Due to popular demand our meditation evenings have EXPANDED. Two sessions will now be run every Wednesday evening at the Hub. Both sessions will be facilitated by Merryn at Soul Safaris.

6-7pm - 12 - 15 year olds welcome
7-8pm - 16 - 25 year olds welcome

No experience needed. Learn and develop your mindfulness and practice meditation in a group setting.

For all enquires, message us via facebook or email help@avalonyouthhub.org.au

BIG THANKS The Burdekin Association for funding these sessions!

Green Team Beach Cleans 

Hosted by The Green Team
It has been estimated that we will have more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050...These beach cleans are aimed at reducing the vast amounts of plastic from entering our oceans before they harm marine life. 

Anyone and everyone is welcome! If you would like to come along, please bring a bucket, gloves and hat. Kids of all ages are also welcome! 

We will meet in front of the surf club. 
Hope to see you there!

The Green Team is a Youth-run, volunteer-based environment initiative from Avalon, Sydney. Keeping our area green and clean.

 The Project Gutenberg Library of Australiana

Australian writers, works about Australia and works which may be of interest to Australians.This Australiana page boasts many ebooks by Australian writers, or books about Australia. There is a diverse range; from the journals of the land and sea explorers; to the early accounts of white settlement in Australia; to the fiction of 'Banjo' Paterson, Henry Lawson and many other Australian writers.

The list of titles form part of the huge collection of ebooks freely downloadable from Project Gutenberg Australia. Follow the links to read more about the authors and titles and to read and/or download the ebooks. 

Profile: Ingleside Riders Group

Ingleside Riders Group Inc. (IRG) is a not for profit incorporated association and is run solely by volunteers. It was formed in 2003 and provides a facility known as “Ingleside Equestrian Park” which is approximately 9 acres of land between Wattle St and McLean St, Ingleside. IRG has a licence agreement with the Minister of Education to use this land. This facility is very valuable as it is the only designated area solely for equestrian use in the Pittwater District.  IRG promotes equal rights and the respect of one another and our list of rules that all members must sign reflect this.

Cyberbullying

Research shows that one in five Australian children aged 8 to 17 has been the target of cyberbullying in the past year. The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner can help you make a complaint, find someone to talk to and provide advice and strategies for dealing with these issues.

Make a Complaint 

The Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 gives the power to provide assistance in relation to serious cyberbullying material. That is, material that is directed at a particular child with the intention to seriously embarrass, harass, threaten or humiliate.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

Before you make a complaint you need to have:

  • copies of the cyberbullying material to upload (eg screenshots or photos)
  • reported the material to the social media service (if possible) at least 48 hours ago
  • at hand as much information as possible about where the material is located
  • 15-20 minutes to complete the form

Visit: esafety.gov.au/complaints-and-reporting/cyberbullying

Our mission

The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner is Australia's leader in online safety. The Office is committed to helping young people have safe, positive experiences online and encouraging behavioural change, where a generation of Australian children act responsibly online—just as they would offline.

We provide online safety education for Australian children and young people, a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying, and address illegal online content through the Online Content Scheme.

Our goal is to empower all Australians to explore the online world—safely.

Visit: esafety.gov.au/about-the-office 

The Green Team

Profile
This Youth-run, volunteer-based environment initiative has been attracting high praise from the founders of Living Ocean as much as other local environment groups recently. 
Creating Beach Cleans events, starting their own, sustainability days - ‘action speaks louder than words’ ethos is at the core of this group. 

National Training Complaints Hotline – 13 38 73

The National Training Complaints Hotline is accessible on 13 38 73 (Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm nationally) or via email at skilling@education.gov.au.

Sync Your Breathing with this - to help you Relax

Send In Your Stuff

Pittwater Online News is not only For and About you, it is also BY you.  
We will not publish swearing or the gossip about others. BUT: If you have a poem, story or something you want to see addressed, let us know or send to: pittwateronlinenews@live.com.au

All Are Welcome, All Belong!

Youth Source: Northern Sydney Region

A directory of services and resources relevant to young people and those who work, play and live alongside them.

The YouthSource directory has listings from the following types of service providers: Aboriginal, Accommodation, Alcohol & Other Drugs, Community Service, Counselling, Disability, Education & Training, Emergency Information, Employment, Financial, Gambling,  General Health & Wellbeing, Government Agency, Hospital & GP, Legal & Justice, Library, Mental Health, Multicultural, Nutrition & Eating Disorders, Parenting, Relationships, Sexual Health, University, Youth Centre

Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) Practice run Online

Did you know you can do a practice run of the DKT online on the RMS site? - check out the base of this page, and the rest on the webpage, it's loaded with information for you!

The DKT Practice test is designed to help you become familiar with the test, and decide if you’re ready to attempt the test for real.  Experienced drivers can also take the practice test to check their knowledge of the road rules. Unlike the real test, the practice DKT allows you to finish all 45 questions, regardless of how many you get wrong. At the end of the practice test, you’ll be advised whether you passed or failed.

Fined Out: Practical guide for people having problems with fines

Legal Aid NSW has just published an updated version of its 'Fined Out' booklet, produced in collaboration with Inner City Legal Centre and Redfern Legal Centre.

Fined Out is a practical guide to the NSW fines system. It provides information about how to deal with fines and contact information for services that can help people with their fines.

A fine is a financial penalty for breaking the law. The Fines Act 1996 (NSW) and Regulations sets out the rules about fines.

The 5th edition of 'Fined Out' includes information on the different types of fines and chapters on the various options to deal with fines at different stages of the fine lifecycle, including court options and pathways to seek a review, a 50% reduction, a write-off, plan, or a Work and Development Order (WDO).

The resource features links to self-help legal tools for people with NSW fines, traffic offence fines and court attendance notices (CANs) and also explains the role of Revenue NSW in administering and enforcing fines.

Other sections of the booklet include information specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, young people and driving offences, as well as a series of template letters to assist people to self-advocate.

Hard copies will soon be available to be ordered online through the Publications tab on the Legal Aid NSW website.

Hard copies will also be made available in all public and prison libraries throughout NSW.

Read the resource online, or download the PDF.

Apprenticeships and traineeships info

Are you going to leave school this year?
Looking for an apprenticeship or traineeship to get you started?
This website, Training Services NSW, has stacks of info for you;

It lists the group training organisations (GTOs) that are currently registered in NSW under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001. These GTOs have been audited by independent auditors and are compliant with the National Standards for Group Training Organisations.

If you are interested in using the services of a registered GTO, please contact any of the organisations listed here: https://www.training.nsw.gov.au/gto/contacts.html

There are also some great websites, like 1300apprentice, which list what kind of apprenticeships and traineeships they can guide you to securing as well as listing work available right now.

Profile Bayview Yacht Racing Association (BYRA)
1842 Pittwater Rd, Bayview
Website: www.byra.org.au

BYRA has a passion for sharing the great waters of Pittwater and a love of sailing with everyone aged 8 to 80 or over!

 headspace Brookvale

headspace Brookvale provides services to young people aged 12-25. If you are a young person looking for health advice, support and/or information,headspace Brookvale can help you with:

• Mental health • Physical/sexual health • Alcohol and other drug services • Education and employment services

If you ever feel that you are:

• Alone and confused • Down, depressed or anxious • Worried about your use of alcohol and/or other drugs • Not coping at home, school or work • Being bullied, hurt or harassed • Wanting to hurt yourself • Concerned about your sexual health • Struggling with housing or accommodation • Having relationship problems • Finding it hard to get a job

Or if you just need someone to talk to… headspace Brookvale can help! The best part is our service is free, confidential and youth friendly.

headspace Brookvale is open from Monday to Friday 9:00am-5:30pm so if you want to talk or make an appointment give us a call on (02) 9937 6500. If you're not feeling up to contacting us yourself, feel free to ask your family, friend, teacher, doctor or someone close to you to make a referral on your behalf.

When you first come to headspace Brookvale you will be greeted by one of our friendly staff. You will then talk with a member of our headspace Brookvale Youth Access Team. The headspace Brookvale Youth Access Team consists of three workers, who will work with you around whatever problems you are facing. Depending on what's happening for you, you may meet with your Youth Access Worker a number of times or you may be referred on to a more appropriate service provider.

A number of service providers are operating out of headspace Brookvale including Psychologists, Drug & Alcohol Workers, Sexual Health Workers, Employment Services and more! If we can't find a service operating withinheadspace Brookvale that best suits you, the Youth Access Team can also refer you to other services in the Sydney area.

eheadspace provides online and telephone support for young people aged 12-25. It is a confidential, free, secure space where you can chat, email or talk on the phone to qualified youth mental health professionals.

Click here to go to eheadspace

For urgent mental health assistance or if you are in a crisis please call the Northern Sydney 24 hour Mental Health Access Line on 1800 011 511

Need Help Right NOW??

kids help line: 1800 55 1800 - www.kidshelpline.com.au

lifeline australia - 13 11 14 - www.lifeline.org.au

headspace Brookvale is located at Level 2 Brookvale House, 1A Cross Street Brookvale NSW 2100 (Old Medical Centre at Warringah Mall). We are nearby Brookvale Westfield's bus stop on Pittwater road, and have plenty of parking under the building opposite Bunnings. More at: www.headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/headspace-brookvale

Profile: Avalon Soccer Club
Avalon Soccer Club is an amateur club situated at the northern end of Sydney’s Northern Beaches. As a club we pride ourselves on our friendly, family club environment. The club is comprised of over a thousand players aged from 5 to 70 who enjoy playing the beautiful game at a variety of levels and is entirely run by a group of dedicated volunteers. 
Profile: Pittwater Baseball Club

Their Mission: Share a community spirit through the joy of our children engaging in baseball.

Year 13

Year13 is an online resource for post school options that specialises in providing information and services on Apprenticeships, Gap Year Programs, Job Vacancies, Studying, Money Advice, Internships and the fun of life after school. Partnering with leading companies across Australia Year13 helps facilitate positive choices for young Australians when finishing school.

NCYLC is a community legal centre dedicated to providing advice to children and young people. NCYLC has developed a Cyber Project called Lawmail, which allows young people to easily access free legal advice from anywhere in Australia, at any time.

NCYLC was set up to ensure children’s rights are not marginalised or ignored. NCYLC helps children across Australia with their problems, including abuse and neglect. The AGD, UNSW, KWM, Telstra and ASIC collaborate by providing financial, in-kind and/or pro bono volunteer resources to NCYLC to operate Lawmail and/or Lawstuff.

Kids Helpline

If you’re aged 5-25 the Kids Helpline provides free and confidential online and phone counselling 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 1800 55 1800. You can chat with us about anything… What’s going on at home, stuff with friends. Something at school or feeling sad, angry or worried. You don’t have to tell us your name if you don’t want to.

You can Webchat, email or phone. Always remember - Everyone deserves to be safe and happy. You’re important and we are here to help you. Visit: https://kidshelpline.com.au/kids/