The Informer

Dementia is a condition that affects many people. In fact, it is the second leading cause of death in Australia. It affects almost half a million people – and their friends and family too. Dementia cafes have been started around the world. They give people with dementia and their families a safe, supportive environment for a social outing. Lifeview, an aged care operator is starting a cafe that will open at the Pride Centre late next year. We spoke with Lifeview CEO Madeleine Gall for more information.

JOY CEO Ange Barry joins Toby Halligan to talk about her new role, JOY Nation and her background. Ange talks about her time at the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, her business background and life in general.

In an extraordinary statement this week, the Sydney Anglican Archbishop released a statement urging supporters of same sex marriage to leave the church. This statement startled many, including Father Rod Bower. We spoke with Rod about this unusual step and just why is the church obsessing over marriage?

JOY’s own Chicks Talking Footy has scored a massive win. Last week the show won the GLOBE Award for Media Excellence. We talk to Fiona and Rebecca from the show about the success and why they think it’s really important for the community.

We spoke with Anastacia Le from Trans POV ahead of World Pronouns Day to find out why using the correct pronouns is important.

If you haven’t ever been, festival opera can be pretty amazing.  By anyone’s definition, it’s very much over the top. Big sets, big sounds, big emotions. It’s not subtle. People travel from around the world to see their favourite actors, composers, conductors, what have you.  

Sounds like the Real Housewives of Surrey Hills, yeah? 

Like the Real Housewives, festival opera is so much fun, and often a guilty pleasure. 

Here in Melbourne, Gertrude Opera is putting on Australia’s only International Opera Festival later this month. It looks to be a pretty amazing event. 

Arion Potts spoke to  Linda Thompson from Gertrude Opera and Evan Lawson, one of the conductors at this year‘s festival.       

The tragic death of Filinia trans woman, Mhelody Polan Bruno has provoked a wave of grief throughout the trans and LGBTIQ+ community more generally. There were vigils held for Mhelody in Wagga Wagga and Sydney last Monday and a man has been charged with manslaughter over her death.   

Her death is yet another example of the brutal discrimination and violence that trans women and men often experience in Australia and overseas. In the United States along 19 trans women have been murdered this year, raising fears of, to quote the New York Times, an “epidemic”.  

I wanted to speak to JOY’s very own Mama Mish to find out her reaction to Mhelody’s death: 

Research consistently finds that members of our community are more likely to drink and use recreational drugs. For example, research out of Curtin University found that risk levels of drinking among lesbians was substantially higher than the general population.

Almost half of all respondents to the study indicated they drank more than the National Health Medical Research Council’s guidelines. The research supports other data and for two years now Thorne Harbour Health has been running a series of projects to help lesbians, gender diverse and trans women take control of their alcohol consumption.

Rachel Cook is the Women’s Health Project Lead from Thorne Harbour and the Informer spoke to her about some of the programs they’re running:

The issue of wage theft has reared its head again this week with a group of celebrity chefs calling for an “amnesty” to allow employers to change their ways. 

They claim workplace law is too complicated and “almost impossible” to comply with, suggesting businesses should be given time to rectify underpayment issues. 

But experts and hospitality workers have rejected those claims and are continuing to push for the criminalisation of wage theft. 

A leaked audit of the company behind Melbourne’s Chin Chin underpaid workers by $340,000 in the 2017-18 financial year. The Lucas Group say underpayment issues have been rectified. But earlier this week Chin Chin hosted a roundtable discussion titled “Profitable compliance – is it possible?” to discuss the supposed complexities of paying workers a legal wage. 

The Informer’s Toby Halligan spoke to Jesse Lewis, a former hospitality worker who’s taken a stand against wage theft, to get their thoughts on an “amnesty” for employers. 

We took a hacked phone for a week – and were shocked at what we found out. It’s part of the bigger trend around using mobile phones to perpetuate family violence and harrass people. Not only is it easy to do, it’s hard to find out if you’re being targeted. We spoke to a IT security analyst, family violence workers, government specialists and lawyers about what’s going on. And how you can fight back if you’re a target.