Acknowledgement of Country//
Headlines
Following our conversation with Disability advocate Andrew Bretherton about the Albanese Government's planned cuts to the NDIS in the May budget, we shared “landfill”, a poem by artist TextaQueen. “landfill” responds to the systematic devaluation of disabled people’s insight and embodiment in legislative decision making processes. In this piece, TextaQueen pushes through dehumanising narratives cultivated by the Albanese Government’s unjust economic strategy to remind us that people living with a disability will remain - grieving, relating, desiring, creating, suffering and resisting. Support the National Day of Action to “Protect Our NDIS” this Saturday 9 May starting 1PM outside the State Library of Victoria, Narrm. For information about actions around the country, head to @protectourndis on Instagram.//
We replay a segment from FBI Radio's Race Matters x Yung Prodigy mentorship radio series that originally aired on the 29th of March this year, titled ‘Justice is Love in Public’. SOIL was a radio mentorship designed for young people through the model of liberatory radio and community-centred wellbeing. It spanned 6 workshops, shared meals, new friendships and audio ventures. In this conversation, guest Producer Virginia Barahona was joined by community builder and Yung Prodigy Founding Director Maia Ihemeje. This poignant conversation unravelled the contradictions of the so-called justice system and made clear the work of Yung Prodigy as an organisation centring young people whose experience of the prison industry often goes unseen.//
Chris Christoforou, CEO of VAADA, joined us to unpack Report 25 of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which is based on new data collected from December 2024 to October 2025. In August 2025, the program covered 57% of the population – about 14.5 million Australians. The report provides a comprehensive picture of Australia’s illicit drug markets and drug consumption habits for 12 substances, with this iteration adding data for the program’s ninth year, allowing for longitudinal analysis. Read VAADA’s media release on the report here.//
Craig Wilkins, National Co-director of the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance (MDCA), spoke with us about the review currently underway into the operation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, the framework governing Australia's largest river system. MDCA's submission to the review draws attention to significant concerns regarding the achievement of the plan's objectives, particularly in regard to sustainable and climate change-sensitive environmental management.//
Kelly and Dani from the Homeless Persons Union of Victoria came to the studio to continue our conversation about serious issues with the City of Melbourne's so-called 'community safety officer' program, after revelations that CSOs had allegedly been encouraged to use force against rough sleepers in the CBD if necessary. They shared updates about responses from the City of Melbourne since this news broke, including the outcome of a meeting between HPUV and Lord Mayor Nick Reece earlier this week. HPUV is holding a public gathering outside Melbourne Town Hall from 5PM next Tuesday the 12th of May - find out more about how you can get involved in The Big Lean and keep up with HPUV's work by heading to @homelesspersonsunionvic on Instagram.//
Emily, Inez, Leila, Priya, River, Candy
