Headlines//

This morning we are joined by Marcelle Mogg, CEO of Mental Health Victoria, the states peak body for mental health…specialising in policy, advocacy, training and research. Today Marcelle will expand on concerns, shared across the sector, regarding the Victorian Government's failure to allocate funding to key supports recommended by Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System in 2021.//

James of 3CR's Out Of The Blue, speaks with US writer and journalist Sabrina Imbler about their new book that that fuses science and memoir to compare the lives of sea creatures to their own. In this excerpt, James uncovers how queer the oceans really are. Sabrina's book is How Far The Light Reaches, published in Australia as My Life In Sea Creatures. James begins the conversation by asking Sabrina about her connection to the ocean.// 

Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, takes us through VALS' response to this year's federal budget. While the budget included funding for a suite of family violence-related reforms, the wellbeing of Aboriginal women and children were shamefully neglected despite a dire need for culturally safe legal support and representation. Nerita also provides insight into the relationship between a lack of consideration for Aboriginal women and families at the federal and state level and the ongoing coronial inquest into the death in custody of proud and much loved Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman Heather Calgaret.//

Kate aka Perno is a queer, disabled activist who joins us today to speak about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) during ME/CFS Awareness Week (12 -19 May). We will discuss international and evidence based guidelines and how australia has lagged in this area, how to reconnect with who you are while living with ME/CFS, and how we can learn more. Kate has also worked as a former nurse, a peer worker in drug harm reduction, been a fierce advocate for dancefloor safety through Cool Room and Safety Mates.//

Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management in the School of Busines & Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast, speaks with us about the federal Labor government's budget allocation for Commonwealth Prac Payments, intended to support students with mandatory placement requirements across the fields of teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work. Though this addition to the budget will provide some relief for students expected to undertake otherwise unpaid placements, advocates and professional bodies have raised concerns that the payments fall short of a liveable income and fail to assist students across a broad range of degrees with placement requirements.//