Child welfare charity CaringKids helps young carers to feel less lonely and socially isolated. 

They are providing young carers with ‘Joy Boxes’ which hold toys, games, and books to celebrate National Carers Week this week.

“National Carers Week is a time to recognise and celebrate all those Australians who provide care and support to a family member or friend, including those children who are burdened with adult responsibilities,” CaringKids says.

“This week is a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the over 235,000 children and teenagers in Australia caring for a disabled or chronically ill family members, often spending over 6 hours a week on caring.”

“As well as taking on caring responsibilities, the children often have to cope with the financial hardship that goes hand in hand with the cost of caring for a family member with a disability.

CaringKids is an Eastgardens based charity based that has donated over 12,000 toys since 2014. 

Help CaringKids gift more toys to more kids with a donation to: https://caringkids.org.au/donate/

Tamara Georgopoulos is one of several former Sony Music Australia employees to break their silence on the company’s toxic culture. 

Georgopoulos says she was sexually harassed while working as an artists & repertoire (A&R) coordinator for the company between 2011 and 2015. 

“I was sexually harassed when I worked at Sony,” she tells ABC program Four Corners. 

“Things that have happened to me that I normalised, and thought was OK, like an executive grabbing my chest at a concert.”

“I’ve had friends sexually assaulted. It’s just the norm.”

Georgopoulos says she and other young female employees were sexually harassed by older male superiors at work parties and events. 

“The executives would get very, very drunk, to the point of slurring their speech, grabbing you, pulling you in for hugs, touching your body,” she said.

“Sometimes it felt as though we were just there as props… to kind of be preyed upon and to not be taken seriously in our careers.

She claims visiting executives from Sony New York knew of inappropriate behaviour towards female employees. 

“I don’t think that they can be over in the US and pretend that they didn’t know this was happening. The US executives would often be at these events with alcohol, with young girls, very intoxicated,” she said.

“So they are fully aware and they are responsible. They were negligent and they let this happen and they let this happen for decades.”

Four Corners has revealed then-CEO Denis Handlin allowed alleged perpetrators of sexual misconduct remain at the company despite formal complaints against them.

“Everyone in the music industry knows about Sony Music,” Ms. Georgopoulos said.

“It’s widely known what kind of culture they foster and cultivate, and everyone’s just swept it under the rug.”

Sonic Music says it takes “all allegations of bullying, harassment, and other inappropriate behaviour very seriously and investigate them vigorously… Only recently did claims surface and we are examining them expeditiously.”

Mr. Handlin says: ”I would never tolerate treating women in an inappropriate or discriminatory manner. At any time I was made aware of this sort of behaviour, I took action to ensure that it was stopped and didn’t occur again.”

“Over the years, this included seeing people at all levels leave the company. With issues of sexual misconduct, I always took immediate action. This included commissioning independent inquiries using external advisors and lawyers and providing counselling.”

Source: ABC News

Nick Xenophon has flagged his intention to run as an independent at the upcoming federal election next year.

Xenophon says he is planning to run on a platform of protecting jobs.

“I’d come back as an independent,” Mr. Xenophon said. 

“I think that’s where my natural habitat is, being an independent. A pesky, persistent independent — if I do it.”

Xenophon quit politics after failing to win a seat for himself at the 2018 South Australia state election. 

His SA Best party failed to secure a Lower House seat despite running 36 candidates, including Xenophon, who lost the seat of Hartley to the Liberals. 

Xenophon insisted his return wasn’t another of his notorious political stunts. 

“It seems to me we’re talking about a lot of things in the country which I don’t think really resonate out there in the suburbs and in the bush, and I’ve learned that from being out of politics for a few years now,” he said.

“I’m serious about that, although, a bit like Al Pacino in The Godfather, once I thought I was out and now they’re trying to drag me back in.”

That quip was in reference to The Godfather Part III, in which Mafioso Michael Corleone — played by Pacino — reflects on his inability to leave the life of the gangster behind him.

Xenophon has been taken up the cause of Sydney ugg boot manufacturer Eddie Oygur since his departure from politics.

Oygur lost a US court appeal in April after footwear giant Deckers successfully sued Oygur for trademark infringement over the sale of around a dozen products into the US.

“[But] right now I’m focused on bringing the ugg name back home and what that would mean for the country,” Xenophon adds. 

Xenophon now wants the federal government to provide further financial support — after a previous commitment of about $200,000 — to take Oygur’s case all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Source: ABC News