News Shorts: New offshore wind energy, Google ban on abortion, and more

All the news you need to know from around the sector.

Australia-first wind zone established

The Bass Strait, off Victoria’s coast, has been designated Australia’s first offshore wind zone.

Flotation Energy, developer of the 1.5GW Seadragon Offshore Wind Project, welcomed the announcement.

The Seadragon project has been in the works since 2019 and is anticipated to bring $6 billion of investment into the region.

“Our development can be ready in six years and power up to 1 million homes,” said Tim Sawyer, Flotation Energy Australia’s Managing Director.

“Offshore wind is proven, it’s ready to go now, has community and industry support and delivers both retention and creation of new ongoing jobs. We are ready to go and the announcement that licence applications will soon open is a very welcome step that we have been waiting for.”

Mannifera grants to open

Expressions of interest for Mannifera’s 2023 Signature Grants Round will open on 23 January 2023.

Mannifera supports civil society organisations and initiatives strongly aligned with the focus areas of fairness in political participation, fairness and equality in public debate, fair, accountable and open government and a fair and equitable tax system and economic safety net.

The grants will support core operations to advance advocacy, or specific social change projects that align strongly with Mannifera’s focus areas and priorities. 

The Giving Machine launches in Australia

The Giving Machine, the “vending machine” that has raised more than $15.1 million for charity in the US, is launching in Australia. 

The Giving Machine works the opposite way to a normal vending machine, giving users the opportunity to purchase a variety of much-needed items for local charities, from personal care items to school supplies.

See more: Charitable vending machines open just in time for Christmas

The Giving Machine launched down under at Logan Hyperdome in Brisbane, where it will remain through to 28 December 2022. Users can make donations by purchasing one or more of 30 items ranging in price from $10 to $200 that include a range of needs such as first aid training, blankets, meals, tutoring and life-saving equipment.

The beneficiaries of the Logan Hyperdome machines include Angel Flight, Children’s Hospital Foundation, Community Involvement Solutions, GIVIT, Rosies – Friends on the Street, and The Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland section).

The Giving Machine is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of its annual #LightTheWorld campaign. 

MSI Australia faces Google’s ban hammer

MSI Australia has put Google on blast after the search giant put a blanket ban on abortion ads.

The charity said Google had banned its ads from 3 December and not reinstated them.

MSI Australia Managing Director Jamal Hakim said Google’s ban was misinterpreting Australian law and regulations.  

“We are sick and tired of advertising policies being misinterpreted and restricting the ability of people to find accurate and compassionate information about abortion. Abortion is legal in Australia but it is not easily accessible. Google’s ban is restricting abortion access,” Hakim said.

MSI Australia said Google had run ads framing abortion as “killing children” just a few weeks ago, before removing them.

NDIS legacy appeal cases slashed

Earlier this month, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten announced that almost 60 per cent of NDIS legacy appeal cases inherited from the former federal government have now been cleared through overhauled dispute resolution processes, including an Independent Expert Review (IER) Pathway pilot.

The IER Pathway pilot helps resolve disputes arising from NDIS decisions in a forum that is accessible, fair and efficient, according to the minister. The new process was also designed to reduce the number of appeals that progress to hearing in the AAT.

“The radical reduction in legacy cases is one of the most positive achievements since becoming Minister for the NDIS,” Shorten said.

Research to help people with disability

Social services minister Amanda Rishworth and NDIS minister Bill Shorten released two tranches of research related to Australians with disability.

Recommendations for the National Disability Research Partnership’s establishment and Preliminary Research Agenda, indicating the areas of key focus for disability research, were released in December. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also released Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework webpages.

The National Disability Research Partnership is a key part of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31, while the webpages allow for easy tracking of data related to measures in the strategy.

Lighthouse expands

Lighthouse Foundation, which supports young people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness in Victoria, has marked its 30th birthday with an announcement to build more homes, fund more programs, and help hundreds more vulnerable youth.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing the impact of COVID on homelessness numbers and we fear more young people will need help,” CEO Eamonn McCarthy said.

The organisation is appealing for donations over Christmas.

Grants to strengthen kids

Paul Ramsay Foundation has selected eighteen programs from around Australia to share in $8.6 million in funding as part of its Strengthening Early Years grants, which target community programs and organisations working with families with children in the prenatal to two-year-old age range.

The recipients include culturally appropriate antenatal programs, support for mothers and children escaping domestic and family violence, First Nations focused playgroups, as well as programs focused on building resources, workforce knowledge and capability. 

The full list of recipients is available online.