Wild Thoughts Non-Fiction: Social Issues

By C. A. Broadribb

An anthology of articles on a variety of topics.
The article titles:
Habitat for Humanity
Renting With Pets
The Future of the Workplace
Doggywood
Humanist Economics
Balibo
Standing Up to Centrelink
Max Kelly Forum
The Secret of Free Travel
Flight and Asylum
The Fascination of Crime Stories
Women in Computing
NOWSA 1995
Jury Duty for Criminal Trials
Court Report
A 20 Year Mystery

• Language: English
• Publisher: C. A. Broadribb
• Release date: Oct 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463111512

C. A. Broadribb

I’ve been writing ever since I was a child. I write both fiction and non-fiction in a variety of genres and subjects. I’ve written a few novels and numerous short stories and articles. I’ve had some of them published in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, e-newsletters and websites. I’ve also had some success in literary competitions. I also run The Best of Times short story competition twice a year. I have an MA in Professional Writing, a Graduate Diploma in Journalism and a Bachelor of Science (Computing) degree with distinction.

Book preview

Wild Thoughts Non-Fiction: Social Issues

An anthology of articles

By C. A. Broadribb

Wild Thoughts Non-Fiction: Social Issues

An anthology of articles

Copyright 2018 C. A. Broadribb

Author photograph copyright 2004 C. A. Broadribb

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The author can be contacted though Facebook.

All rights reserved.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Cover design by Monika Yuliana

The anthology is copyright 2018.

Individual articles have copyright dates as follows:

A 20 Year Mystery copyright C. A. Broadribb 2017

Balibo copyright C. A. Broadribb 2007

Court Report copyright C. A. Broadribb 1996

Doggywood copyright C. A. Broadribb 2007

Flight and Asylum copyright C. A. Broadribb 2007

Habitat for Humanity copyright C. A. Broadribb 2006

Humanist Economics copyright C. A. Broadribb 2007

Jury Duty for Criminal Trials copyright C. A. Broadribb 2002

Max Kelly Forum copyright C. A. Broadribb 2006

NOWSA 1995 copyright C. A. Broadribb 1995

Renting With Pets copyright C. A. Broadribb 2009

Standing Up to Centrelink copyright C. A. Broadribb 2006

The Fascination of Crime Stories copyright C. A. Broadribb 2005

The Future of the Workplace copyright C. A. Broadribb 2009

The Secret of Free Travel copyright C. A. Broadribb 2008

Women in Computing copyright C. A. Broadribb 1995, edited 2017

Table of Contents

Habitat for Humanity

Renting With Pets

The Future of the Workplace

Doggywood

Humanist Economics

Balibo

Standing Up to Centrelink

Max Kelly Forum

The Secret of Free Travel

Flight and Asylum

The Fascination of Crime Stories

Women in Computing

NOWSA 1995

Jury Duty for Criminal Trials

Court Report

A 20 Year Mystery

About the Author

Habitat for Humanity

Levonne Tumangi, a 37-year-old mother of three in Victoria, was at her wit’s end trying to find a suitable house for her family. Her husband was on a low income and she couldn’t work as she had to look after her wheelchair-bound daughter Leona, who suffers from the neurological disorder Rett Syndrome. The family was on a Housing Department waiting list for nine years while living in various rental houses. With Leona it was really hard because we couldn’t [fit in] equipment to lift her for bathing and so on, Ms Tumangi said. Without the equipment, respite carers refused to work for her, and she started to get back problems from lifting Leona.

The situation changed one day when a friend told Ms Tumangi about Habitat for Humanity, a world-wide Christian organisation that builds and sells houses to low-income families. Ms Tumangi went to a public meeting about the scheme, put in an application and was overjoyed to be accepted. She had never imagined that she would be able to own her own home. The fact that I can achieve the great Australian dream is a blessing, she said.

She and her family stayed with her mother while the house was being built. It was made with wide doorways and hallways and a large bathroom for lifting equipment to be installed. It was an absolute blessing because we could not only have our own home and it was wheelchair friendly and we could have respite care, Ms Tumangi said. She was so impressed by the hard work done by the volunteers who built it that she asked them to sign their names in pencil on the framework. Because it was done with love, because it was done by volunteers, it was perfect, she said.

Now divorced and on a single parent pension, Ms Tumangi finds life much easier in her new home. The quality of life for me, looking after Leona, is a blessing, she said.

Ms Tumangi is typical of the sort of clients that Habitat for Humanity helps. Ninety per cent of the people who get down to the interview process are on some sort of benefits, said James Allardice, the NSW chairman. They include unemployed people, people with disabilities and single mothers. Most of them are living in poor conditions such as in run-down houses or caravans or sharing with other families. Once they successfully apply for a Habitat for Humanity house, they spend 500 hours working alongside the volunteers to help build it, in what Mr Allardice terms ‘sweat equity’. It makes them feel more involved and reinforces the fact that the houses aren’t handouts.

Families pay for the houses via long-term interest free loans, capped at 25% of their income. Habitat for Humanity staff keep in touch with them and suspend payments temporarily if they’re having financial problems. The average cost of a house is $175,000, however, in Sydney it’s around $300,000 due to the higher cost of land. We’re currently building between 12 and 24 houses a year nationally, said Shauna Wood, NSW Marketing Manager of Habitat for Humanity.

It takes six to nine months to build a house, and the number of volunteers varies. On any one project we can have 100 to 200 people working on it, Ms Wood said. There is a small group of regular volunteers while others are recruited from church groups, correctional centres and TAFE colleges. We’ve had some high school students and occasional uni students, Ms Wood said. However, most volunteers are older retired people and 70% of them are male. What we need [more of] are skilled tradesmen, Ms Wood said. Most volunteers are unskilled, and help with tasks like painting, gardening and hammering on cladding.

I’ve done a lot of builds so I can help out with just about anything, said Mark Griffin, a 27-year-old electrical engineer from Sydney. He’s been volunteering for Habitat for Humanity for five years and has helped build ten houses, both in Australia and overseas. He finds it rewarding, and encourages others to join him. "I’m just happy that I’ve helped other people