Hello, and welcome to another edition of Just News. This week, we're presenting our next Worth A Second Chance webinar series, and you'll find your invitation below – plus a story about our work with Western Sydney schools, our ideas for a just transition to net-zero emissions, an important working-from-home note for Victorian staff, and our regular wrap of media, events, and organisational updates. Enjoy the edition.

Staff in Victoria, we have a strong recommendation to work from home if we can, and wear masks in the office around other people. See Sally Parnell's email from Thursday for more information, and chat to your line manager or general manager with any issues or questions.

Julie Edwards' latest CEO Communication is here! Read Julie's full message here, or browse the highlights, including:

• A thoughtful reflection on the sacred 'relationist ethos' between First Nations people and land, as described by the Kombumerri academic Dr Mary Graham.
• Opportunities for our work in the Northern Territory, including new program ideas and a deeper link with our Centre for Just Places.
• Updates on our strategic advocacy following the Federal Election, including five recent submissions, communication with members of parliament, and Julie's participation in a two-day civil society leadership conference that discussed how to leverage the election result to collectively advocate for more compassionate and effective polices.
• Important updates about pay increases, our expanded Parental Leave Policy, and a workplan to activate our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy.

Phil Hodgson's emails on Thursday 7 July provide more information about our salary adjustment and parental leave changes.

And a final email to check is Julie Edwards' from 8 July, recommending two simple steps we can take in line with our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Please consider adding your pronouns to your email signature (request this through IT Connexions) and on Zoom, pop your pronouns and the First Nations country you're on in your name (click the three dots in the top-right corner of your own image and hit 'rename' to make these additions). Feel free to discuss with your manager if you have any questions.

UPDATE | Worth A Second Chance webinar

Have you registered to attend our Justice in Jobs webinar tomorrow, 20 July? It's online, free, and open to all – register here to access the link.

Employment and training provide a pathway for young people to leave the justice system and reset their lives. But finding work with a criminal record is complicated – and sometimes, maintaining a job is even harder. In Justice in Jobs, our expert panel explores the challenges facing young people and the possibilities for reform, and a young job-seeker shares his personal story. It's happening from 4pm - 5:30pm AEST tomorrow, and we hope to see you there.

STORY | Engaging the social justice leaders of tomorrow

Our Schools and Community Engagement program encourages high school students to become more aware and active in social justice through volunteering.

Since 2014, schools across Sydney have organised food drives for our Ignite Food Store – which relies on food donations to provide high-quality, low-cost groceries to residents in Emerton, one of New South Wales’ most disadvantaged areas. Students also volunteer on-site, stacking groceries, digging and weeding at our community garden, and taking part in basketball workshops with local primary school students. 

Read more about our work connecting students with communities in this story from our winter fundraising newsletter.

Human Resources

The Human Resources team has been working to implement a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) called Elmo. We went live with this system yesterday, and you would have received an email from the Elmo system on Monday 18 July with your log in details. Please log in and take the time to familiarise yourself with the system.

• Managers/Coordinators – from Monday 18 July all new recruitment will need to be requested and approved through Elmo. Instructions regarding this process are on Gemba.
• All other employees – there isn’t anything specific that you need to do once the system goes live. It will only affect you if you would like to apply for a role advertised within the organisation.

The HR team will be available to assist you if you encounter any issues with your accounts or need assistance on the platform. Please email human.resources@jss.org.au with any queries, and the team will come back to you.

Volunteers

For volunteers who haven’t completed the Australian Childhood Foundation ‘Safeguarding Children Training Course’, we've organised another group online session for 27 July. To join this group, please email Branka at jssvolunteer@jss.org.au

And our Homework Club is looking for more volunteers! It's offering three days a week of tutoring (two face-to-face and one online) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact Branka for more information.

Welcome back to our regular Ecological Justice update, which appears in every second edition of Just News. Today, we're learning more about our recent submission to inform the Victorian Government’s emissions reduction target, which argues for a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, alongside a range of measures to achieve a just transition.

Why a just transition?

We know that climate change disproportionately impacts some of the most marginalised people and communities. It's people who are homeless or live in low quality housing, rural and remote communities without access to adequate support, or incarcerated people who are often worst affected by flood, fire, heat and smoke, and who are least able to recover and adapt. And without a clear plan for transition, the call for a clean energy economy threatens to replicate existing inequities, further marginalising already disadvantaged people with the benefits of the new economy largely flowing to a small minority. A just transition aims to ensure the benefits and costs of climate action are shared fairly.

Our recommendations

• Take immediate action on climate change by reducing emissions by 75 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and reaching net zero emissions by 2035.
• Build the capacity of the community services sector to support a just transition by increasing funding and resources for trialling and implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation activities, supporting organisations to embed cultures of ecological justice, and establishing coordinating bodies to facilitate cross-sector collaboration.
• Harness the transformational potential of a just transition by investing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives, building thriving communities using place-based approaches, providing safe, energy-efficient and sustainable housing, enhancing access to ‘green’ jobs, and focusing on decarceration.

Want to learn more?

To learn more about this submission read our blog or the full submission. To learn more about just transitions, read our 2019 Just Transitions paper. And to explore what a just transition might look like for Australia’s criminal justice system, read our discussion paper, Prisons, climate and a just transition.

Questions?

If you have questions about our ecological justice work contact Ecological Justice Project Officer, Jack Piper, on 0429 268 904 or at jack.piper@jss.org.au.

The second season of our Worth A Second Chance podcast has launched! Listen to our conversation with Victoria's Children's Commissioner, Liana Buchanan, about the challenges faced by young people in the justice system, how her independent office scrutinises and improves conditions in detention, and about the positive reforms made in Victoria that she's keen to see protected. And if you like what you're listening to, please consider leaving us a five-star review, to help more people hear our stories of solutions to create a more humane and compassionate youth justice system.

You might have seen news about The Men's Project's latest pilot program – a new youth mentoring program that aims to support boys and men to be the best version of themselves and become gender equality leaders in their communities – join their free online information forum featuring a Q+A with Sydney Swans player Josh Kennedy this afternoon. And staying with our gender justice work, we've published a wrap-up of our successful National Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Symposium, which happened on 9 June – you can read that at our website here.

“Children have a right to live free of abuse, and a right to live free of causing sexual harm. Adults have a role to play in protecting these rights. Offending doesn’t occur in a vacuum and that includes socially and culturally. We can work towards a more just society where everyone flourishes and reaches their potential.”

 — Julie Edwards, National Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Symposium remarks, as quoted in our summary blog

If you've got an update or story to tell, or want to share your feedback, we're happy to hear from you. Use the buttons below to share your thoughts.