Well Said!

  By Helen Said, Autistic advocate, Melbourne Victoria, Australia In Victoria, we face the very real prospect of a One Nation – Liberal Coalition coming to power at this November’s state election. This will be a disaster for Autistics, First Nations people, immigrants, women, LGBTIQ people and the environment. One Nation is a notoriously discriminatory, anti-Autistic party, funded by billionaires, that wants to build nuclear power stations and abolish our climate change goals. Our State Labor Government has been in power for twelve years and it is un unusual for governments to remain in power for much longer. At the state election this November, we are bracing for a three-way contest between centre-left Labor, centre-right Liberals and the ascendant far right party, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. (The Greens, which campaigned against cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, do not attract a large percentage of votes.) Because we have preferential voting, and because ri...

  by Helen Said, Melbourne Australia. Many falsely labelled and potentially toxic products remain on supermarket shelves, d espite an ABC Four Corners investigation, of 27th July 2026, exposing food labelling fraud. [1] A quick glance at both Coles and Woolworths websites show that, six weeks after forensic scientists from Source Certain detected lead chromate and iron oxide in three samples of Hoyts Turmeric, the product is still on sale and the price has gone up to $6.20, a 13 percent price rise in the past fortnight. Late last month, I ordered a jar of Hoyts ground turmeric, for $5.50, online from Woolworths. I add turmeric to drinks, and occasionally to my cooking, for its reputed health benefits, and I was unaware that some brands were potentially adulterated. It was only after seeing an item on social media yesterday, and searching for the news report online, that I discovered that three out of four samples of this product had tested positive for iron oxide and lead chromate...