More Australians die from overdose than on our roads, but criminalisation is not the answer By Kathryn Daley

I miss my brother so much. I don't talk about his death but this piece I have written I hope might help illustrate how policy determines people's health. Harm reduction is healthcare.

cheekmedia.substack.com/p/more-austr...

This is possibly the best client review I've ever had 😂

(Group exercise doesn't have to include instructors screaming at you.)

This is what editors are for.

At 5pm today I asked my babysitter if she's available tomorrow from 5. She said yes ... Then asked if it was 5am or 5pm She's a saint who knows I'm so disorganised that <12 hours notice isn't an unlikely scenario 😂😂

Cost-of-living crisis blamed for soaring crime rates Youth offending is at a record high in one state, latest figures reveal, as police attribute cost-of-living pressures...

"it might not be surprising that you would see the crime stats increase because we're seeing an increase in policing," Dr Daley told AAP.
"We're seeing an active increase in law and order responses, because that's what the community has been demanding."
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/899596...

I was on breakfast radio at 6am. I am teaching a pilates class at 6pm. Full workday in between after corraling kids to school. I am exhausted yet will learn absolutely nothing from this.

“Kids Soften the Jail”: Keeping Mums and Kids Together in Prison The Living with Mum program is one of many across the country that permit women to raise their baby in a dedicated area of a prison. These programs vary in eligibility and age restrictions.

📢 If you haven't yet, take a moment to read the cover story in this edition of About Time, which features our team.

Here's the article, and why not settle in for the entire edition while you're here?

These are the voices that need to be shared. 💜

www.abouttime.org.au/news-and-inv...

Palestinians gunned down while trying to reach food aid site in Gaza, hospital says Witnesses say Israeli forces opened fire on people near distribution point run by Israel-backed foundation

Palestinians gunned down while trying to reach food aid site in Gaza, hospital says

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Drugs aren’t the policy problem — Power to Persuade In this post, Dr Kathryn Daley, Associate Director, Social Equity Research Centre, RMIT University &amp; Deputy Chairperson, Youth Workers Australia argues for a supportive approach to drug use associ...

In this piece in @powertopersuade.bsky.social, I challenge the flawed assumption at the heart of drug policy: that the drugs themselves are the problem. Heavy drug use is often a coping strategy for distress. Reducing harm requires care not criminalisation
www.powertopersuade.org.au/blog/drugs-a...

Prison needle programs could save double what they cost – our new modelling shows how Australia leads the world in community-based needle programs. Yet they’re not used in prisons – which are hotspots for hepatitis C infection.

theconversation.com/prison-needl...

Big money for mental health, but gaps remain | Dandenong Star Journal Dandenong will receive an upgraded Headspace centre dubbed Headspace Plus, if Labor is re-elected at this Federal election. As part […]

dandenong.starcommunity.com.au/news/2025-04...

Half a pill was enough to kill Jetson. Now this drug is infiltrating supply The teenage apprentice placed an online order for a pill he hoped would help him relax and get to sleep. He never woke up.

Important points made here about the need for real time data availability for illicit drug supply, along with the obvious case for drug checking.

www.theage.com.au/national/hal...

New window on 'crime crisis' as bail shake-up looms Hotly anticipated crime statistics will provide an insight on a

It was a "common misconception" that crime statistics reflected offending, RMIT's Dr Kathryn Daley said.
"Crime statistics are not convictions, & many of them don't even end up before court," Dr Daley told AAP.
"They're what police report on charge sheets."
www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/ar...

RIP your inbox.

Bail reform being rushed through parliament in response to a petition led by Brendan Fevola is the ultimate populist politics. Ruining peoples lives and showing a lack of political leadership. Disgraceful.

officemate: 'God I enjoy you, Kat'
me: 'If I die can you make sure people remember that I'm funny?'
officemate: 'Oh I will, I'm taking notes'
😂

Thanks so much, Lisa. You're such an inspiration!

Absolutely surreal afternoon today. It is such a privilege to do this work. Awards aren't a motivation to do it, but it's really nice to be seen.

Prescribed reading in a leadership course I am in ... seems pertinent 😂🙈

Brilliant - thanks!

THIS IS RESEARCH I'M HERE FOR
☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

Any chance the full speech will be available?

‘Wilful act of bastardry’: Henry condemns tax system for crushing young Australians Former Treasury boss Ken Henry says a succession of governments have used the tax system to deliberately hurt young people, propping up the old and vested interests like mining.

www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...

Australian students just recorded the lowest civics scores since testing began. But young people do care about politics In a new civics report, only 28% of Australian Year 10 students met the ‘proficient standard’ in 2024 compared to 38% in 2019.

Democracy is in pieces everywhere. A huge part of how this has happened has been the active move to strip civics education from young ppl. This is to keep them disengaged, but it creates generations of people ill-prepared to be active citizens.

theconversation.com/australian-s...

Paper accepted and an ethics application approved in what feels like an otherwise frantic, but simultaneously unproductive (??!), week. Bizarre.

Khaled Sabsabi will no longer represent Australia at the Venice Biennale in 2026 Move follows an article in The Australian newspaper, which called attention to controversial works by the artist including depictions of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

Behind this decision to drop #Australia's Biennale representatives is a campaign by same organs and people who have been crying about "cancel culture".

Now two images of Hezbollah's former leader Nasrallah, killed by #Israel is claimed to beyond the pale.

www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/02/13/k...

Short-term politics keeps stalling long-term fixes. This bill offers a way forward In a rare act of bipartisanship, an independent MP and a Liberal backbencher have proposed properly factoring in young people’s needs when drafting new policy.

Great explainer here of the value of legislating that all policy proposals must be stated drafted with a lens of the implications for young people. 👏

theconversation.com/short-term-p...

17 years since the National Apology. So much work to be done.

💛🖤❤️

My Mum, my hero.

MP reveals history as survivor of child abuse during final speech in parliament Illawarra MP and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says helping establish a royal commission into child sex abuse was a highlight of his career, as he is a survivor himself.

Very powerful to have the outgoing Assistant Treasurer acknowledging that he is a survivor of child sexual abuse. That took courage www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02...