Are you a grandparent raising children? University of NSW wants to hear from you!

In partnership with the University of NSW's Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC), and four government agencies, Mission Australia is seeking to learn more about the experiences of grandparents who are primary carers of their grandchildren.

In the last major count by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2003, Australia had over 31,000 children being raised by their grandparents, and the SPRC and Mission Australia are keen to find out how grandparent carers are faring now.

It is hoped this information will contribute to policies and programs that better support grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren.

If you or a loved one are a grandparent carer then why not participate in the survey confidentially online and let us learn more about your experience?  It takes no longer than 30 minutes and can be started from this link.

Alternatively you can have the survey sent to you to be completed at home. To order a copy please contact Christiane Purcal at the Social Policy Research Centre.  Contact details are provided below...

Christiane Purcal
Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Email:  c.purcal@unsw.edu.au
Phone:  02 9385 7830

MA supporters favour practical measures in dealing with problem gambling - Online Poll

Since the release of the Productivity Commission's Report into Gambling we can now identify that approximately 100,000 'problem gamblers' are providing around 40 per cent of all poker machine revenue in Australia - a deeply concerning fact when considering the wider implications on gamblers, their families and friends.

Since June we have been polling MA supporters on our Homepage, asking:

"In dealing with problem gambling, which of these strategies do you agree with most?"

The response options were the Productivity Commission recommendations deemed 'most urgent' by our CEO.

It's interesting to see that supporters strongly favour practical measures, similar to the strategies used to deal with binge drinking (click image to enlarge):

As reported by SMH in June:

"The Productivity Commission estimated that about 600,000 Australians - or 4 per cent of the population - play the games at least once a week. About 15 per cent of those players, or 100,000 people, are considered "problem gamblers", the report said. They account for about 40 per cent of total spending on the machines."

With statistics like these our CEO Toby Hall has called on State and Federal Governments to swiftly implement the recommendations of the Report.

Click here and have your say today!