Pushing a political barrow is not really my thing. I don’t belong to a political party, nor have I ever attended a protest. My biggest foray into activisim was when I joined The Wilderness Society about five years ago. I’d been stirred into signing up after a walk amongst the tall trees in south-west Tasmania.
Of late I’ve become increasingly concerned about how I can act locally on eco-issues and thought that a good first step would be to receive the e-newsletter from the Newcastle Greens.
Recently, one of their unsung heroes – Beverely – put out a call, asking for volunteers for their stall at the Cultural STOMP, held at Civic Park. I’ve been to previous STOMPS and have always been impressed by the inclusive, family-friendly and entertaining atmosphere. So I emailed Beveley and asked her to put me down from 2-4pm.
The STOMP was first started as a peaceful protest alternative in response to the launch of the One Nation political party in the Hunter. Now in its 13th year, the theme for this STOMP came from Gandhi’s famous quote: ‘you must be the change that you wish to see in the world.’
I arrived at Civic Park and instantly headed for the Hare Krishna tent. Gulped down a delicious meal of rice, curry and vege nuggets and then strolled up to the Greens tent, sleeves rolled up, ready to spruik.
“Not much to it,” says the girl who I was taking over from. “Give out our free newspapers, and you’ll probably get people wanting to buy tee-shirts. The money is in the box under the table. I’m off to get lunch.” She thrust some folded up newspapers into my chest and off she went.
I looked warily at the passing parade of people. Taking a deep breath I held out a newspaper to my first unsuspecting passer-by. “Would you like a copy of the free Greens newspaper?” I squeaked. “Sure, thanks” came the reply from a dreadlocked teenager. ‘Wow,’ I thought. ‘That wasn’t too hard.’ I held out my next paper to a girl with a guitar slung over her shoulder and repeated my mantra.
“Thanks” she smiled at me and off she went.
‘What was I worried about?” I thought to myself. Within half an hour, with the help of a couple of other volunteers, we had offloaded all the newspapers.
Some people stayed for a chat – one guy came and bought a Clean Energy tee-shirt, disclosing that he was a coal miner from Singleton. ‘You’d be amazed at the damage that coal mining does to the land; especially open-cut mining’ he confided. A gorgeous young student from Norway was interested in our countries Green policies and was surprised when I told her that we have Greens politicians in parliament. She gave a donation and took some stickers and badges.
Also had a great chat to Zane, a local activist. He was manning the Socialist alliance stall and we discussed upcoming climate change rallies.
Acting locally to 'be the change' was an inspirational step in my eco-journey. Can't wait until next year.

Newcastle Herald story April 2009

Hey there. This is the story that was published in the Newcastle Herald on their opinion page on Tuesday 21st April. Enjoyed writing it.

Cross promotion in the media is nothing new these days. Oprah can sometimes resemble an hour-long advertisement and commercial radio stations are loaded with giveaways to whatever is the latest ‘bling’ thing.
Growing up as a Gen Xer in the late 80’s where mass media was the latest buzzword means that I’m fairly immune to product promotion and brand saturation.
And I’m not ashamed to admit that on those rare occasions when I’m at home during the day I’ll flick on Oprah to catch up with the latest trend, generational malady, book, movie or popstar.
Recently I plopped down on the couch with my toasted cheese and tomato sandwich and channel surfed until Oprah came up on the screen. Appearing on the programme was Robin McGraw, the wife of television’s self-help guru - Dr Phil.
Spruiking her latest book, ‘What’s Age got to do with it?’ McGraw spoke eloquently and convincingly about fashion, makeup, hair, menopause, fitness, nutrition and skincare.
McGraw is in her mid 50’s but looks years younger. Mesmerised by her glossy hair, sparkling teeth and line-free skin, I remember thinking ‘there’s no way that I’ll look that good when I’m her age.’ But I digress.
Not only will I admit to watching Oprah but I’m also partial to the odd episode of The Bold and the Beautiful. Unrealistic plots, botoxed bodies, lingering looks – I don’t mind escaping into that fantasy land after a tough day in the classroom, teaching reluctant adolescents.
And being up-to-date with the latest twitter-talk, soap story-lines and pop gossip is an advantage when you’re hanging out with teenagers all day. They’ll actually interact with you like you’re a normal human being when they find out that you know what the most recent Britney rumour is.
But what’s the link between Oprah and B&B? Did one of the cast make an appearance on her show? Wrong. McGraw, playing herself, turned up in an episode of the daytime soap. I only knew who she was because I’d recently seen her on Oprah.
McGraw breezed into a scene to interact with ‘Jackie’ – a character played by the actress Lesley-Anne Down. ‘Jackie’ is in her mid-life and her fashion design business is facing oblivion due to the global financial crisis. While McGraw gushed about her new book to ‘Jackie’ I kept thinking to myself: ‘what the hell are you doing on the set?’
Searching the soapie websites to find out more I learnt that Down appeared on the Dr Phil show to help hype his wife’s appearance on B&B.
Similarly, my eye was caught by the recent drop-in of Andreu Rieu onto the set of Neighbours. Like McGraw, Rieu appeared as himself, after meeting ‘Paul’ on a flight to Australia from Europe.
While cross promotion is something that is accepted nowadays as standard business practice I thought that soapies were sacrosanct; existing in a fantasy land, cushioned from the world of ‘real’ people. Let’s hope that McGraw’s and Rieu’s appearances are a trend that doesn’t catch on.

Sent this letter off today to Rhema FM - radio station in Newcastle. Should be self-explanatory.


I’m an occasional listener to Rhema FM. Usually when I’m driving in my car I’ll flick across. I enjoy your music and the Bible verses – they help to keep me focused on what’s really important.

I was driving up to Newcastle yesterday (Monday 20th April) at about 9:15am and put on Rhema and there were two middle aged white men (I’m assuming they were middle aged white men but am happy to be corrected on that) talking about what it means to be a woman today. Even writing that, it seems a bit ridiculous! I almost choked on my chewing gum when one of the men was asked what true Biblical femininity is. How would he know? How can he be qualified to answer that? Imagine the ludicrousness if there were two women chatting about what ‘true Biblical masculinity’ is.

I felt angry and upset when the interviewee was claiming that women might be achieving in the secular world but they are not happy. Do we question whether a man is happy if he achieves in the secular world? Never! Women’s lives are very complex – sometimes there are circumstances beyond their control that make them have to act in a way that is not like the hallowed ‘New Eve’. Furthermore, your interviewee made a blanket judgement about ‘feminist’ women without qualifying or defining what a ‘feminist’ is. Is being a feminist being in control of your life, being in control of your finances, bringing up your family to the best of your ability, acknowledging God’s hand along the way? I can’t see anything ‘feminist’ about that. It’s called being a woman in the 21st century.

I have noticed on your website that your board of directors are all men. Perhaps you should invite a woman on to your board to give your station some balance of opinion or better still, if your station is going to discuss what it means to be a woman it might be an idea to interview a woman.

By the way, I am a high school teacher, am happily married and we have two school-aged children.

I look forward to your opinion on this.

Best wishes,

Sara Donald

Was at Gordon Uniting on Easter Sunday night and Lorenzo (minister) incorporated this into his sermon. Not sure who the original author is but it's on the net if you want to look it up.

Lose your faith!
Yes, lose your faith. Lose your faith in God. For as the French mystic Simone Weil insisted, there is a kind of atheism that is purifying, cleansing us of idols. Lose your faith in the god that the cross exposes as a no-god, a sham god. Lose your faith in the god who is but the product of your projections, fantasies, wishes, and needs, a security blanket or good-luck charm god. Lose your faith in the god who is there to hold your hand, solve your problems, rescue you from your trials and tribulations, the deus ex machina, literally the “machine god”, wheeled out onto the stage in ancient Greek drama, introduced to the plot artificially to resolve its complications and secure a happy ending. Lose your faith in the god who confers upon you a privileged status that is safe and secure. Lose your faith in the god who promises you health, wealth, fulfilment, and success, who pulls rabbits out of hats. Lose your faith in the god with whom your conscience can be at ease with itself. Lose your faith in the god who, in Dennis Potter’s words, is the bandage, not the wound. Lose your faith in the god who always answers when you pray and comes when you call. Lose your faith in the god who is never hidden, absent, dead, entombed. For the “Father who art in heaven” – this week he is to be found in hell – with his Son.

Hey, the letter was published but dumbed down. still, good to get in print.

This was a letter that I sent into the Newcastle Herald. probably won't get published cos they may think it's anti-show - but that's not my intention!

Woke up on Sunday to sunny skies and roused my kids with a stirring cry: “Let’s go to the Show today!” Blank looks back. “Can’t we go to the beach?” they grumbled. “Are you crazy?” I questioned. “What about the great rides, the bulging showbags, the cute animals?” No response forthcoming from my two boys. In desperation, I added: “Fairy floss? Pluto pups?” My six year old piped up – “Can you move mum, you’re blocking the TV.” I left the room, shaking my head. I couldn’t believe that my aim of raising anti-consumerist children had actually come to pass. We did head to the beach and we had a fabulous swim. Returned home with my bank balance and sanity intact. Maybe the kids were right after all.

I was sitting in the 1233 ABC Newcastle studios the other day being interviewed for International Women’s Day (IWD) as an ambassador for UNIFEM. On the telephone in Sydney, also being interviewed was Sue Conde AM, President of the organisation.
International Women’s Day, held on March 8th, was a day to recognise and celebrate women’s achievements but also to reflect on their continuing vulnerability to violence.
The IWD theme for 2009 was UNite to End Violence against Women.
UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programs and strategies that promote women’s human rights, political participation and economic security in more than 100 countries.
Nicole Kidman, Goodwill Ambassador for UNIFEM, launched the Say NO to Violence campaign in April last year. The campaign collected over 5 million signatures which were presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last year on the 25th November, the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Sue and I were chatting away with Carol Duncan, the presenter of the day shift on 1233, when Carol asked the question: ‘What difference would my signature make?’
And that’s the crux of the matter. It doesn’t matter if it’s a signature to save the local pool, a decision to coach the kid’s soccer team or a donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal – we want to know that what we do, that what we give, will make a difference.
Making a difference is a strategic priority for UNIFEM Australia and it organised more than 50 events around Australia for International Women's Day. Many women (and men) who attended these events have learned of the work of UNIFEM in our Pacific region and in south-east Asia.
Proceeds raised from IWD 2009 will be directed towards the implementation of a successful project recently piloted in Fiji. UNIFEM Pacific’s ‘Market Project’ aims to improve conditions in rural marketplaces and increase women’s participation in the management of these markets. Trading in fresh food markets can be the only opportunity for many women in the Pacific to participate in the urban economy.
Figures suggest that 85% of market vendors are women with 75% coming from rural areas. Travelling to these markets can be risky to women’s personal safety and, in some cases, hazardous for their small children.
As a mother of young children myself this fact was particularly meaningful. In the West we don’t go anywhere without a bag, weighted with kiddie supplies: food, drinks, sunscreen, hat, change of clothes – the list is endless. Having to travel long distances with young children, probably on foot or in an overloaded truck (no air-conditioned Prado’s available) and then having to sit with them all day in a hot, dusty market with no access to clean water or amenities brought home to me how hard it can be for women in our region to boost their household income.
As part of its increased support to UNIFEM, the Australian Government announced on Sunday that it will provide more than $17 million over four years.
Commenting on the contribution, Conde said: "UNIFEM Australia recognises that it is important that the member states of the United Nations demonstrate their commitment to women, as Australia has shown today by this significant contribution to advance gender equality and empower women.”
For women around the world, International Women’s Day was a time to unite, network and mobilise for meaningful difference, both here and overseas.

Sara Donald is a member of UNIFEM [www.unifem.org.au]