Workskil Australia, our largest not-for-profit employment and community services provider, has officially opened its new Darwin office and expanded into Alice Springs, with plans for a presence in Tennant Creek, Katherine and Nhulunbuy. 8CCC’s Kate Lyons-Dawson spoke with their General Manager Youth, Justice and Industry, Alex Apostolakis to hear how this pilot Ready To Work program will support people with criminal histories into stable employment.

Through the two-year trial program, Territorians in custody or serving a Community 
Corrections order are able to access mentoring and personalised training to help them land 
a job upon release. They’’ve received 295 referrals to date, including around 70 in the first two days of services in Alice Springs which only launched last week. Workskil Australia are aiming for 800 participants over the trial as they expand the service.

The post Workskil Australia’s Ready To Work Program arrives in the Red Centre appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

People from all over the continent are converging on Mparntwe Alice Springs for the Close Pine Gap – Sacred Land Back Convergence this weekend. A bus load of committed activists and travellers have arrived from Naarm Melbourne hoping to meet with like minded souls and make sense of the present state of the world. They come to attend panels of experts in social justice and first nations struggles, and to hear the story from historians, storytellers, elders and local mob, of land taken without consent to build a world wide surveillance facility, linked to death and destruction across the globe. Many were here in the 1987 Convergence, but some like Lloyd Riman, have only recently been made aware of Pine Gap and what has happened on Arrernte land.

The post Close Pine Gap Convergence Bus From Naarm with Lloyd Riman appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Oongi Barb Flick is a Yuwaalaayi/Gomeroi/Bigambul woman, who comes from a family of activists for social justice and Indigenous rights. She spoke with 8CCC’s Kate Lyons-Dawson about her workshop with Professor Richard Tanter as part of the Close Pine Gap – Sacred Land Back Convergence happening 18-20 July in Mparntwe Alice Springs – US Imperial Power Projection from Northern Australia.

Barbara Flick was director of the Alice Springs-based Institute for Aboriginal Development IAD and a core member of the Alice Springs Peace Group, which organised the 1987 convergence on Pine Gap, which called for the closure not only of Pine Gap, but of bases right across the Asia-Pacific, as a first step towards the demilitarisation and decolonisation of the entire region.

She helped establish Redfern’s first Aboriginal health and legal services in the 1970s, was 
coordinator at Western Aboriginal Legal Service, Dubbo, and served as Secretary on the Interim NSW Aboriginal Land Council. Barb also served as Secretary of the National Federation of Land Councils, addressiong the Inquiry into the Sizewell B Nuclear Power facility in Suffolk, England 1983-1985. UK Labour has just approved the continuing operation of Sizewell B until 2055.

The post Oonga Barb Flick Presents Workshop for Sacred Land Back Convergence appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Image: Source – Pexel – Tara Winstead

Produced By: Sam Georgiou

Featured In Story: Dr Louise Buckingham – CEO of arts law centre of Australia , Issac Hayward – Local artist and member of Opulence , and Tuakana Wharerau – Local artist and member of Blinder and No Way Foward

First aired on The Wire, Thursday 16 July 2026

The post Calls to boost AI regulation as concern rises in arts sector appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Disability advocate El Gibbs is no exception, after isolation and several job rejections she transformed her experiences into a powerful political identity. Ms Gibbs says the community is the most valuable tool when it comes to progress staying connected.  

Powerd Media’s Emma Myers spoke with El Gibbs about her journey into becoming a disability advocate. 

Image: Pexels -Marcus Aurelius

Produced By: Emma Myers

Featured In Story: El Gibbs – Disability Advocate, , and

First aired on The Wire, Thursday 16 July 2026

The post From isolation to political identity: El Gibbs appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Image: Pexels Ivan S

Produced By: Emma Wotzke

Featured In Story: Glenys Reid – Chatty Café Australia Founder and CEO

First aired on The Wire, Thursday 16 July 2026

The post Chatty Café: the power of conversation in combating loneliness appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Image: Source- Pexel – Regan Dsouza

Produced By: Nicky Page

Featured In Story: Eileen Darley – Member of Port Adelaide Community Opposing AUKUS, Organizer with the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network , , , and

First aired on The Wire, Thursday 16 July 2026

The post “Festival of Peace” unites anti-AUKUS campaigners in a push for sovereignty appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

A new documentary explores the struggle refugees experience accessing education while waiting for resettlement in transit nations.

The film “We Are Not Powerless” describes the story of a school in Indonesia run by refugees that tapped into the latent abilities of the refugee community to offer an educational lifeline for the thousands of people stuck in citizenship limbo. Stephen Hill asked the film’s co-director Muzafar Ali about the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre about how he established a school in Indonesia.

Image: Image Courtesy of Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre

Produced By: Stephen Hill

Featured In Story: Muzafar Ali, co-director of the documentary “We Are Not Powerless”

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 15 July 2026

The post School for refugees prove “We Are Not Powerless” appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Image: Asset id: 2020183643 Aerial view of coal power plant high pipes with black smokestack polluting atmosphere. Electricity production with fossil fuel concept.

Produced By: Stephen Hill

Featured In Story: Greg Mullins AO AFSM, former Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW, Climate Councillor with the Climate Council and founding member of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 15 July 2026

The post The Climate Challenge of Keeping Coal appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

2026 marks 60 years since the Pine Gap Agreement was signed between Australia & the US. This weekend’s convergence builds the strength and internationalism of the multi-generational movement against the Pine Gap base. Hundreds of people from across Australia are set to attend the sold out three-day Close Pine Gap – Sacred Land Back convergence from July 18-20 on Arrernte Country, Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Those gathered are calling for the closure of the US military intelligence base Pine Gap, for an end to the US alliance, and for the sacred land the base occupies to be returned to Arrernte custodians, who never consented to the base. One of the organisers, Slumbi visited 8CCC Big Brekky to encourage those not attending to join in the action on Monday and to listen into the live stream on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th to hear from the significant speakers from across the continent, including 

– Susan Hayes and Families, Arrernte Apmereke-artweye traditional custodians
– David Shoebridge, Federal Senator for NSW
– Professor Kathryn Gilbey, Alyawarr academic and researcher, University of Queensland
– Karina Lester, Yankunytjatjara woman, second-generation nuclear survivor and commissioner on the Public Inquiry into AUKUS
– Remah Naji, Palestinian activist with Justice for Palestine Magan-djin
– Rita Jabri Markwell, Human rights and public interest litigation lawyer and public policy contributor
– Ahmed Adam, Artist, writer, and community worker, born in Sudan, long term Alice springs resident
– Professor Richard Tanter, Senior Research Associate, Nautilus Institute, leading expert on Pine Gap
– Te Raukura O’Connell Rapira, Maori police & prison abolitionist, LGBTIQA+ & Indigenous activist, CEO of 350 Australia
– Laniyuk, Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji, and French political creative, writer, and performer
– Justice Not Jails, including Natalie Hunter
– Auntie Sue Haseldine, Googatha woman & President of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA)
– Intervention Rollback Action Group, including Barbara Shaw, proud Town Camper, Aboriginal advocate in land rights and housing
– Steve Hodder, Aboriginal media worker and member of the Intervention Rollback Action Group
– Barb Flick Yawarllaayi and Gomeroi elder and organiser of the 1987 convergence on Pine Gap
– Lee Rhiannon, former federal Greens senator and lifelong environmental and social justice activist
– Vince Scappatura, Politics & International Relations scholar, Macquarie University
– Jesse Boylan, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, artist and writer

The post ‘Make The World A More Peaceful and Safe Place…It’s Time We Closed This Base’ appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Albanese set out an optimistic vision for how Australia can meet this industrial boom and protect Australian stakeholders – but technical and implementation challenges mean that asserting Australian interests against technology companies will be far from simple.

Image: Shutterstock: DC Studio.

Produced By: Aspen Beilharz

Featured In Story: Dr Andrew Cullen – Senior Research Fellow, School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 15 July 2026

The post Challenges Ahead as Australia Navigates the AI Boom appeared first on 8CCC Radio.

Dr. Eger was the lead author of a recent study that brought together more than 100 researchers and practitioners from 35 regions with kelp forests.  Latest research suggests that the strongest restoration success has been found where communities have a direct stake in the outcome.

The Wire’s Shaun Dourado spoke to Dr. Eger to learn more about the study. He starts by talking about what makes kelp forests so important.

Image: Image: Shutterstock – DMITRY DEMKIN

Produced By: Shaun Dourado

Featured In Story: Dr. Aaron Eger (UNSW Sydney)

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 15 July 2026

The post Community Action Crucial For Kelp Restoration Efforts appeared first on 8CCC Radio.