SEX is the word of the week. Youth Week, that is.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday afternoon, Goulburn Mulwaree Council hosted a series of events at the McDermott Centre under the label of "Hump Day".
We heard from a source (who won't be named) that they had heard from parents that felt hesitant to send their children along to something so blatantly centred around sex.
What a shame that is.
It's 2016, readers.
We live in an age where there are countless avenues online for young people (who are at their most vulnerable age, sexually) to access information.
This isn't a matter of what is right or wrong, or a choice of whether to expose young ones to the horrors of the world, it's a conversation about how to live safely.
The Youth Week program in NSW works closely with other government agencies to raise issues of importance to young people and provide information and support.
This year, NSW Health teamed up to improve the sexual health outcomes of young people across the state.
Did you know, young people aged 15-24 years have the highest rates of STI notifications in NSW?
In 2013, more than 11,000 chlamydia notifications were issued to that age bracket alone.
Not only was the focus of the event, and indeed the week, to improve knowledge of safe sex practices, it encourages positive open dialogue around an otherwise closed-door topic.
While the event has come and gone, there are ways to still create a conversation with your friends and family about the issue.
playsafe.health.nsw.gov.au is a great place to start. We encourage you to take a look.
On the slow track
AROUND and around it goes, where it stops, nobody knows.
No, we're not talking about 'Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour' but high-speed rail.
The topic reared its head again this week for the umpteenth time, just months out from a possible election, as it turns out.
People could be forgiven for tiring of all the talk and no action.
Granted, these things don't happen overnight. But as the Sydney Morning Herald reported this week, the subject first arose in Australian politics in 1980. Successive governments have tried and failed to get it off the ground.
Momentum has gathered pace in the past few years with a government commissioned feasibility study. Now "value capture" may indeed be part of the solution, but not all.
Mayor Geoff Kettle says high-speed rail is a "no-brainer."
It would undoubtedly supercharge growth, and with that, real estate prices, according to some pundits.
With that will come a dramatic change in our lifestyles. Are we ready?
If not, take heart, it could be a long way off yet.