Election

I’m delighted to be nominating for APHEDA – Union Aid Abroad Committee of Management.

My name is Danae Bosler and I’m a lifelong union organiser living in Melbourne.

I’ve been an APHEDA member for 10 years including a trip to Timor Leste as part of an APHEDA study tour. I returned to Timor Leste 2 years later as part of the Working Women’s Conference and I remain passionate, years on, for global solidarity – particularly for our nearest neighbours. I’m a member of ASU Private and MEAA journalist’s division.

I’m currently Chief of Staff at Victorian Trades Hall Council and have worked in the union movement most of my working life as an organiser, educator and recruiter.

I’m currently also a councillor on Yarra City Council, one of Australia’s most progressive councils, and recently served a term as mayor. I would bring a wealth of governance and financial management knowledge from my council experience to the APHEDA Committee, critical to ensuring the ongoing success of APHEDA’s international work. In the current climate of government interference and restriction of NGOs, my knowledge and experience from council will be vital to support APHEDA’s work.

If elected, I’d work to maintain a strongly progressive and radical agenda of global solidarity, including support for action on climate change. I’d focus on supporting unions organising in our nearest neighbours, and particularly countries that provide labour to Australia – organising migrant workers before they arrive in Australia.

I hope you can support my candidacy and I’m happy to discuss further – please contact me on danae.bosler@gmail.com.

Union Rep assistant for the Federate iron workers union tube makers at age 18. In 1983 I drafts person on Archaeological dig in Syria with RMIT and Melbourne University. Union rep OHS rep assistant for over 20 years for the AWU at Dow Chemicals. Member of Greenpeace, Amnesty, FOE, Child Sponsor with World Vision for 30 years, Member of Bush Heritage. APHEDA member since approx 2004. Assisted with demonstrations for the Australian East Timor Association in the 90s when Australia’s position was not so nice. Volunteer Curator exhibitions at the Nibs Gallery Victorian Trades Hall 1998 to 2003 Gallery dedicated to Social, Environmental and Justice exhibitions. I have been to the Western Sahara refugee camps twice, with Australian Parliamentary Delegation, Second time attended UGSTARIO conference representing ACTU AWU WSRW and AWSA. Organised 2 shipping containers to the WS refugee camps, one with donated medical supplies with the assistance of, unions and APHEDA . Organised Tamil Genocide exhibition Collingwood gallery 2014 with Australian Tamil Friendship group.
Curated Sudan Up Rising Exhibition RMIT and Low Key Gallery Cafe in 2019. Founding members of Vic branch AWSA.
Monitored elections Venezuela in 2006. Monitored elections Timor Leste 2018. Currently assisting Venezuela Friendship Group on sending medical supplies to Venezuela and Insulin with NGO Insulin for Life. Assisting in raising donations in kind for a shipping container to go to a village in Zimbabwe. Long time supporter of APHEDA and its aims, a just world is possible.

I’m a strong supporter of APHEDA and social justice – also doing volunteering for the homeless In Newtown. I’ve recently retired from 36 years in the Australian Public Service – including the last five years as a Director at the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency – ASEA. Prior to that I worked at NICNAS and Worksafe Australia so I have both a strong knowledge of the challenges of eliminating asbestos as well as governance matters – I was CFO at ASEA. I’ve had the privilege of delivering workshops in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam with APHEDA, as well as working closely with APHEDA in Sydney.

Having seen the great work APHEDA does in Australia and on the ground in South-East Asia I’m keen to bring my experiences and knowledge to the APHEDA Committee of Management to progress this important work.

Thank you for considering my nomination.

I am currently working as Deputy Director, Democracy & Equity, at United Workers Union. I have had a long association with Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, having worked as Campaigns and Education Officer and then managed the National Program between 1999 and 2003. Since then I have worked with a number of unions and at ACTU in a variety of roles, mainly in organising and development.

I have been on the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA COM since December 2013 and have been in the role of Honorary Secretary since December 2015. As a COM member I have been able to contribute to the strategic thinking of the organisation and offer practical support to the team based in Sydney.

Throughout my time as a staff member, active supporter and now COM member, I’ve been incredibly proud of the work that APHEDA does to make our commitment to global solidarity tangible. I am particularly inspired by the work of partner organisations that work with women and with migrant workers.

I know that in the day to day work of busy unions we can find our focus – and our ambition for justice – narrowed in on our local struggles. The work of APHEDA always inspires me to recognise the broader struggles that we are part of and challenges me to act in solidarity with workers beyond our immediate membership. I look forward to continuing to support APHEDA’s work in any way I can.

Soon after completing the 2001 Organising Works traineeship, as an Industrial Organiser with the MEAA, I joined APHEDA and have been a member ever since. From 2004, I worked continuously as an Industrial Organiser, and more recently an Industrial Officer, with the NTEU. I am a long-standing member of the Industrial Relations Society of Victoria.

I am a passionate Trade Unionist and supporter of APHEDA’s work, especially in relation to the Asbestos. Not Here. Not Anywhere. campaign. I was honoured to receive an APHEDA Solidarity Award in 2018 for my successful work in recruiting new members to the organisation from among my co-workers, NTEU National Councillors, and workers in attendance at union functions, such as ACTU Congress. I have delivered training to other APHEDA activists in relation my approach to recruitment.

Good governance, including transparency in decision-making, is essential to any healthy and thriving organisation. Over the years, I have gained valuable governance experience as an office bearer (chair, media spokesperson, secretary, and/or public officer) in a diverse range of incorporated associations, including coordinating the drafting of statements of purpose, rules, and amendments to rules. I have also sat on several community advisory committees for my local Darebin Council, and my work as an independent community activist has led to improved processes for community involvement in Council, and the protection of important parkland from development.

I would like to extend my contribution to APHEDA, and bring my activist perspective to the organisation, by seeking election to the Committee of Management.

Michelle Robertson has been an APHEDA member since 2011, committed to an organisation that reflects her values of peace, social justice & global responsibility. As a long term member, Michelle was instrumental in reviving the Brisbane Activists Group in 2012. Since its resurgence, the Brisbane Group has raised over $50,000 and recruited a significant number of global justice partners. Michelle has a strong view about the involvement of members and growing the organisation and has worked hard to ensure these goals have been met. Michelle was privileged to participate in the study tour to the Thai-Burma Border and has a thorough understanding of the projects and partnerships APHEDA is part of. This extraordinary experience has contributed a great deal to her drive for the Brisbane Group’s activities & membership.

Michelle has been a committed Committee member & believes this membership provides an important link between the broader APHEDA organisation, the Brisbane Group & Queensland members. Since joining the committee in 2017 Michelle has been an active contributor to quarterly meetings and in promoting APHEDA throughout the union movement generally in Queensland.

Michelle has been an active union member for 37 years and a paid official for the past 30. Her background in the social and community service industry and as an official of the Australian Services Union has meant that the core beliefs of dignity, respect and human rights have been fundamental to her values and the work she carries out.

Michael is the National Assistant Secretary and Legal Officer for the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. As Assistant Secretary, Michael has been at the forefront of the Union’s campaigns against casualisation, exploitation of foreign workers and employee privacy.

In his role, Michael has worked closely with APHEDA on its asbestos campaign in Southeast Asia. He travelled with the Apheda delegation through Vietnam and Indonesia in 2018, and has attended regional SEBAN conferences. More recently, Michael has led the ETU’s efforts in Fiji, providing technical assistance to the Construction, Energy and Timber Workers Union of Fiji.

Michael has a longterm interest in peace building and international development.
Prior to working for the ETU, Michael was based in Kampala, Uganda with a human rights defender NGO, working to protect human rights activists throughout East Africa. Michael holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of International Studies, and a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies.

As a member of the Executive, Michael will bring a wealth of legal, industrial and industrial experience to the role – working collaboratively with the other Exec members, the organisation, and the movement more broadly.