Grant powers female business growth, innovation, and creative endeavors in Brisbane

Beekeepers, hat makers, lawyers, and Christmas tree farmers are among the diverse group of female business owners receiving Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grants in 2023.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has announced 52 women-led businesses will share in a pool of $250,000 to purchase vital equipment, business services, and training to help grow their business impact in Brisbane.

Cr Schrinner said the diversity of sectors represented among this year’s recipients showed the impact women were making to strengthen Brisbane’s economy. “No area is off-limits for women in business and this year’s grant recipients are proof there’s growing representation and ownership across sectors including health, legal, human resources and the creative industries,” Cr Schrinner.

“Brisbane is one of the most progressive, small-business friendly cities in Australia and we want to support people with great ideas, no matter their background, age, or gender.”

Deputy Mayor Krista Adams said the grants are critical funding for what is one of Brisbane’s fastest growing business sectors.

“Women now account for just over a third of business ownership locally. Part of being the most small business friendly city is making sure female business owners have the tools and support they need to grow, evolve, and thrive,” Cr Adams said. “Last year’s recipients have told us they’ve used their grants to grow their customer base and enhance their services. In a number of cases this has resulted in increased revenue, new jobs for local people, and stronger connections in the community.”

Now in its second year, the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant has supported over 100 female business owners.

This year, 81 per cent of all the businesses supported are wholly owned by women.

These include 14 businesses offering professional services, including legal and human resources, 11 businesses focused on healthcare, and 10 businesses in retail.

One of this year’s recipients, Helen Bayley, started her business – Lovestar – to help cope with post-natal depression after the birth of her third child in 2013.

Now based in Northgate, Lovestar sells its vases - shaped like Beyonce, Dolly Parton and Freda Kahlo - around the world.

“I started posting my creative endeavours on Instagram… When I took my first batch to a market they sold out,” Ms Bayley said.

“The creation of the business literally saved me and helped pull me out of my depression.”

Helen has overcome countless challenges, including a devastating warehouse fire, to build her business into the success it is today.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the number of female business owners in Brisbane is growing with women accounting for 36 percent of business ownership in 2021, up from 34 percent in 2016. Nationally, women represented 34 percent of business owners in 2021, compared to 33 percent in

Meta rolls out its paid verification in Australia, New Zealand

mobile.

2016.

The Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant is a grant with a difference.

Beyond financial support, all recipients will benefit from a 12-month development program, delivered by Brisbane Business Hub, to help boost leadership skills and make vital connections within the community.

Jennifer McIntyre, who received a grant last year, said the support to buy new machinery had meant she could hire an extra staff member at her stitchery – 57 Perches.

“I am very grateful for the boost this grant has given me as a businesswoman,” Ms. McIntyre said.

“With our new equipment and bigger team, we have the capacity to service more clients and to fill client orders more efficiently. Our connections have been invaluable and have led to several business contracts and collaborations.”

For more information on the Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant program, and a list of this year’s recipients visit: https:// businessinbrisbane.com.au/ women-in-business-grantrecpients/

Brisbane Business Hub

The Brisbane Business Hub has supported over 17,000 businesses and connected an online community of 50,000 subscribers since opening in October 2020.

In its central location on Queen Street, the Brisbane Business Hub offers a vibrant co-working space, on-the-pulse events, mentoring, and online resources enjoyed by thousands of businesspeople each year.

Fight your depression with pilates, yoga than with medicines

with 1039 trials and 128,119 participants.

Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the review specifically showed that exercise interventions that were 12 weeks or shorter were most effective at reducing mental health symptoms, highlighting the speed at which physical activity can make a change.

activity interventions can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in all clinical populations, with some groups showing even greater signs of improvement.

San Francisco, Feb 25 (IANS)

Meta has rolled out its paid subscription plan for Facebook and Instagram to users based in Australia and New Zealand. The subscription plan known as "Meta Verified" offers a verified label, improved reach, better protection from impersonation, access to customer support, and exclusive stickers on Facebook and Instagram, reports TechCrunch.

Last week, the company announced that it is testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook for $11.99 per month for the web and $14.99 per month for

Moreover, users can look at the benefits offered by the subscription and the procedure to join on the company's website.

As the company is doing a slow rollout of the plan, many users might not see the option to purchase it right away, said the report.

There are separate plans for Instagram and Facebook, and currently, only the web plan is available for Facebook.

So, if users want to purchase Meta Verified for both platforms, they will have to pay $27 per month. For Meta Verified, users must be at least 18 years old, have a history of recent activity, such as posting, and have a profile photo that matches the government ID they provide.

As of now, Meta subscribers cannot change their profile name, username, date of birth, or profile picture without unsubscribing and reapplying.

Iconic cuttlefish breeding site added to Australian heritage list

granting it additional protection. "The cuttlefish put on a spectacular show of color, shape-shifting, and cunning games, creating what is almost an underwater light show," she said in a media release.

Canberra, Feb 26 (IANS) A cuttlefish breeding zone off the coast of South Australia (SA) has been added to Australia's National Heritage List. Each winter, thousands of giant cuttlefish migrate to the rocky shore near the town of Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsula to breed, creating a spectacular underwater light show, Xinhua reported.

"The Cuttlefish Coast Sanctuary Zone adds outstanding heritage value to Australia's precious coastal sanctuary zones and helps to develop an understanding of our unique natural history."

The Australian giant cuttlefish is the world's largest known cuttlefish species, growing up to one meter long and over 10 kg in weight.

Rocky reefs near Whyalla in the Spencer Gulf are the only known mass breeding ground for the species.

In May 2022, the SA government re-imposed a ban on fishing for giant cuttlefish in the gulf to protect the species. Sydney, Feb 26 (IANS) Aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, pilates, and yoga are 1.5 times more effective than counselling or the leading medications for people with mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and distress, suggests researchers including one of an Indian origin.

Researchers from University of South Australia noted that the largest benefits of these exercises were seen among people with depression, pregnant and postpartum women, healthy individuals, and people diagnosed with HIV or kidney disease.

The findings which call for exercise to be a mainstay approach for managing depression is based on a study encompassing 97 reviews

According to the World Health Organization, one in every eight people worldwide (970 million people) live with a mental disorder. Poor mental health costs the world economy approximately $2.5 trillion each year, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030. Physical activity must be prioritised to better manage the growing cases of mental health conditions, said lead researcher Dr Ben Singh, from the varsity.

"Physical activity is known to help improve mental health. Yet despite the evidence, it has not been widely adopted as a firstchoice treatment," Dr Singh said.

"Our review shows that physical

"Higher intensity exercise had greater improvements for depression and anxiety, while longer durations had smaller effects when compared to short and mid-duration bursts. Senior researcher, Professor Carol Maher, said the study is the first to evaluate the effects of all types of physical activity on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in all adult populations."Examining these studies as a whole is an effective way for clinicians to easily understand the body of evidence that supports physical activity in managing mental health disorders.

"We hope this review will underscore the need for physical activity, including structured exercise interventions, as a mainstay approach for managing depression and anxiety."

Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, announced on Saturday that the Cuttlefish Coast Sanctuary Zone will join iconic sites such as Bondi Beach and Uluru on the heritage list,

Warnings of unprecedented grass fire risk in Australia

what happened after previous prolonged periods of La Nina conditions from 1954-57, 1973-76 and 1998-2001. They found that after each period ended, severe and deadly fires followed.

Stronger El Nino could cause irreversible Antarctic melting: Report

has caused prolific vegetation growth in Australia, which is now drying and turning into fire fuel as we experience hotter, drier conditions," he said in a media release.

Canberra, Feb 22 (IANS) Australia is facing unprecedented grassfire risk in the summer of 2023/24, experts have warned.

According to a new report published on Wednesday, three years of wet conditions have left Australia with high fuel loads for fires, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Climate Council and Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (ELCA) -- a group made up of senior fire and emergency service leaders -- analyzed

Vegetation fuel loads in some inland areas usually range between 0.5 and 1.5 tonnes per hectare but after years of heavy rain are now between 4.5 and six tonnes per hectare.

Greg Mullins, a former commissioner of Fire and Rescue New South Wales (NSW) and founder of the ELCA who authored the report, said Australia is set for a return to normal or above normal fire conditions in 2023-24 following three low-risk years in the wake of the 2019-20 Black Summer.

"Excessive rainfall in recent years were critical to furthering the understanding of how Antarctica will be affected by climate change. "Climate change is expected to increase the magnitude of ENSO, making both El Nino and La Nina stronger," he said.

"Firefighters fear that grass fires occurring in hot, dry and windy conditions worsened by climate change could unfold on a scale never before experienced, potentially overwhelming emergency services at times, and placing communities at great risk."

Mullins said governments at all levels need to urgently invest in measures that help communities withstand and cope with worsening climate impacts, and accelerate efforts to rapidly lower greenhouse gas emissions this decade to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.

Canberra, Feb 21 (IANS) Stronger El Nino events in the future could cause irreversible melting of ice shelves and sheets in Antarctica, an Australian research warned on Tuesday.

El Nino is the warmer phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that occurs over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, and with the colder phase, La Nina, influences weather conditions around the world, reportsXinhua news agency.

"This new research shows that stronger El Nino may speed up warming of deep waters in the Antarctic shelf, making ice shelves and ice sheets melt faster."