Australia could be harbouring a new class of people: the white collar poor. That's the picture of modern life that’s been revealed by the Wesley Mission’s study into financial stress. Released today, the research looked at stress created by household debt and budgeting, and found that 81 per cent of people surveyed had been frazzled by their finances in the last six years. The report also noted financial anxiety contributed in some cases to broken relationships, violence and drug abuse. The CEO of the Wesley Mission in Sydney, The Reverend Keith Garner spoke to The Wire about what prompted the study in the first place.

As world leaders are gathering in Nairobi, Kenya, for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss the changes needed, there have been some changes back home. It is the states that are putting forward their own policies to introduce mandatory renewable energy targets. Last Thursday New South Wales announced it would commit to a 10 per cent renewable target by 2010 and a 15 per cent target by 2015. So just how does the NSW policy compares to other state policies? The Wire asked Ben Pearson from Greenpeace just how effective the policy will be, along with Jane Castle, Energy campaigner for the Total Environment Centre.

It’s been 15 years since the massacre of more than 270 young East Timorese, who were murdered by the Indonesia military at Santa Cruz cemetery on November 12 1991. The massacre, unlike others committed during Indonesia’s 24-year occupation, was witnessed by foreign media, and so became a turning point in East Timor’s struggle for self-determination, galvanizing international support for independence. Fifteen years, on a report by East Timor’s Reception, Truth and Reconicliation Commission, which documents the nation’s human rights abuses under Indonesian occupation, is being launched this month in Australia. The Report, known as Chega! (Enough) was handed to President Xanana Gusmao last year but due to the eruption of violence this year it was only handed out in Dili recently. John Miller of East Timor and Indonesia Action Network in New York spoke to the Wire about where the country was on the road to reconciliation, 15 years on from that fateful day in Dili.

Since September 11 it’s been no easy task getting out positive stories about Arab and Muslim Australians. It seemed that task got a lot harder last December when White and Middle Eastern Australians clashing violently on the beaches of Cronulla in Sydney. But out of the divisions highlighted by those events came the idea for a variety show that aimed to show a positive side to Middle Eastern Australians. So on Friday and Saturday night, the New Theatre in Newtown in Sydney put on a show called “Chicken, beef or Lamb, a cultural kebab, celebrating 125 years of Middle Eastern Immigration to Australia”. Balancing satirical comedy acts with history lessons, musical performances and a multi-media slide show, a cultural kebab was an ambitious project as well as a well-intentioned one, with all proceeds going to the reconstruction effort in Lebanon. Erica Vowles went a long to the Saturday night performance and got behind the curtain to speak with the participants, starting with director Lyn Collingwood.

In the information age Google has the answers to almost anything and details on almost everyone. However what happens when the information about you on the web is something you’d rather be kept private? Google stalking is when someone searches for information about you using Google. While much of the information is harmless, you might not want comments made on an online forum to be seen by your boss. In the United States protecting your online reputation has become so serious that a company called Reputation Defenders has been set up by Michael Fertik to track down your online profile and delete the bad bits.