Our Claire Portek is currently on the road conducting music workshops across regional NSW . The workshops cover diverse subjects from songwriting, hip hop, how to start a radio station to basic music industry introduction sessions. facilitators that have joined Claire on her adventures have included Hip Hop producer Les Beckett, singer song writers Tonchi

This is to let you know that the Ozsedition website is up and running again as the Australian Law Reform Commission is calling for submissions to its inquiry into the sedition provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Bill passed late last year. Please visit the website for more details on the inquiry and on how to make

Just a reminder that the cause is still on the agenda. Parliamentarians are voting mid year and it’s important they hear our voices before they vote. The list of Parliament Members and their email addresses can be found at www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

From April 4-8, Australias non-profit youth portal Vibewire.net is holding an e-Festival – five days of online panels, short films, images, podcasts, guest columnists, published papers, opportunities and resources. e-Festival of Ideas is a conference taken online and democratised. It is the only forum of its kind – using the latest in online technologies to

Arts Law Centre has recently published a new edition of “A Practical Guide for Artists and Arts Organisations. This is a user-friendly guide explaining insurance for artists and non-profit arts organisations. Info:www.artslaw.com.au/Publications/Books/

Voting for the 2006 APRA Music Awards Song of the Year is now open. Simply visit www.apra.com.au and click on Awards Central. Once in Awards Central click on VOTE NOW and follow the steps provided.

Each year Nescafé Big Break gives away cash grants to people aged between 16 and 24, who have a dream or idea and need some financial support to make it a reality. It is not an achievement award and anyone can win the grants. There are no categories and winners can be from any field

Freedom Writers is a competition run by Amnesty International Australia, NSW Human Rights and Security Network and is designed to give amateur, unpublished, and recreational writers an outlet to express their individual concepts in a creative context whilst drawing attention to human rights abuses and humanitarian polemics. The competition is open to all ages: Writers

January 1, 2006 represented a new dawn for the Australian media and arts industries. Learning about the effects and consequences of changes to defamation laws is of vital importance. Will the new Defamation Act 2005 make any difference? What are the day to day implications for journalists, writers, film-makers and bloggers? The Arts Law Centre

For those who have recently joined us, MusicNSW is working with AON trying to get cheaper insurance premiums for NSW bands and artists. To do this we need to group a HUGE collection of people together to apply at the same time. We are calling this The MusicNSW Blanket Public Liability Program. To get started