NUAA is seeking applications from individuals for two positions. We are seeking talented and creative people with great communication skills and a genuine commit ment to social change. You must have exc ellent work referees and be able to demonstrate a high lev el of motivation for your work.

The NSW Users and AIDS Association Inc is an independent, community-based organisation which aims to advance the rights, health and dignity of people who use drugs illicitly(PWUDI).

To adequat ely reflect the needs and views of PWUDI, to ensure we provide genuine peer generated initiatives and to instil a sense of ownership by users thems elves, NUAA encourages people who have personal experience r elevant to our work to apply for positions within the organisation.

NUAA operates with an inclusive and supportive structure. A commit ment to meaningful participation underpins the way change is imple mented within the organisation.

Attractive salary packaging is available - as a health promotion charity, NUAA can provide access to non-taxable fringe benefit salary packaging.

A full list of essential and desirable selection criteria can be downloaded along with a position description and information about NUAA and instructions for making an application from the links below:

Community Programs and Services Manager Job Pack Link

(Full Time 35hrs/week)

Wage Range: $59,091 - $66,620

Interviews 30 March 2010

Community Programs Worker Job Pack Link

(Full Ti me 35hrs/week)

Wage Range: $40,002 - $47,029

Interviews 1 April 2010

Applications close Friday 19 March 2010 4pm

If you require more information or for info packs please call the NUAA switch on (02) 8354 7300

Weighing 60kg, he barely made a bump under the blankets but a dapper suit helped him conceal his swollen abdomen, puffy legs and the rash over his dysfunctional liver. Dosed with anti-nausea medication, he warned the audience of goths and hipsters that he was feeling queasy and could vomit. The signature Lark cigarette that dangled from his lips when he burst on to the ’70s punk scene with Nick Cave in The Boys Next Door was missing. So too was the heroin that had laced his veins on and off until 2004.

He swigged from a bottle of Pepsi at the Prince that night, playing his trademark Fender Jaguar, performing songs from his new solo album Pop Crimes as well as classics the fans knew by heart. Standing several feet from the front of the stage, gig reviewer Greg Moskovitch tried to reconcile the room’s thumping mood with the painful signs of Howard’s physical decay.

Halfway through the last song, Exit Everything, he noticed something spill from Howard’s lips. He thought it was sweat or saliva. But when Howard wiped his mouth his fingers were covered in blood; it dripped on to the microphone and down to the floor. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever knowingly been this close to a dying man,” Moskovitch later recounted in an article lauding this gaunt, talented, underappreciated songwriter, who like it or not had made heroin chic. Eight weeks later, on December 30, Howard let go of life. He was 50.

Liver cancer had dealt the knock-out punch to a body cannibalised by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which few Australians could identify as our most common notifiable blood-borne disease. It has been estimated that 212,000 people have chronic HCV, numbers that dwarf those for headline-grabbers such as HIV (17,500). Yet there are no pink, red or yellow lapel ribbons drawing attention to their plight because the stigma surrounding infection silences news of the epidemic’s spread. Transmission occurs through blood. People can catch it from tattooing, unhygienic health procedures, or transfusions that occurred prior to screening, but most HCV cases in Western countries come from sharing needles during intravenous drug use. Studies indicate that 80 per cent contract the disease through shooting up. One jab with a contaminated needle is all it takes.

Clover Moore has released a statment demanding the NSW government lift the "trial" status of the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC). As long as the centre is on a trial it can be shut down at a moment's notice on the whim of a politician.

Clover Moore's statement is as follows:

Time to Lift MSIC Trial Status

After 10 years of successful "trial" operation, I have asked the NSW Premier to provide the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) with certainty so that this vital health service can do its job properly.