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The Big Issue Australia

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25.01.2022 "I like being my own boss and working when and where I like. I work regularly at North Sydney and at the markets. Last weekend I worked at the beach. There were heaps of people lining up at the shops and it was good having the sea breeze. I’m going back again next weekend. I also have some good display signs that I carry with me and set up to advertise the current edition. And I have a sign that says customers can pay by card or cash. They all help sell the magazine." Big Issue vendor Lee, North Sydney. Great work, Lee!

23.01.2022 That’s my dream, to find a cure for cancer, says Olivia Newton-John in our latest edition. I’m helping myself but also wanting to help others feel good about living with cancer. That’s what I do: I live with it. I feel great and healthy and strong and I am very grateful. We catch up with Olivia and learn all about her California lockdown experience, where she’s been recording music with her daughter Chloe and concentrating on her health. Pick up a copy from your vendor! Michelle Day

22.01.2022 I could hear the laughter of kookaburras in the distance. Throngs of cockatoos flew overhead. Crimson Rosellas frolicked on a wheelbarrow, and spinebills danced among the flowers, writes newly converted twitcher Eliza Herbert of our fine-feathered friends. Swoop in on a copy of the new edition today to read all about the joys of birdwatching! Have you become an amateur birdwatcher this year? Annie Davidson

21.01.2022 Thank you Lois and Dan for sending in your #VendorWeek postcard for Big Issue vendor James. "Wow, I wasn't expecting one! That makes me feel happy. Words can't explain what it means to get this message. Thanks for the support." Big Issue vendor James, Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

19.01.2022 An employment opportunity for an Indigenous community, smart chips in motorcycles and helmets and urban farming in underutilised spaces were announced as winners of the final The Big Idea competition, in a unique virtual awards night. The Big Idea is a national university competition coordinated by The Big Issue. The prestigious competition invites students to develop a concept and business plan for a social business or social enterprise that can create positive change. Congr...atulations to BlackTank Soaps from The University of Melbourne, RoSTech Innovators from CQUniversity Australia and Farms For Futures from The University of Melbourne for being announced as the 2020 winners at our online awards night last night. Members of the winning teams at our online awards night, joined by Steven Persson, CEO, The Big Issue/ Homes for Homes, Tracey Kennair, Digital Transformation Partner & Deputy Chair, PwC Australia, and Keynote Speaker Nick Pearce, CEO, HoMie.

15.01.2022 Meowy Christmas! It’s our cat-tastic new edition, starring famous moggy A Streetcat Named Bob, who’s gracing the silver screen in his final film A Christmas Gift From Bob. Bob connected with anybody who had ever read our story, says his best friend and former Big Issue vendor James Bowen of our cover star, who sadly passed away in June. It’s a joyous celebration of Bob’s life.... Also in this edition: We chat to Marlon Williams about his new music with Kacy & Clayton, Craig Silvey about his new book Honeybee, and we deep-dive into Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ahead of ABC TV + iview show Reef Live AU we’ve stuffed your stocking full of good stuff this year. So say hi to your vendor and pick up a copy of the new mag, maybe a 2021 calendar too!

14.01.2022 Street magazine selling in South Australia has been temporarily paused due to state government COVID-19 lockdown measures. Street selling will remain operational in all other areas of Australia, and our dedicated Vendor Support team will continue to provide support to our SA vendor group throughout this period, until they can return safely to work. If you would like to send a message to our SA vendor group, please comment or send us a DM. Hearing from Big Issue readers was an important morale booster for Melbourne vendors during the Victorian lockdown. Thank you for your continued support.

14.01.2022 The magic unfolded when this candour was melded with his love of words and sense of the surreal and absurd, writes Alan Atwood of John Lennon in our cover story. Forty years on from the death of an icon, we deep-dive into the life, times and music of the acerbic and whimsical Beatle. Also in this edition: interviews with Sofie Laguna, Paul Dempsey and Drmngnow; Alice Zaslavsky’ recipe for borsch; and we take a look at Brazen Hussies: a new documentary that celebrates the Australian women’s libbers of the 60s and 70s. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of great reads! So share some peace and love with your vendor and pick one up today we’re back to street selling right across the country, and we sure have missed you.

13.01.2022 "I have been selling The Big Issue for 23 years! I can’t say I have enjoyed every day I’d be lying if I did. From Sydney to Adelaide, I have seen people come and go: vendors come and go, and staff come and go. But the best staff are Matt and Erica. "I have also watched kids grow up, watched customers’ babies grow up to be teenagers and young adults. I have been going home to see my mum in Queensland when I can. I went to visit for her 80th birthday three years ago. She near...ly had a heart attack, but it was the best surprise she’s ever had!" Vendor Brian. Brian sells The Big Issue at Jetty road, Glenelg and Palace Cinema, Adelaide. Brian receives his certificate from City of Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson.

13.01.2022 Meet David. David sells The Big Issue at Puckle St, Moonee Ponds, Melbourne. "I grew up in Melbourne but we moved to Warrnambool when I was a teenager. I got a job up there working at the abattoirs. I was still going to school and working at the same time they said I could do my job and go to school so I could finish my Year 11 and 12. I ended up finishing high school. I enjoyed school. Some of the work was a bit hard but I eventually got there. English was my favourite s...ubject. I was top of my class for English. I still love reading. I mainly like to read crime books. "I like selling The Big Issue. I get to meet people. It’s something to do and puts money in your pocket. I sell with my wife Kylie, so I have a bit of company while I work. We have a few regular customers who will stop for a chat and ask how our day is. What I like best about selling The Big Issue is being outdoors and not being stuck in the house, and meeting people and selling The Big Issue to them. "And me and Kylie will hopefully travel soon to Phillip Island for our honeymoon. We got married in October last year but didn’t have a honeymoon. We just celebrated our firstyear wedding anniversary." Read David's full story here: thebigissue.org.au/vendors/david-d/ James Braund

12.01.2022 If ancestors acknowledge what I’ve done and are somewhat okay with it when I get to meet them, when I’ve moved on past this life, I’ll be grateful, says Yorta Yorta MC and poet Drmngnow in our latest edition. To read the full interview, say hi to your vendor and pick up a copy today!

12.01.2022 The last thing I want to do is have someone who honours me with their reading time be insulted or disappointed, says Trent Dalton of All Our Shimmering Skies, the highly anticipated follow-up to his smash-hit Boy Swallows Universe. To read the full interview, say g’day to your vendor and pick up a copy today! Russell Shakespeare

11.01.2022 It was a no-brainer to bring hip-hop into theatre because of course it could tell stories as well as musicals could, says Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda in his Letter to My Younger Self. Pick up a copy of our latest edition to read all about his teenaged self-seriousness, the time he performed at the White House, and his Grade 6 musical extravaganza. Joan Marcus Hamilton Australia

10.01.2022 "On the first Sunday in February we went to Fletchers Ark Farmyard and Fletchers Ark Alpacas in Goulburn as part of our monthly fun day, run by The Disability Trust At the farm we got to meet a lot of different types of animals including goats, guinea pigs and a deer. "We had the opportunity to feed some of the animals and we also got to meet Hephner the Alpaca. Hephner is pretty famous and he has been on Sunrise. He has his own Instagram account. I got to take a photo of him... and he even stole my cap! His Instagram account is @hephner_the_alpaca." Big Issue vendor Grace. Grace sells The Big Issue at Kambah shops, Canberra.

10.01.2022 Meet Nathan. Nathan sells The Big Issue in Hornsby and Newtown, Sydney. "I have been selling The Big Issue since two Septembers ago, so two years now. It’s had its ups and downs, but it’s good. It keeps me chugging along. One step forward, one foot in front of another. "Before I started, I was trying to find work. I’d worked in a few different jobs: I used to do plumbing with my uncle for a year, then I was door-to-door for sales in industrial and retail all across Sydney,... Newcastle and regional areas. "The recent lockdown was very, very boring. I was itching to work! The best thing about selling The Big Issue is talking to people. Since lockdown, sales have slightly fallen because there are less people around. The tap and go system helps every now and then. It’s still been nice getting out there and working again." Read Nathan's full story https://www.thebigissue.org.au/vendors/nathan-w/ Peter Holcroft

10.01.2022 You could hear it well before he came into view, the sound of that distinctive sales patter: Just three more to go, ladies and gentlemen, it went, just three more and then I can go home. In truth, often when Paul uttered these words, he had more than just a few last magazines to shift. He was a gifted salesman. Paul was good at connecting on a human level with those who crossed his path. He had many devoted customers, and counted plenty of firm friends among his fellow ve...ndors. The Big Issue meant a lot to Paul. It kept him out of trouble, he said, and even delivered one of his most memorable moments on the streets of Melbourne. In 2005, Paul met Prince Charles, who took home a copy of the mag, an encounter captured in a photograph that hangs proudly still in The Big Issue offices. Paul chuckled whenever that day was mentioned. This was fitting. Words didn’t flow easily from him, but that chuckle did, speaking to his affable nature and ability to make everyone feel comfortable in his presence. Paul has passed away. The corner of Queen and Collins, the Centreway Arcade, Lygon Street and the steps at Parliament station will seem a little quieter from now on. But our memory of him will be no less bright for that silence. Rest easy, mate. Nick, The Big Issue Vendor Support, Melbourne.

07.01.2022 December 1980. I heard the news from the guy running a backpacker hostel in Venice, Italy. He came in shouting: Crazy man shot Beatle George Lennon. This made no sense. So I replied: John Lennon? Yes. Him. Forty years on from his death, and fans all over the world can still remember exactly where they were when they heard John Lennon had died. In our new edition cover story, we look back on the life, the legacy and the music of the bespectacled Beatle and beyond. So say hi to your vendor and pick up a copy of the mag today.

06.01.2022 Say g'day to Tony, The Beatles fan and Big Issue vendor. He sells The Big Issue at Perth City Farm. I love all the Beatles songs from A Hard Days Night to Let it Be. My favourite John Lennon song is probably Tomorrow Never Knows. I like it mainly because it is such a weird song and not like most other Beatle songs. Also, John Lennon was better than Paul McCartney. Nice one, Tony!

05.01.2022 If you’re looking to leave 2020 behind and start afresh, The Big Issue has you sorted with our 2021 calendar. Packed full of stories and photographs of Big Issue vendors all over Australia and hilarious cartoons by Andrew Weldon, it’s a celebration of 25 years of Big Issue vendors proudly working to positively change their lives. Pick one up from your local vendor, or if that's not possible, through the link below. the-big-issue-australia.myshopify.com/... Adelaide vendor Michael with the 2021 calendar. Photo by Nat Rogers.

04.01.2022 Meet Big Issue vendor Les and Matilda. They sell The Big Issue outside Readings in Hawthorn, Melbourne. "When I saw Matilda, in my head I said, I know you. I rescued her from the Lost Dogs’ Home eight years ago, on 3 September 2012. I remember the date because it was a great happening for me. The rest is history. Matilda is a German shorthaired pointer crossed with a blue heeler. She goes everywhere with me. We sell The Big Issue every day. Everyone loves her all the cu...stomers, they all love Matilda and they come along for pats. The schoolkids know her and ask how she’s going. They buy food for her and all that stuff. Matilda can do everything but talk! But she talks with her actions. "Every night we go home and I feed her and feed myself and have a bit of a look at TV and then I go to bed fairly early. When I go into bed, she’s always lying on the part of the bed where I generally sleep. And then I gotta say, 'C’mon Matilda. Move over!' She straight away moves over" Read their full story here: thebigissue.org.au/blog/2020/11/26/matilda--my-darling/

03.01.2022 OMG it’s ONJ! Our new edition is here, featuring Olivia Newton-John Pick up a copy of the magazine to read about her lockdown experience spent baking bread, watching the blue jays and recording music with her daughter Chloe. Also in this edition: Lin-Manuel Miranda talks his teen Meat Loaf musical and performing Hamilton at the White House, Sarah Krasnostein gives us the lowdown on her new book The Believer, Genesis Owusu takes on two black dogs on his debut record, and Silvia Colloca Food Writer shares her Nonna’s recipe for hand-cut sagne a pezze with lamb ragu. It’s a feast! So say hi to your vendor and grab a copy today.

02.01.2022 Another great #MayorSelling comes to an end. Thank you to the Mayors from all over the country who swapped their robes for fluoro vests to sell The Big Issue alongside their local vendor.