Sherry Balcombe. As Aboriginal people, we are spiritual beings by nature. I suppose that was God’s purpose. Our spirituality is so entwined with our culture, customs and lore, they cannot be separated and exist together. We have a deep respect for everything in our world. The land we consider to be alive; she is our […]
Rowan Ireland. The assassinated Archbishop of San Salvador 1977-80, Oscar Arturo Romero, is to be canonised in October. It is time to reflect again on Romero’s life and times in El Salvador, and on the significance of his canonisation now. Romero became known around the world when he was assassinated by a right-wing militiaman in […]
Bruce Duncan. Astonishingly, some people are still not convinced about the dangers of climate change, despite frequent reports of extreme weather events, rising sea levels and record global temperatures. Europe in July experienced an extreme heat wave, even reaching into the Arctic Circle. Exceptionally severe forest fires have raged as far north as Sweden. Africa […]
Chris Mulherin. Until last month, Richard Harris was, to me, a fondly remembered Irish actor. But on the global stage, the new Richard Harris, ‘Harry’, is an Adelaide anaesthetist/medical recovery expert, and, in his spare time, an expert cave diver. He is also a man who avoids publicity and fandom. In a world in which […]
Larry Kaufmann. A few days after many people throughout the world celebrated what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday on 17 July 2018, Barack Obama delivered the annual Mandela lecture in Johannesburg . Yet even as he highlighted Mandela’s affirmation of the common humanity of people, the Israeli government was busy passing a law […]
History made, a solid start, here to stay, and miles to go, before we sleep. Tilman Ruff. One year ago, on 7 July 2017, at the United Nations in New York, 122 nations took a historic step when they voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Treaty filled a gaping […]
SPC Forum Address 21 June 2018 A significant life-and-death concern we have had to grapple with over the centuries is that of war and peace, conflict and nonviolence. One doctrine that has evolved to provide moral guidance is the Just War doctrine. It accords with our instinctive belief, our traditional sense of righteousness, that a […]
Richard Holden UNSW, & Rosalind Dixon UNSW. Richard Denniss’s Quarterly Essay, Dead Right: How Neoliberalism Ate Itself and What Comes Next, is a thought-provoking call to arms against an array of perceived ills – economic rationalism, market forces, small government, tax cuts, incentives, even corporate sponsorship. Denniss provides a useful provocation for a much-needed debate in Australia […]
Editorial. One of the key concerns at Social Policy Connections has been how to maintain our social and community values as Australia adjusts to rapid economic change. Everyone wants a prosperous economy, but there is less agreement about the distribution of resources and social equity. As we have reported over the 13 years of Social […]
Peter Rodgers. With the two-state solution in the morgue, governments around the globe will need to consider anew the unpalatable realities of this long-running conflict. As millions around the globe contemplated New Year resolutions on 31 December 2017, Israel’s ruling Likud party came up with one of its own. Its Central Committee overwhelmingly endorsed a […]
