The Northern Territory Intervention, introduced in 2007, has caused great anger, frustration and despondency among the majority of Aboriginal people in the NT. The Intervention required the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA). Alastair Nicholson has been at the forefront of fighting to change the legislation to ensure full restoration of the RDA.

Click HERE to read the full speech.

Click HERE to listen to the discussion.

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Segments of Professor Warhurst’s talk can be viewed on SPC’s Youtube channel.
Please click HERE to access SPC’s videos.

SPC 5th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

1 DECEMBER 2010

Report by Peter Whiting SPC President.

Welcome to this the 2ndAGM we have convened at the YTU site. There is a lot to report for the period under review.

Our speaker series has continued, and items of diverse but very relevant subject matter were covered. Just some of the lectures relevant to the social justice agenda of SPC were:

• Moral Reflections on the Iraq War, with Professor Brian Johnstone CSsR
• GFC: The opportunity for Transformation,with Profesor John Langmore
• New Hope in Africa: The Role of the Churches, with Rev Andre Karamaga
• Australia–China Relationship, Thomas Bartlett and Paul Rule

Another initiative of SPC was associated with the then-coming (now complete) Federal and Victorian State elections. We convened a most profitable meeting with SPC members from which we were able to discern four areas of particular interest to members:

• Immigration and refugee policy
• Climate change response
• Overseas aid provided byAustralia
• Indigenous welfare policy

SPC Members were invited to approach their local politicians and engage them in discussion concerning their policies in their areas, and short position papers were provided to aid in this exercise. Feedback has been somewhat limited, but those reporting indicated that the exercise was worthwhile.

These four areas of interest have shaped our approach, and we expect them to be relevant areas of focus for us into 20111 and beyond. The forum following tonight’s AGM with the Hon Alastair Nicholson is a case in point.

We continue to expand the reach of our lectures and publications, with our website now offering access to these through podcasts available on YouTube and Facebook. We are very encouraged by the numbers accessing these presentations, and I express my thanks to Matthew Howard for his work in this area.

At the end of the period, we achieved a cherished aim of appointing a CEO to further the work of SPC. Audra has, since her appointment, been working to develop the ‘connections’ aspects of Social  Policy Connections, and we see some of that fruit this evening in the members who are offering themselves to join our Board.

I just cannot finalise my report for 2009-10 without acknowledging the contributions generously made by the volunteers behind SPC. There is a number variously involved in our administration efforts or in writing papers and policy positions for us. I won’t name any here specifically, lest I offend by omission, but I can say with confidence that their work is much valued and appreciated. I also wish to acknowledge the work of outgoing Board members. Paul Rule has been a consistent contributor since the beginning of SPC, and whilst we will miss him on the Board, he remains keen to assist where he can in producing papers for publication. Mark Walsh and Judy Benson, while not so long-serving have brought to the Board considerable expertise and a keen sense of where we should focus our efforts. My thanks to each of you for your generous support of the SPC endeavour.

We move into 2010-11 keen to make a difference. As the audited financial reports for June 2010 indicate, we are in a sound but still lean financial state. Without increased financial support, our capabilities will be necessarily limited. Our business model relies on membership fees and donations for our continuing operation. Given the modest membership fee level, the fundraising component is most important. We are engaged in discussions to try to secure ongoing funding from donors, but are always open to increased help in this area. All this notwithstanding, SPC’s endeavours will continue strongly into 2011, and we meet this weekend to set out our agenda for the new year.

I thank you for your support of SPC, and trust that not only SPC but our members as well will find the new year rewarding.

Peter Whiting
SPC President
1 December 2010

Click HERE to listen to the address.

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Segments of Phil Glendenning’s talk can be viewed on SPC’s Youtube channel. Please click HERE to access SPC’s videos.

Caz is the Director of the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, a Melbourne-based agency working with asylum seekers living in the community. Caz has worked with asylum seekers and refugees for ten years and has an academic background in theology. In 2009, Caz was appointed to the Council for Immigration Services and Status Resolution (CISSR) advising the Federal Minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans, on asylum issues in Australia.

According to Ms Coleman’s research, the current policy of mandatory detention is not only having detrimental effects on the asylum seekers themselves, but also on the Australian taxpayer. “Detention is indefensible when compared to the cost of community care models.”

Ms Coleman outlined alternatives to current public policy which included: the Bali process, relevant regional cooperation agreements, work with the UNHCR 10 point plan, and diplomatic efforts stressing  the need for multinational and bilateral agreements to build trust and cooperation in the region.  None of these policy initiatives was taken up by either major political party in the Australian 2010 federal election.

Click HERE to listen to the address.

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Segments of Caz Colman’s talk can be viewed on SPC’s Youtube channel. Please click HERE to access SPC’s videos.

John Warhurst was born in Adelaide and studied politics and economics at Flinders University in South Australia. He has taught political science in various universities for more than 30 years and is now Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. He is a former president of the Australasian Political Studies Association and now writes a weekly column for The Canberra Times.

Professor Warhurst stressed the importance of collaboration between church groups in order more effectively to engage in politics. He also warned the audience that this is a very difficult undertaking due to the different priorities each church group may have.

While the lecture was not dedicated to the 2010 Australian Federal elections, Professor Warhurst did comment that many progressive Christians feel they are “between a rock and a hard place” as neither major party is adequately addressing their demands.

Please click HERE to listen to the discussion.

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Segments of Professor Warhurst’s talk can be viewed on SPC’s Youtube channel.
Please click HERE to access SPC’s videos.

Dr Karamaga is a Rwandan Presbyterian minister. He is currently General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, which represents 173 churches and Christian organisations from 40 African countries, with 140 million adherents.

This was Dr Karamaga’s first visit to Australia, where he presented talks on the issues facing Africa and the response of the All Africa Conference of Churches. His talks included the issues of climate change and aid effectiveness, as well as the church’s role in peacekeeping on a continent where many countries are still in the grip of civil war. In this area Dr Karamaga drew from his own personal experiences as a Rwandan leader who lost family during the genocide. His lecture delivered to Social Policy Connections was entitled “New Hope for Africa: the churches’ role in peacemaking and development”.

Click HERE to read an interview with Dr. Karamaga in the Age.

Click HERE listen to Dr. Karamaga’s lecture delivered to Social Policy Connections.  Click the RSS or iTunes icon to subscribe to the SPC podcast.

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Social Policy Connections featured Dr Thomas Bartlett and Dr Paul Rule discussing implications of Australia’s close economic ties with China on Wednesday 23 May 2010 in the Study Centre of Yarra Theological Union.

Thomas Bartlett and Paul Rule have been teaching and researching about China in universities in Australia and the United States as well as visiting and living in China through the changes from the Cultural Revolution to the present economic dominance. Both have recently retired from teaching Chinese history at La Trobe University but remain active in research and publications on China. Thomas mainly writes about Qing dynasty history but also has a strong interest in current events in China. Paul specialises in the study of Chinese religion past and present. Please click HERE listen to the discussion.

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Photo:  dave watts – flickr CC