Frank Fletcher MSC, Jesus and the Dreaming: Discovering an Australian Spirituality Through Aboriginal-Christian Dialogue (Strathfield: St Pauls Publications, 2013), 344 pp, edited by Fabian Byers. $24.95. Reviewed by John D’Arcy May As someone who regarded Frank Fletcher as a friend and mentor, I welcome this summa of his decades of engagement with the Koories of […]
Pat Dodson Hers was a life of activism in Australia, whether for equal wages for Aboriginal workers, the rights of those who had been stolen into slavery from the islands of her father, or the recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution of the nation. Read more.
Originally published in the Conversation. In some jurisdictions of Australia, the rate of Indigenous children in foster, kinship and residential care on any one night has reached almost one in ten. This rate is almost ten times higher than non-Aboriginal children and has steadily increased over the past decade. Contrast this with rates of non-Indigenous […]
John Hilary Martin OP Nowadays, few groups live entirely by hunting and gathering. Indigenous groups have all, as we say, ‘come in’. Peoples of outback Australia, folks of the Kalahari desserts of Africa, even the Amazon River basin, now make use of, or actually take part in the national or world economy. Australian aboriginals, like […]
In 1975, Australia ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social, & Cultural Rights, guaranteeing self-determination to Aboriginal Peoples. It is now time for the Australian government to sit down with Aboriginal Peoples across Australia, and to negotiate agreements that will return their rights to them. Concerned Australians invite you to watch this 8-minute YouTube calling […]
Michele Harris of ‘concerned Australians’. “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” Benjamin Franklin. In an excellent article in the Sydney Morning Herald in March, the long-time Aboriginal advocate, Sol Bellear, suggests that reconciliation has failed. This leads me to ask the question, “what is […]
The 6th anniversary of the Northern Territory Intervention Michele Harris of concerned Australians Aboriginal advocate Olga Havnen, in her Lowitja O’Donoghue oration, has asked a critical question. She asks, what has been the psychological impact of the Intervention on Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory? It is surprising that so little attention has been given before […]
The John Wallis Memorial Lecture 2013 Martin Flanagan reflects on key learning and turning points in his life, and the characters he met. They have drawn him to look below the surface to discover the unexpected in human experience, in his own family, and in his Irish origins, particularly among Australia’s original peoples […]
Social Policy Connections Statement of Support for the Yolnu Nations Assembly regarding the Stronger Futures Legislation. Social Policy Connections (SPC) is an independent, ecumenical, non-profit organisation, motivated and informed by Christian social thinking. Our aim is to expand awareness in Australia of social justice issues, as well as to influence public policy-nationally and globally-for the […]
The Intervention is set to continue for another 10 years in the Northern Territory under the Stronger Futures legislation passed in the House of Representatives 27 February 2012. This brief history and impassioned plea to be listened-to should be watched by all Australians concerned with social justice.To view the campaign video, click here.
