Peter Whiting. Not even sure what ‘subsidiarity’ is, let alone whether it is relevant to today’s problems? No need to feel inadequate. It is an awkward word, and its meaning can be elusive. It emerged in Catholic Social Teaching in 1931 in Pius XI’s social encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno. It was asserted as a fundamental principle […]
Bruce Duncan. How will the Morrison government respond to the desperate plight of some 65 women and children detained in a camp in Syria? Relatives are pleading with our government to bring their family members safely home, but it appears immobilised by fear of a political reaction. How good is that? Some 65 Australian women […]
Marc Purcell. Waiting for the Government to invest in our international development footprint and to drive Australia’s international development program strategically, is like waiting for a bus which never comes. This year sees the sixth successive Australian aid cut. The long-term decline of aid adds up to a Government bereft of vision for development assistance, failing to meet […]
Peter Whiting. In an article discussing Australia’s inadequate response to the challenges of climate change, it might seem strange to start by citing the argument in John D’Arcy May’s address, World religions: a force for war or global peace? May’s paper refers to the Greek word oikos (house) as an essential element in an interreligious […]
Dan Yore. I am sitting next to Nuŋki, a Gumatj elder, as he looks through a telescope for the first time. We are sitting by the beach near his homeland of Dhaniya in North-East Arnhem Land. He is in awe. The rings of Saturn are exquisite tonight. We have just finished presenting a ‘both-ways’ astronomy […]
Gary Harkin. Reinforcing the view that change is in the air in regard to how big business interfaces with the wider community, in August 2019, the US Business Roundtable, an important assembly of leading American business organisations, published The Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, signed by 181 influential CEOs. It could be argued […]
Bruce Duncan. The extraordinary fires in the Amazon in August 2019 struck dread into the hearts of climate specialists and observers worldwide, since the Amazon forests remain one of the great bulwarks against global warming. They cool Latin America, and generate 20% of the world’s oxygen. Smoke from the fires darkened the sky over Sao […]
While the Morrison government dithers, climate specialists are alarmed that the chances to limit global warming are slipping away, with the likely result that we will be left facing truly catastrophic changes to the weather. The former Liberal leader, John Hewson, in the Fairfax media on 1 August, castigated the Morrison government for ignoring the […]
The Government’s tax package is unfair to low paid workers. In response, the Labor Opposition announced that it will support Stage 1 of the package, within which is embedded much of that unfairness. How might we reduce the unfairness? The current debate about the Government’s tax package, introduced in its April 2019 Budget, includes issues […]
Danusia Kaska. Recently, I attended a training workshop on ice awareness and use, run by 360Edge and funded by the government. Entitled How to respond to people affected by ice, workshop objectives were to explain what ice is, how it affects people, and how we should respond safely and effectively. It also outlined the policies […]
