Human rights do matter.

The Human Rights Matters Conference highlighted the fact that the poorer and more marginalised you are, the more likely you are to experience human rights violations. This event on 17 October during Anti-Poverty Week was jointly organised by ACOSS, the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH), The Uniting Church, and Social Policy Connections. To read this article in full, click HERE. To read Ross Gittins’ article in the Sydney Morning Herald 17 October 2012, Poverty, always the poor relation, click HERE. Read Fr Frank Brennan’s article, Advancing Human Rights in Australia, Melbourne, Human Rights Matters Conference 16 October 2012 HERE.

Photos from the Human Rights Matters Conference. Left: Cassandra Goldie of ACOSS with Brian Dalton, General Secretary of St Vincent de Paul Victoria. Right: Dr Mark Zirnsak of the Uniting Church Justice & International Mission with Cassandra Goldie.

The 7th Annual General Meeting of
Social Policy Connections

Wednesday 21 November 2012 7pm

The Study Centre, Yarra Theological Union, 34 Bedford Street, Box Hill
Refreshments offered afterwards

Followed at 7:30 by a separate public forum

Faith, values, & public policy

With Fr Bruce Duncan
One of the founders of SPC, and Director of the Yarra Institute for Religion & Social Policy, Fr Duncan coordinates the program of social justice studies at Yarra Theological Union.

Professor Kevin O’Connor:
Planning Melbourne’s future

By Anne Tuohey

Professor Kevin O’Connor is a Professorial Fellow in Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne. He spoke at Social Policy Connections on
24 November about his concept of The Five Melbournes. Melbournians have long been obsessed with proximity to their city’s centre, and this feature is often promoted as a drawcard when we are choosing where to live. And yet, as Kevin identified in his talk, Melbourne is no longer a monocentric city; rather, it is now particularly polycentric. To read Anne’s article in full, click HERE. To read a response to Kevin O’Connor by Len Puglisi, a former urban planner with State and local governments, click HERE. Professor O’Connor develops his ideas about Five Melbournes in this interview.

Photo Melbourne Jan 2010 by Sagar R, flickr cc.

Social Justice studies

Serious about social justice? Consider study through the Colleges of MCD University of Divinity, including Yarra Theological Union at Box Hill, United Faculty of Theology, Catholic Theological College, and Whitley College.
Undergraduate and Masters courses include :
– Justice in the Bible & in Church Traditions
– Issues of War & Peace
– Philosophy of Justice
– Medical Ethics
– Human Rights
– Indigenous Issues
– Ethics of Economics & Development
– History, Mission, Leadership
– Inter-Religious Dialogue & Spirituality.
For further information, see www.mcd.edu.au and www.ytu.edu.au.

Books available at SPC

NEW! Social Justice: Fuller life in a fairer world
by Bruce Duncan
$35, or $28 for financial members, plus $5 postage and handling.
Outlines social justice in the Scriptures, how later generations lived this, and issues today of the economic crisis, equity, global poverty, hunger, climate change, peace, and indigenous issues. It highlights contributions of Frederick Ozanam, Barbara Ward, Rosemary Goldie, Helder Camara, Joseph Cardijn, and Aboriginal activist ‘Mum Shirl’.

Sufficient for the Day: Towards a Sustainable Culture
by Geoff Lacey. $20 plus postage.
Geoff Lacey has something new and important to say about the roots of the environmental crisis and the way forward. His combination of deep reflection and practical attention to problems provides a much-needed corrective to a sustainability debate dominated by narrow economic perspectives. Paul Mees, Senior Lecturer in Planning at RMIT.

Towards a Better World by Arthur Gibbs. $15 plus postage. An SPC member, Arthur worked as an economist. Towards a Better World is a cautionary tale of what can happen when world leaders and corporations jump on an ideological bandwagon with little reflection about the long-term consequences for all. Anne Tuohey.

 

 

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