Looking for leadership

Peter Whiting, SPC Chair

What a start to 2013! Bushfires and floods have created a real unease, not only for the immediate dire effects, but also for what they forebode as effects of global warming. Prime Minister Gillard has announced the election date for September, and political parties are preparing for many months of campaigning. Some of our major institutions are lacking in moral authority, as, locally, politicians are arraigned in court for dishonesty, and the churches are called to account before the Commission on sexual abuse of Children; internationally, world organisations are unable to present compelling united action in response to poverty, famine, and war. To read this article in full, click HERE.

Photo Residents escaping from the floodwaters, Department of Defence, flickr cc

Global warnings : fires & flood

Anne Tuohey

Australians have always lived with a healthy regard for the ravages of nature, including the fairly regular threat of bushfires and floods across our vast land, but the frequency and severity of these disasters is deeply disturbing, most especially of course for those directly affected. Welcome to the new reality that is the consequence of climate change. To read this article in full, click HERE.

Photo Yarra Valley under Smoke, SplaTT, flickr cc

Good news on renewables

The era of King Coal may be coming to an end, as the cost of wind and solar power continues to fall below the cost of new coal-fired power stations. Research indicates that costs of wind and photovoltaic power will continue to fall significantly, even apart from the impact of the carbon tax. To read this article in full, click HERE.

Photo Mongolian Family Uses Solar Energy to Power Home, United Nations Photo, flickr cc

Book launch with Bishop Vincent Long OFMConv

Social Justice: Fuller life in a fairer world by Bruce Duncan CSsR

Friday 1 March 5:30pm

Cathedral Room, Knox Centre, Ground Floor, 383 Victoria Parade, East MelbourneTo help with catering, please let us know if you wish to come, at admin@socialpolicyconnections.com.au or 9890 1077.

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 Bibe &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

For further information, see www.mcd.edu.au and www.ytu.edu.au.

Help support SPC

SPC relies on donations to expand the conversation about social justice. You can help by making a donation in one of these ways :

– Send your cheque or money order to PO Box 505, Box Hill, Victoria 3128
– Transfer by Internet to Social Policy Connections Inc, BSB 083159, Account 792617040, referencing your last name and ‘phone number
– By credit card, using the DONATE form on our website at http://www.socialpolicyconnections.com.au/?page_id=53.

Books available at SPC

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

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. Download an order form HERE.

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. Download an order form HERE.