Asylum seekers: when does silence
become complicity?
Bruce Duncan
Australians have been shocked by revelations about the appalling conditions of refugees and asylum seekers in detention camps, especially about the treatment of women and children. Recent testimonies provide evidence of cover-ups of abusive and degrading treatment of asylum seekers. We treat convicted murderers better than these asylum seekers.Appearing before the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into the detention of children, psychiatrist Peter Young on 31 July said that the Immigration Department was alarmed at his report on the numbers of child detainees suffering from serious mental health issues, and asked him to withdraw the figures. Young was the former director of mental health services for International Health & Medical Services, which had the contract for these services. Read this editorial in full.
Photo Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre by DIBP images flickr cc.
You are invited to a discussion night
Pope Francis as a leader for the 21st Century
With responses from people of Christian and Islamic faith traditions
In an ecumenical gathering, hear personal reflections on the impact of Pope Francis
on the lives of individuals and on our global community.
on the lives of individuals and on our global community.
Friday 22 August 2014
The Skinny Dog Hotel 155 High Street Kew
6:30pm to share in a meal prior to the panel discussions 7:30pm
RSVP (essential) by 20 August admin@socialpolicyconnections.com.au | 9890 1077
Download the flyer for this event.
If you thought the recent budget was hard on the unemployed, the government has come up with more draconian requirements for people looking for work, beginning in July next year. Young job seekers will be required to apply for 40 jobs a month and perform 25 hours of community service.
People under 30 will be unable to access welfare payments for six months after applying for benefits and must work 25 hours a week for six months each year. If you are aged between 30 and 49, you will be required to work 15 hours a week for six months a year. If you are aged between 50 and 60, you will need to work 15 hours a week at an approved activity such as training. Read this article in full.
Photo No trabajas acqui by Daniel Lobo flickr cc.
Desperate images of death and destruction in Gaza have flooded the media, including the social media. With many taken on mobile phones, never before has the world seen so immediate and confronting images of the dead and wounded, including of many children.
By Sunday 3 August, 1700 people had been killed in Gaza with more than 8,000 injured. Over 70 per cent of these are reported to be civilians, including hundreds of children. In Israel, 61 soldiers had died, and three civilians.
Over the past decade, rates of imprisonment in Victoria have risen by 21.5 per cent, with almost half of this occurring in the past two years. As a result of these increases, the last two State budgets have set aside more than $800 million to increase the capacity of our prisons. Given that our current system already costs around $100,000 per prisoner every year, the extra 2,500 beds on the way are going to make substantial impacts on future Victorian budgets.
The battle between sceptics and believers is hotting up. One side says it’s all hogwash – a story foisted upon us by credulous people who need certainty in their lives and a cause to believe in. Our responsibility, they say, is to ignore the doomsayers and get on with our lives. The other side says that, while there is no ultimate proof, belief arises logically as the best explanation of the evidence. They say that in the absence of a better theory, we are morally obliged to heed the precautionary principle and commit ourselves to the Addressing causes of crime, not just consequences
Jason Davies-Kildea
Over the past decade, rates of imprisonment in Victoria have risen by 21.5 per cent, with almost half of this occurring in the past two years. As a result of these increases, the last two State budgets have set aside more than $800 million to increase the capacity of our prisons. Given that our current system already costs around $100,000 per prisoner every year, the extra 2,500 beds on the way are going to make substantial impacts on future Victorian budgets.
In case you thought we were suffering from a massive crime wave, Police statistics actually show a 12 per cent drop in recorded offences over the same period. It would be convenient to conclude that offences dropped because these imprisonment trends were an effective deterrent, but in fact the opposite is true. The only time recorded offences showed a small increase over the last decade has been after the introduction of harsher sentencing policies.
ause.
As a typically discerning reader of SPC, you will realise that I’m playing with ambiguity in such talk of scepticism, belief, and morality. Are we talking of climate science or religious faith? Read this article in full.
Photo Out of Time by Alice Popkorn, flickr cc.
A world united or a world exploited?
More grief for the unemployed
If you thought the recent budget was hard on the unemployed, the government has come up with more draconian requirements for people looking for work, beginning in July next year. Young job seekers will be required to apply for 40 jobs a month and perform 25 hours of community service.People under 30 will be unable to access welfare payments for six months after applying for benefits and must work 25 hours a week for six months each year. If you are aged between 30 and 49, you will be required to work 15 hours a week for six months a year. If you are aged between 50 and 60, you will need to work 15 hours a week at an approved activity such as training. Read this article in full.
Photo No trabajas acqui by Daniel Lobo flickr cc.
Weeping for Gaza and for Israel
Desperate images of death and destruction in Gaza have flooded the media, including the social media. With many taken on mobile phones, never before has the world seen so immediate and confronting images of the dead and wounded, including of many children.By Sunday 3 August, 1700 people had been killed in Gaza with more than 8,000 injured. Over 70 per cent of these are reported to be civilians, including hundreds of children. In Israel, 61 soldiers had died, and three civilians.
One can only weep for those suffering on both sides. One can understand the need for Israel to stop the rockets being fired from Gaza, some 3000 of them, though most were fortunately destroyed by Israel’s Iron Dome missile system.
But it is impossible to ignore the vast disproportion in Israel’s response, with one of the most powerful armies in the world pitted against the Palestinian militias of Hamas spread throughout the 1.8 million people in the tiny Gaza Strip. Its 140 square miles is only six miles wide in places.Read this article in full.
Photo Israel Palestine by Rusty Stewart, flickr cc.
Photo Israel Palestine by Rusty Stewart, flickr cc.
Addressing causes of crime, not just consequences
Jason Davies-Kildea
Over the past decade, rates of imprisonment in Victoria have risen by 21.5 per cent, with almost half of this occurring in the past two years. As a result of these increases, the last two State budgets have set aside more than $800 million to increase the capacity of our prisons. Given that our current system already costs around $100,000 per prisoner every year, the extra 2,500 beds on the way are going to make substantial impacts on future Victorian budgets.In case you thought we were suffering from a massive crime wave, Police statistics actually show a 12 per cent drop in recorded offences over the same period. It would be convenient to conclude that offences dropped because these imprisonment trends were an effective deterrent, but in fact the opposite is true. The only time recorded offences showed a small increase over the last decade has been after the introduction of harsher sentencing policies. Read this article in full.
Photo Bendigo Prison by Tim Gillin, flickr cc.
Photo Bendigo Prison by Tim Gillin, flickr cc.
Scepticism & belief in science & faith
Chris Mulherin
The battle between sceptics and believers is hotting up. One side says it’s all hogwash – a story foisted upon us by credulous people who need certainty in their lives and a cause to believe in. Our responsibility, they say, is to ignore the doomsayers and get on with our lives. The other side says that, while there is no ultimate proof, belief arises logically as the best explanation of the evidence. They say that in the absence of a better theory, we are morally obliged to heed the precautionary principle and commit ourselves to the Addressing causes of crime, not just consequencesJason Davies-Kildea
Over the past decade, rates of imprisonment in Victoria have risen by 21.5 per cent, with almost half of this occurring in the past two years. As a result of these increases, the last two State budgets have set aside more than $800 million to increase the capacity of our prisons. Given that our current system already costs around $100,000 per prisoner every year, the extra 2,500 beds on the way are going to make substantial impacts on future Victorian budgets.
In case you thought we were suffering from a massive crime wave, Police statistics actually show a 12 per cent drop in recorded offences over the same period. It would be convenient to conclude that offences dropped because these imprisonment trends were an effective deterrent, but in fact the opposite is true. The only time recorded offences showed a small increase over the last decade has been after the introduction of harsher sentencing policies.
ause.
As a typically discerning reader of SPC, you will realise that I’m playing with ambiguity in such talk of scepticism, belief, and morality. Are we talking of climate science or religious faith? Read this article in full.
Photo Out of Time by Alice Popkorn, flickr cc.
Thanks for your donations
Thanks to our many friends who have made donations recently to support SPC in its social advocacy and engagement of public opinion.
We rely completely on donations and membership fees to continue this work, and particularly on the probono contributions of our board members and helpers.
How to donate
How to donate
- Send your cheque or money order to PO Box 505 Box Hill Victoria 3128
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Donations to SPC are not tax deductible, unfortunately.
Books available at SPC
- Young People, Faith, & Social Justice Joan Daw $20+$5 postage & handling.
- Social Justice: Fuller Life in a Fairer World Bruce Duncan $25+$5 postage & handling.
- Sufficient for the Day: Towards a Sustainable Culture Geoff Lacey $20+$5 postage & handling.
- A World United or a World Exploited? Christian Perspectives on Globalisation Edited by Peter Price $20+$5 postage & handling.
Revd Dr John Henley launches
A world united or a world exploited?
Part 2
