Our thinking Archives - Jesuit Social Services

Holding out for climate action in the Territory
- 3 July 2025
The convincing re-election of the Albanese government signals that Australians want to see action on climate justice, and on policies that improve social cohesion and community wellbeing. But the CLP seems to be leading the NT in the opposite direction, based on its budget and new policy positions.
Marking 10 years of Laudato Si'
- 22 May 2025
ANDY HAMILTON SJ writes that Laudato Si’, with its compelling call to care for the Earth and all who inhabit it, captures the essence of the Christian spirit: "At the heart...is a God who loves the world, treasures it for its beauty and delicacy, and entrusts it to us to care for and to delight…
Anniversary of the National Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples
- 12 February 2025
The National Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, which took place 17 years ago, enacted respect, concern for truth and the desire for reconciliation. In light of the harsh climate of discontent following the Voice to Parliament Referendum, it is both bracing and consoling to revisit the Apology, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ.
Advocacy in Willmot
- 12 June 2024
For many people, it is already hard enough to juggle work responsibilities, childcare and life’s numerous engagements. But lacking access to adequate public transportation tips the scales. For this reason, members of the Willmot Community Hub organised a ‘Transport Forum’ to advocate for improved bus routes, more school buses, an expansion of the Community Transport…
World Environment Day 2024
- 5 June 2024
"And yet there are grounds for hope, if not for optimism." Read Andy Hamilton SJ's reflection on World Environment Day 2024.
Laudato Si' Week 2024
- 16 May 2024
Ahead of Laudato Si' Week which begins on May 19th, the spirit of Pope Francis's encyclical urges us to heed the call for care for our common home.
Climate emergency and prisons don’t mix
- 22 March 2024
On a 38-degree December day in the middle of the desert, 15 people incarcerated at Alice Springs Correctional Centre used t-shirts and pedestal fans to rip a hole in a ceiling, in a desperate attempt to escape the stifling heat of their overcrowded cells. The incident reignited calls to air-condition the prison – one recommendation…
The role of neighbourhood houses in a changing climate
- 22 June 2023
Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places worked with a network of neighbourhood houses in Darebin to create a climate action and resilience plan in 2022. Inspired by this process, the Centre co-designed a framework with the Darebin network which can be used to guide strategic action planning and advocacy for networks of neighbourhood houses…
An ‘open-door’, place-based approach for First Nations people
- 31 May 2023
Recently, Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places, our hub for place-based action, research and advocacy, was commissioned by the Victorian government to investigate what makes some place-based approaches so effective. Our team, alongside partners RMIT University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the University of Queensland, explored existing literature and practice, publishing a research…
Laudato Si' Week 2023
- 22 May 2023
This Laudato Si’ Week, ANDY HAMILTON SJ writes that in a world where so many people face economic hardship and are anxious about such basic needs as food and shelter it is easy to forget the larger issues that will determine the lives of our children and their descendants. Chief among these is climate change,…