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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 Program and an increased investment in public transport for the suburbs that sit within the 2770 Mount Druitt postcode.
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Young people are worth a second chance.
The age of criminal responsibility has been much debated recently. Victoria has committed to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 this year, and to 14 in 2027. The Northern Territory has raised it to 12, and the ACT is in the process of doing so. Other states are planning, considering, or rejecting it. At Jesuit Social Services, we have argued for many years that children do not belong in jail.
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Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week
Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week must be a time of sober commitment by all Australians to the unfinished task of Reconciliation, reflects Andy Hamilton SJ.
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Climate emergency and prisons don’t mix
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 of the Northern Territory Ombudsman, and firmly in step with the Territory’s human rights obligations to people deprived of their liberty.
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16th anniversary of the Apology to Indigenous Australians
Sixteen years on from Kevin Rudd's historic apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples, Andy Hamilton SJ argues words can't by unsaid, but can be disregarded – reminding us of the importance of respect and restoration.
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Reflection: Australia must enact a Human Rights Act
Jesuit Social Services’ rights-based approach to advocacy and service provision is grounded in our belief that every person’s rights and freedoms must be protected. Here, Andy Hamilton SJ reflects on our recommendation that the Federal Government enact a Human Rights Act – building on our...
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Deepening our conversation on The Voice to Parliament
Jesuit Social Services supports a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament and throughout 2023, we are advocating for a YES vote in the upcoming referendum. We were honoured to welcome Amanda Watkinson, who is an Aboriginal woman and former Jesuit Social Services staff member, to speak to staff at our recent All Staff Day in June about what a YES vote would mean for Indigenous peoples and for Australia as a whole.