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Ash Wednesday introduces Lent, a time for fasting and for prayer. It has rhythms of fasting and feasting: Shrove Tuesday is followed by Ash Wednesday, and Lenten fasting ends in Easter feast. In a Jewish tradition inherited by Christians fasting was associated with putting on ashes from the bonfire of vanity. Hence the ashes and…
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Not just offshore processing that is inhumane
In the past six months we have had a change in Prime Minister, but unfortunately the country’s punitive and inhumane policies surrounding people seeking asylum remain. The current system of offshore processing exposes vulnerable men, women and children to indefinite waiting times, violence and sexual assault and does not respect their fundamental right to human…
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For children’s sake: Raise the age of criminal responsibility
Imagine going back to your 10-year-old self. You’re standing outside a cinema, watching people stream in to see a new film that you’re dying to watch. You wish you had a few dollars to buy a ticket but you spent the little pocket money you receive on a few lollies at school this week. Perhaps it…
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Family violence needs whole community response
Over the last few years Australians have become much more aware of the extent of family violence and of its effects on victims and perpetrators. The tragic death of Luke Batty and the advocacy of Rosie Batty, his mother, were catalysts for this change. But the statistics continue to horrify. Seventy-nine women were killed by…
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PNG Supreme Court finding on Manus Island shaming for Australians to read
In recent days the plight of the people whom Australia has despatched to Manus Island has twice been highlighted. The Four Corners program on the death of Mr Hamid Khazaei displayed in horrifying detail the negligence, indifference, lack of urgency and priority given to following bureaucratic procedures over the value of a human life. The…
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National Sorry Day: “The Apology is not an event. It is a way of life.”
It seems an age since the Australian Parliament apologised to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children taken away from their parents. At the time it seemed a brand new day; even now, children continue to catch the freshness of what was done and are inspired by it. But the condition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders…
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No ‘one size fits all’ solutions to youth unemployment
In an election focused on ‘jobs and growth’ both major parties have addressed youth unemployment. But the proposals of neither party will meet adequately the needs of the most severely disadvantaged young jobseekers. They ignore the human reality. Youth unemployment is now at its highest peak since the late 1990s. The average number of young…
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A criminal justice system that builds a safer community
This position paper is one of four produced by Jesuit Social Services as part of our 2014 Victorian State Government Election Platform. In it, we call for a more effective and humane approach to criminal justice that focuses on: preventing crime by addressing its root causes diverting people from the justice system providing safe and…
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The National Aboriginal Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) grew out of the recognition that the celebration of Australia Day presented a one-sided image of Australia’s history. It focused narrowly on the disruption to existing culture and life in Australia through the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney cove. It grew into a national public holiday.…
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Royal Commission into the child protection and youth detention systems of the Northern Territory
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement of the Royal Commission into the child protection and youth detention systems of the Northern Territory, following the ABC’s Four Corners investigation into the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre and its treatment of vulnerable young people. “We have long advocated for better treatment for young people in…