April 2019
Changing for good
30 April 2019 A personal story, Johns experience with the Journey to Social Inclusion (J2SI) program Since the age of 15, John has been in and out of prison. He spent about six years in custody over the past 15 years of his life and had no stable accommodation for 10 years. When John was released from prison, he...
Easter Sky News interview with Fr Frank Brennan SJ, CSSA’s CEO
A broad-ranging interview including Newstart; NDIS; energy policy; asylum seekers and refugees; and the ongoing leadership and inspiration of Pope Francis. Listen to the interview here.
The NDIS: another important choice at this Federal Election
As published CathNews, 17 April 2018 By Brenton Prosser PHD, Former Director Research, CSSA Federal Budget week was another significant one for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It was a central feature in the speeches of both the Treasurer and the Opposition Leader. Public debate centred on $1.6 billion of allocated (but unspent) funding going back into the Government’s projected $7.1 billion surplus. The Budget...
March 2019
Church calls for living wage for Australian families
17 March 2019 The Church has made submissions on the minimum wage since 2003 with a focus on low-paid workers and their families, arguing for a decent standard of living for wage-dependent families. Megan Kavanagh, a member of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Employment Relations Reference Group, said there has been a tradition in Australia – dating...
February 2019
Medicalis-nation: the growing dependence of Australian public policy on drugs
An edited version of this paper was published in the Mandarin on 26 February 2019. Australian media regularly reports concerns about the over-use of drugs to treat our most vulnerable. However, what this reporting has missed is the subtle but underlying trend toward medicalisation in public policy. I first met Dorothy as part of a national evaluation of community-based...
Christian charity must start with God: Lismore Bishop
20 February 2019 As published in the Catholic Outlook The first call for those working in social services is to see the need of others through the eyes of God, Lismore Bishop Greg Homeming OCD has told Catholic social service leaders from across the country. On a day when tributes to the late Fr Leo Donnelly featured prominently,...
January 2019
A job is the best form of welfare
17 January 2019 With its announcement of an overhaul of the Jobactive program, the Australian Labor Party last week made the first move of the year on employment policy. But with a federal election looming, we ought to prepare ourselves for a mantra of “jobs” and “the economy”. Read more at Pro Bono Australia.
December 2018
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference – Statement on Refugees and Asylum Seekers
December 18, 2018 STATEMENT FROM THE ACBC PRESIDENT ARCHBISHOP MARK COLERIDGE Our elected representatives have returned home for Christmas without resolving the offshore detention crisis that confronts our country. It would seem that a majority in both houses of our Parliament favour laws and policies that will bring to an end the five-year saga of refugees and...
