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Weekly feature
Breaking the 'boat people' deadlock
by Lyn Bender
 In his book They Thought They Were Free, Milton Mayor writes of 'the slow lobster boil of erosion of freedom' in Nazi Germany. As a daughter of Jewish refugees I know what this entails. The same process confronts asylum seekers today if we do not begin from a presumption of rights and humanity.
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WEEK IN POLITICS
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Morris affair contains lessons for Church hierarchy
Frank Brennan 24-Jan-2012
 Just because there is no legal remedy to the denial of natural justice to former bishop Bill Morris, that is no reason for the senior hierarchy not to reflect acutely on their treatment of him. Respectful dialogue with Toowoomba's church leaders would be a good start.
Bill Morris and natural justice
Andrew Hamilon 22-Jan-2012
 The reports by a retired judge and a canon lawyer into the dismissal of Bishop Morris make disturbing reading. Given that the obligation of natural justice carries moral as well as legal weight, Morris was entitled to expect his right to it would be respected by the Vatican.
Working out what white Australia wants
Frank Brennan 29-Jan-2012
 I have been feeling sad and confused about the happenings in Canberra since Australia Day. On Saturday I got on my bike and went down to the lawn of Old Parliament House. I passed a sign: 'You are now entering or leaving the Australian Aboriginal Tent Embassy ... Abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.'
Myths and truths of Australian bigotry
Larry Schwartz 22-Jan-2012
 Too often I've opened my front door and found myself tempted by some sales pitch. So today I'd answered warily, spoke through the screen door and tried to keep the encounter brief. 'I'm sorry, but we're not interested.' The salesman knew better: 'It's because of the colour of my skin,' he replied.
Beyond Catholic corporate spin
Andrew Hamilton 18-Jan-2012
 The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Great Britain last year prompted an interesting experiment. The Church asked for lay volunteers to deal with media enquiries. At first glance this could be construed as an exercise in corporate spin with a focus on persuasion and not on truth.
Parenting habits of Mormons and Catholics
Brian Doyle 17-Jan-2012
 In Mormon families, the first kid has to be a bishop or scout leader, and the second through fifth are trained fpr football. In the Catholic system, a family produces a priest or nun, a cop, a teacher, and a solider, after which the rest of the kids can be whatever they want, even Lutherans in some cases.
Breaking the 'boat people' deadlock
Lyn Bender 29-Jan-2012
In his book They Thought They Were Free, Milton Mayor writes of 'the slow lobster boil of erosion of freedom' in Nazi Germany. As a daughter of Jewish refugees I know what this entails. The same process confronts asylum seekers today if we do not begin from a presumption of rights and humanity.
Weighing Wikipedia
Philip Harvey 15-Jan-2012
 Somedays it looks like the most extravagant love letter to the humanist project, other days like the biggest ragbag of unsorted intellectual capital. The sheer scale of information is truly amazing. But as a reference, the time has come for Wikipedia to up its game.
Best of 2011: Germaine Greer's Catholic education
Gregory Day 05-Jan-2012
 In trying to convince my atheist goddaughter to embrace her Catholic schooling, I found an unlikely role model. I'd never thought of Greer as a chip off the old block of a convent education. Now I realised that that's exactly what she was. Published 22 February 2011
The problem of goodness
Andrew Hamilton 01-Feb-2012
 The problem of evil has always been with us. The ills that befall us and the monstrous evil that people do challenge the belief that life has a higher meaning, and are corrosive of belief in a loving God. The problem of goodness is rarely spoken of, yet it too presents challenges.
Most Commented
Morris affair contains lessons for Church hierarchy
Frank Brennan 24-Jan-2012
Just because there is no legal remedy to the denial of natural justice to former bishop Bill Morris, that is no reason for the senior hierarchy not to reflect acutely on their treatment of him. Respectful dialogue with Toowoomba's church leaders would be a good start.
Bill Morris and natural justice
Andrew Hamilon 22-Jan-2012
The reports by a retired judge and a canon lawyer into the dismissal of Bishop Morris make disturbing reading. Given that the obligation of natural justice carries moral as well as legal weight, Morris was entitled to expect his right to it would be respected by the Vatican.
Breaking the 'boat people' deadlock
Lyn Bender 29-Jan-2012
In his book They Thought They Were Free, Milton Mayor writes of 'the slow lobster boil of erosion of freedom' in Nazi Germany. As a daughter of Jewish refugees I know what this entails. The same process confronts asylum seekers today if we do not begin from a presumption of rights and humanity.
Praise for Wilkie's rage against the machines
Tony Kevin 23-Jan-2012
 Catholics in Australia have tended to be more tolerant of alcohol and gambling than 'wowser' Protestants. But too many Catholics turn a blind eye to how today's poker machine technology and operating environment is designed to nurture dangerous (but profitable) addiction.
Moving on from Tent Embassy tussle
Brian Matthews 02-Feb-2012
 I don't think for one minute that Abbott, in saying it was time to 'move on' from the Tent Embassy, meant it should be ripped down. The ensuing riot occurred because 'moving on' is an imponderable phrase, a synonym for sticking one's head in the sand.
Once upon a time in multicultural Australia
Zac Alstin 19-Jan-2012
Embracing an individualistic Australia that transcends ethnic heritage would leave us with a culture that is young, thin and commercialised. If we wish to promote unity and equality, the best thing we can do is learn our own forgotten stories of ethnic heritage.
Pope's advice for Gillard and Abbott
Michael Mullins 29-Jan-2012
 Last week Pope Benedict said silence and words are ‘two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance’. This insight could help political strategists charged with explaining why political leaders are failing to connect with voters.
Rage against ageism
Moira Rayner 02-Feb-2012
 Michael Gill, former editor in chief of the Australian Financial Review, is suing his former employer Fairfax for age discrimination. I will be praying that the provisions prohibiting age discrimination in equal opportunity laws around Australia are exposed for the pathetic non-protections that they truly are.
Long road to the Indigenous referendum
John Warhurst 26-Jan-2012
The proposed referendum follows the 2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations and provides an opportunity for this Labor era to be remembered whenever the Indigenous story is told. Passing a referendum is exceptionally difficult and there is no fool-proof recipe for success.
Myths and truths of Australian bigotry
Larry Schwartz 22-Jan-2012
Too often I've opened my front door and found myself tempted by some sales pitch. So today I'd answered warily, spoke through the screen door and tried to keep the encounter brief. 'I'm sorry, but we're not interested.' The salesman knew better: 'It's because of the colour of my skin,' he replied.
Buried Treasure
Dreams of pulling Australia out of its slump
Ian C. Smith 30-Jan-2012
 Although most are probably long dead, they seem happy, even excited. Perhaps they will toss triumphant hats. The wind might favour their team, even steal tossed hats, but not hope.
Best of 2011: To remember September 11 is to pray
Brian Doyle 10-Jan-2012
 To remember the roaring courage of the people who rushed to help, or the people who used their last minutes on earth to call their families and say I love you I love you I will you forever, is to pray for them and us and even the poor silly murderers, themselves just lanky frightened children. Published 8 September 2011
Before the fall
Kevin Gillam 16-Jan-2012
 The chant of the unseens — ripple in a magpie's throat — as the sigh of a city's prayer cushions — forgiveness has the weight of faith and cloud. And then rain, symphonic on tin, washing walls of doubt.
Receiving a past
Anne Elvey 23-Jan-2012
 From the glistening trees the chorus of what was said became me, before I registered the sacrifice. Now from the yes, a small face looks up mute. My eyes are still selfish and my ears hunt a magpie's repertoire. She spills it on the blue page.
Best of 2011: Rescuing JFK
P. S. Cottier 11-Jan-2012
 'Kennedy was a cold warrior, but Johnson took it to the next level. He had the same my-balls-are-bigger-than-yours complex as Dubya.' The narrator journeys into the past in order to produce a kinder America. One that may not throw itself into Vietnam with such lust. Published 16 November 2011
Best of 2011: Silence for Norway's dead
Bronwyn Lay 12-Jan-2012
 On a quiet Sunday night 25 years ago Julian Knight committed Australia's first urban massacre on the street outside my home. The next morning, strangers — made mute — stood and met the silence of the dead. It is powerful to watch the Norwegian people meet the silence of their dead. Published 27 July 2011
Best of 2011: Australian politics could use a dash of vitriol
Edwina Byrne 08-Jan-2012
 The speeches of the Tea Party movement, for all their faults, are notable for their vivid symbolism and appeal to values. When was the last time you heard an Australian politician invent their own intelligible metaphor? Published 20 January 2011
Best of 2011: Consumers rule in Murdoch's evil empire
Catherine Marshall 10-Jan-2012
 The public was quick to claim ignorance and condemn the theft of private information by News of the World. But ignorance is no longer an excuse, especially in these post-Princess Diana years where the role of the paparazzi, traitorous friends and dodgy journalists is well-known. Published 21 July 2011
Best of 2011: Greek crisis viewed from the corner store
Gillian Bouras 09-Jan-2012
 Panayiotis runs the mini-market he inherited from his father. I have known father and son for 30 years. 'How do you see things at this stage of the krisi?' I ask him, for I'm always asking people what they think of Greece's financial crisis. 'What crisis?' he grins. 'Greece has got a crisis; Greeks haven't.' Published 14 June 2011
The crossing guard and the dawdler
Vin Maskell 31-Jan-2012
 He'd pick up sticks and stones, turn them over, put them in his pocket. He was often the last to cross, arriving as the school's public address system played 'hurry up' music at 8:55am. Some people laughed when I said I'd become a school crossing supervisor, but they don't see the things I see.
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Today's lead
POLITICS
Rage against ageism
Moira Rayner
Michael Gill, former editor in chief of the Australian Financial Review, is suing his former employer Fairfax for age discrimination. I will be praying that the provisions prohibiting age discrimination in equal opportunity laws around Australia are exposed for the pathetic non-protections that they truly are.
11 comment(s) about this article.
Recent leads
APPLICATION
The problem of goodness
Andrew Hamilton
The problem of evil has always been with us. The ills that befall us and the monstrous evil that people do challenge the belief that life has a higher meaning, and are corrosive of belief in a loving God. The problem of goodness is rarely spoken of, yet it too presents challenges.
10 comment(s) about this article.
POLITICS
Catholic social solutions to workplace fairness
Race Matthews
 The worker-owned cooperatives based at Mondragon in Spain have demonstrated great resilience during harsh economic times. Their model based in Catholic social values provides a contrast to the bruising industrial confrontations we've seen in Qantas and Victorian hospitals.
5 comment(s) about this article.
Opportunists could rule in 'nervous' America
Tony Kevin
 The US today is a nervous nation. The old small town verities and values can no longer be taken for granted in this apprehensive, celebrity-drugged culture. Conceivably, if the economy tanks or there is some destabilising foreign policy crisis, Newt Gingrich could beat Obama.
8 comment(s) about this article.
Long road to the Indigenous referendum
John Warhurst
The proposed referendum follows the 2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations and provides an opportunity for this Labor era to be remembered whenever the Indigenous story is told. Passing a referendum is exceptionally difficult and there is no fool-proof recipe for success.
11 comment(s) about this article.
Beyond Australia's adolescent identity crisis
Fatima Measham
 While Australia's early history is marked by violence, the Fraser Government's decision to accept nearly 60,000 Vietnamese refugees, the Mabo decision, and Paul Keating's Redfern speech provide positive narrative touchstones that can help lead Australia to maturity.
5 comment(s) about this article.
THE MEDDLING PRIEST
Morris affair contains lessons for Church hierarchy
Frank Brennan
Just because there is no legal remedy to the denial of natural justice to former bishop Bill Morris, that is no reason for the senior hierarchy not to reflect acutely on their treatment of him. Respectful dialogue with Toowoomba's church leaders would be a good start.
49 comment(s) about this article.
POLITICS
Praise for Wilkie's rage against the machines
Tony Kevin
Catholics in Australia have tended to be more tolerant of alcohol and gambling than 'wowser' Protestants. But too many Catholics turn a blind eye to how today's poker machine technology and operating environment is designed to nurture dangerous (but profitable) addiction.
20 comment(s) about this article.
MULTICULTURALISM
Once upon a time in multicultural Australia
Zac Alstin
Embracing an individualistic Australia that transcends ethnic heritage would leave us with a culture that is young, thin and commercialised. If we wish to promote unity and equality, the best thing we can do is learn our own forgotten stories of ethnic heritage.
17 comment(s) about this article.
RELIGION
Beyond Catholic corporate spin
Andrew Hamilton
The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Great Britain last year prompted an interesting experiment. The Church asked for lay volunteers to deal with media enquiries. At first glance this could be construed as an exercise in corporate spin with a focus on persuasion and not on truth.
8 comment(s) about this article.
INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Adelaide land crime shows why we need a treaty
John Bartlett
 In the mid-19th century my great-grandfather made a fortune as a quarryman and selling timber in South Australia. Of course with possession comes dispossession. Recent consideration of the state's founding documents suggest land acquired in establishing South Australia was acquired illegally.
9 comment(s) about this article.
POLITICS
Squeamish over Scottish independence
Justin Glyn
 The prospect of a referendum on Scottish independence from the UK evokes one of the more interesting tensions in modern international law, between the right to self-determination on the one hand and the territorial integrity of states on the other.
11 comment(s) about this article.
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Today's extra
BY THE WAY
Moving on from Tent Embassy tussle
Brian Matthews
I don't think for one minute that Abbott, in saying it was time to 'move on' from the Tent Embassy, meant it should be ripped down. The ensuing riot occurred because 'moving on' is an imponderable phrase, a synonym for sticking one's head in the sand.
18 comment(s) about this article.
RECENT EXTRA
FILMS
Humanising Hoover and Thatcher
Tim Kroenert
 The problems do not begin and end with badly applied fake jowls. J. Edgar introduces its subject in his later years, reflecting back on his life. This manipulative tactic errs on the side of sentimentality, when Hoover, like Margaret Thatcher, is not a figure to whom sentimentality can be easily attached.
3 comment(s) about this article.
NON-FICTION
The crossing guard and the dawdler
Vin Maskell
He'd pick up sticks and stones, turn them over, put them in his pocket. He was often the last to cross, arriving as the school's public address system played 'hurry up' music at 8:55am. Some people laughed when I said I'd become a school crossing supervisor, but they don't see the things I see.
5 comment(s) about this article.
POETRY
Dreams of pulling Australia out of its slump
Ian C. Smith
Although most are probably long dead, they seem happy, even excited. Perhaps they will toss triumphant hats. The wind might favour their team, even steal tossed hats, but not hope.
THE MEDDLING PRIEST
Working out what white Australia wants
Frank Brennan
I have been feeling sad and confused about the happenings in Canberra since Australia Day. On Saturday I got on my bike and went down to the lawn of Old Parliament House. I passed a sign: 'You are now entering or leaving the Australian Aboriginal Tent Embassy ... Abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.'
10 comment(s) about this article.
EDITORIAL
Pope's advice for Gillard and Abbott
Michael Mullins
Last week Pope Benedict said silence and words are ‘two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance’. This insight could help political strategists charged with explaining why political leaders are failing to connect with voters.
13 comment(s) about this article.
VIDEO
Detention centre project spruiks art and humanity
Peter Kirkwood
 In his Australia Day address, neurosurgeon Charlie Teo denounced racism and called for more compassionate treatment of refugees. In that spirit, Sydney artist Safdar Ahmed runs free classes in detention centres. He is inspired by the emphasis on social justice in Islam.
COMMUNITY
Social networking drives inclusion revolution
David Cappo
 Due to the prevalence of online opinion and information sharing, access and participation — the pillars of social inclusion — are becoming central to citizens' values. Governments need to be alert, as citizens will increasingly desire a more active role in their system of government.
5 comment(s) about this article.
POETRY
Receiving a past
Anne Elvey
From the glistening trees the chorus of what was said became me, before I registered the sacrifice. Now from the yes, a small face looks up mute. My eyes are still selfish and my ears hunt a magpie's repertoire. She spills it on the blue page.
1 comment(s) about this article.
EDITORIAL
Time to change our racist constitution
Michael Mullins
 Those who have been aware of racism in the Constitution and prepared to tolerate it, have effectively blessed the attitude that it's acceptable to regard Indigenous Australians as second class citizens in theory as long as we treat them as equals in practice.
8 comment(s) about this article.
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