Keywords: Whitlam Inquiry
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 04 September 2013
2 Comments
'The Towards Healing protocol is not a substitute for criminal prosecution of sex abusers. Nor is it a cheap alternative to civil liability for damages. It is a procedure available by choice to victims in addition to criminal prosecution of perpetrators or pursuit of civil damages for negligence by church authorities.' Full text from Frank Brennan's address to the Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand 47th Annual Conference, 4 September 2013 at Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide on Hindley.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 22 January 2013
50 Comments
Bishop Harry Kennedy was not the only one out of his depth in the saga of paedophile priest Fr F; practitioners in law and psychology were found wanting. Other than Kennedy, most of the senior clergy involved appear to have done their job credibly according to the values and practices of the time.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 23 November 2012
1 Comment
'Might not the chief problem with Church language in the public square be that we tend to come from a position of moral superiority, approaching those dreadfully compromised politicians who will do anything to be elected? The abuse crisis reminds us that the Church is not irreproachable.' Text from Fr Frank Brennan's presentation at the Anglican Church of Australia's Public Affairs Commission Conference, November 2012.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 02 November 2012
36 Comments
What is to be done in the name of law and justice for the victims of abuse? Clearly the Church cannot be left alone to get its house in order. The State may have a role to play, but our elected politicians need assistance from lawyers committed to justice, not lawyers acting primarily to protect or condemn the Church.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 01 November 2012
'Even without the political static which is drowning us all out down there in Canberra, there is real doubt whether the Gillard bluff 'Don't get on a boat because you might end up in Nauru' can do what the Howard bluff could not deliver.' Full text from Fr Frank Brennan SJ's Law and Justice Oration at the Law and Justice Foundation 2012 Justice Awards Dinner, Parliament House, Sydney.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 29 October 2012
'Though land rights and self-determination provide no utopia for the contemporary indigenous Australian community, they have belatedly put right an ancient wrong. The cost and inconvenience are unavoidable. Terra nullius is no longer an option.' Full text is from Fr Frank Brennan's keynote speech at the Central Queensland Law Association Conference, Mercure Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon, 27 October 2012.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 24 July 2012
42 Comments
Most, if not all priests, would prefer to go to jail than disclose material from confession. The seal of the confessional is a red herring when it comes to protecting children. If confessional reporting were mandatory, chances are that the perpetrator would simply not come to confession.
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AUSTRALIA
- Alex McDermott
- 15 March 2010
7 Comments
Two of the most significant changes in Australian history, the post-war migration scheme and the 1980s economic reform, would not have occurred without political spin. It is no accident that the first teaching to devote
itself to the art of spin was born
simultaneously with democracy in ancient Athens.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 08 August 2007
Opinion polls suggest the ALP's "me too" strategy is enhancing their electibility. But in the end, Australians may just stick with the devil they know. "It's time" may have worked for Gough Whitlam, but only time will tell whether "Kevin 07" will do the same for Kevin Rudd.
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AUSTRALIA
- Troy Bramston
- 09 July 2006
The annual release of the once secret cabinet papers on New Year’s Day is now a political ritual. After 30 years, the public is able to look at cabinet’s deliberations on weighty matters, which have been kept under lock and key for a generation.
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AUSTRALIA
- Troy Bramston
- 31 May 2006
Revisiting the government of Billy McMahon
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Bonyhady
- 27 April 2006
Judith Wright was not just a much greater writer than most of the artist-activists who had preceded her, but also a much greater activist.
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