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Section: Australia

  • AUSTRALIA

    Levelling the disability hierarchy

    • Moira Byrne Garton
    • 03 December 2010
    15 Comments

    It can be difficult to communicate with a person who does not use speech, to interact with someone who requires high levels of assistance, or engage with someone who lacks control of their sounds or movements. Many such people are simply avoided, ignored and rejected.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Dangers of Indigenous referendum

    • John Warhurst
    • 01 December 2010
    5 Comments

    The debate about the Indigenous constitutional referendum proposed by the Gillard Government is heading in a dangerous direction. Naysayers will not defeat it. What may defeat it is division among those who are supporters in principle but not supporters of the particular proposal.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Overcoming child protection burnout

    • Moira Rayner
    • 29 November 2010
    16 Comments

    Nobody pretends child maltreatment is easily prevented. Yet we are passionate about the evils of same-sex marriage. Wouldn't it be great if we put that energy into providing what  children need: a family environment of love and understanding where they can achieve their potential.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Pope's condom truth for World AIDS Day

    • Michael Mullins
    • 29 November 2010
    19 Comments

    World AIDS Day, like the Pope's apparent softening of Church attitudes to condom use, prioritises the care of one human being for another. This may be manifest in condom use, sexual abstinence, or acceptance of the others' HIV status.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Politicians stoke the violence myth

    • Ellena Savage
    • 26 November 2010

    I used to carry a knife in my handbag. Like nearly a quarter of Australians, I believe that 80 per cent of all crime is violent crime; I was concerned for my safety. And then I discovered that if my self-defence weapon were used, it would likely be used against me.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Gay marriage not a trivial pursuit

    • Michael Mullins
    • 22 November 2010
    24 Comments

    Labor will tear itself apart unless it realises that a 'yes' or 'no' on gay marriage is less important than the process of reaching a position. It can choose to go down the path of political expedience, or it can adopt an approach of moral integrity.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    One day at Villawood

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 16 November 2010
    8 Comments

    Soon enough there was a group of children in the yard and a soccer game was about to begin. First we had to decide the teams. I asked one small boy, whose family was from Sri Lanka, which country he wanted his team to be. 'Australia,' he yelled back.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Shopping as communion

    • Sarah Kanowski
    • 15 November 2010
    6 Comments

    Buying and selling has shaped history. Alongside goods, new ideas and practices get exchanged, leading to the creation of remarkable civilisations. My young daughter and I recently caught a bus into the city to do some shopping. A mundane errand was transformed into something magical.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Aung San Suu Kyi, refugees and bikies

    • Michael Mullins
    • 15 November 2010
    7 Comments

    The release on Saturday of Burma's democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi, and last week's Australian high court decisions regarding refugees and bikies, each contain salutary lessons for governments that attempt to rule by popular fear.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The religious beliefs of Australia's prime ministers

    • John Warhurst
    • 11 November 2010
    12 Comments

    Nine prime ministers have been observant Christians. Two have been conventional Christians. Ten have been nominal Christians. Five have been articulate atheists or agnostics. One was a nominal atheist or agnostic.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    A plan to overcome poverty

    • Frank Quinlan
    • 11 November 2010
    9 Comments

    Currently, we have national plans for such things as defence, conservation and management of sharks, national broadband, combating pollution of the sea, and recovery of the south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo. It's time we had a national plan to overcome poverty.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    What Catholics expect from politicians

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 09 November 2010
    12 Comments

    Recently Victoria's Catholic Bishops distributed their advice to voters in the November 27 state election. Entitled Your Vote, Your Values, it was quickly portrayed as an attack on the Greens, given its focus on euthanasia. The statement, however, was more complex and interesting than that description suggested.

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