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We are an ecumenical, mainstream organization, established in 2008. We aim to strengthen social justice and ethical structures in Australia; to promote social justice as a core Christian value; and to further public education on ethics, current social justice issues and the Christian perspective on them.

What's new what's different?

Audio Downloads are now available for our last two forums "Climbing out of recession on the backs of the unemployed" and "Escaping Oppression Seeking Asylum and Refuge".

National Homeless Person’s Week: 2-8 August 2010 - the theme for this year’s National Homeless Person’s Week is: “Will You Be Homeless in 2020?”. Homelessness Australia is the national peak body working to prevent and respond to homelessness in Australia. Formed in 1998, it seeks to improve community awareness and understanding of the issues facing the 1 in every 200 Australians who are homeless. (more info). In July the ABC highlighted a report by the Australian Health and Welfare Institute which found that the federal pledge of $6 billion to cut homelessness in half has, so far, failed to achieve its objective. The Institute’s report found that more than half of the homeless people seeking emergency accommodation were being turned away. (more info)

ponders on his pollen pillow is a book written by Peter Day shedding some light on the plight of people overwhelmed by mental illness and homelessness. (more info or to buy)

A dream of Fr Peter Day was achieved on July 1 with the opening by patron and former Governor-General Sir William Deane of HOME in Queanbeyan, a home for 18 men and women with mental illness

Mental Illness affects 7 out of 10 Australians - "Susan's story - Keeping minds well" - Wesley Mission

Not so good news for those with a co-morbid psychiatric and substance disorder - A double whammy that keeps filling jails - SMH

Calendar of Future CES events: (more details)

1. "Is Taxation Immoral?"

When: 7:30 pm Thursday 19th August

Where: The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACCC) - Corner of Blackall St and Kings Ave (Map)

Speaker: Dr Terry Dwyer, BEc, MA, PhD (Harvard), Dip Law

Chair: Jack Waterford, Editor at Large, Canberra Times

2. Poor Fellow My Country: Lamenting our Poverty of Spirit

When: 7:30 pm Wednesday 29th September

Where: to be advised - venue will not be the ACCC

Speaker: Mr Graeme Mundine, Executive Secretary of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

3. A Fair Share - Consumerism and a 'fair go' in Australia.

When: 7:30 pm Wednesday 3rd November

Where: The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACCC) - Corner of Blackall St and Kings Ave (Map)

Speaker: Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute

Non CES Events. (more details about all the events listed below)

1. “Money and Power” conference - the Australia Institute and Catalyst

When: 8:30am - 5:00pm 6 August

Where:     WatersEdge, 11 Hickson Road, The Rocks, Sydney
Speaker:   Bernie Fraser, Chair Members Equity Bank and former Governor Reserve Bank of Australia
                 Maree O’Halloran Director Welfare Rights Centre

Jack Gray Paul Woolley Centre for Capital Market Dysfunctionality, UTS
Ross Buckley Professor of Law, University of NSW

Tony Maher President CFMEU Mining

Joan Staples Visiting fellow, Faculty of Law, University of NSW
Andrew MacIntosh Associate Director, ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy

Rae Cooper Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer, Sydney University

John Sutton National Secretary CFMEU

Rosanne Kerlin National Director Campaign and Bargaining, FSU

Lee Rhiannon NSW Greens MP

Professor Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law, Kings College London

Louise Tarrant National Secretary Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union

Ged Kearney President, Australian Council of Trade Unions, and more

2. "Candidates on Drugs" - Public Forum - Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform

When: 5:00pm for 5:30pm - 7:30pm Monday 9th August

Where: Johnson Auditorium, Pilgrim House, 69 Northbourne Ave Civic Centre
Speakers: Darren Church (Senate) - Democrat

Lin Hatfield-Dodds (Senate) - Greens

David Matthews (Senate) - Labour

tba - Liberals

3. "Status of Refugees" - Kippax Amnesty International Group

When: 11:00-Noon Monday 9th August

Where: The Kippax Library, Kippax Shops
Speaker: Sr Jane Keogh, Refugee Action Committee

4. “Individual and family quality of life: a challenge for society and services"

When: 5:00pm Tuesday 10th August

Where: The Australian Catholic University, Canberra Campus, 223 Antill St, Watson, ACT, 2602
Speaker: Professor Roy Brown

5. “Explore an ethical Christian response to climate change" - Canberra Region Presbytery, Social Justice Network

When: 10:00am - 3:00pm Saturday 4 September

Where: Canberra City Uniting Church, 69 Northbourne av Civ
Speaker: Bishop George Browning

Dr John Williams

6. “The Future of the Australian Bill of Rights Debate" - Freilich Foundation

When: 5:30pm Thursday 16 September

Where: Sir Roland Wilson Building, McCoy circuit, ANU
Speaker: Professor George Williams

7. Assorted "Lunchtime Forums- 2010" - COTA - Council on the Ageing (ACT)

When: 12:15-1:45pm Tuesdays

Where: Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom St, Hughes
Speaker: Various

(more details about all the events listed above)

Items of potential interest - please have a look

Vote for Hope - John Falzon - Eureka Street
Is Coalition Economic Policy A Nauru Solution? - Centre For Policy Development
Why conscientious Christians could vote for the Greens - Frank Brennan - Eureka Street
Refugees:
Refugee Policy In The 2010 Federal Election Campaign: What The Parties Are Saying - Refugee Council of Australia
Meet a Queue Jumper - Crikey
Asylum Numbers in Perspective - Crikey
US Congress - Press Release - West Papua - Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human Rights
More than Luck: Ideas that Australia needs now - Centre for Policy Development
MySuper's justified paternalism - Michael Mullins - Eureka Street
Election year mental health test - Simon Rice - Eureka Street
To Kill a Mockingbird and asylum seeker justice - Kerry Murphy - Eureka Street
East Timor a not-so-simple solution - Jack De Groot - Eureka Street
"The Collapse of Globalism" - John Ralston Saul - ABC BigIdeas (Note: This is an audio file)
Gillard mining deal betrays the common good - Michael Mullins - Eureka Street
Inside story - this week's news articles
Appetite for Profit --- Michele Simon
Superannuation Changes Fail Fairness Test - Centre for Policy Development
Top judge targets tough jail sentences - Joel Gibson - SMH
The Real Problem with Europe's Economy - Evan Jones - newmatilda.com
Abbott and Australia's new poor - Brian Lawrence - Eureka Street
Putting a value on nature could set the scene for a true green economy -&- Book Pavan Sukhdev Seminar -&- Centre for Policy Development Seminar
ACSJC Briefing June 2010
Wanted - Poster Designer - Mental Health Service Consumer day 14 September 2010 Sydney - The Big Issues
"The Quest for Justice" (drug related crime) - Supreme Court Judge Ken Crispin - 7:30 Report (Kerry O'Brien)
Curtains for newmatilda.com - New Matilda
A strange time for election watchers - Inside Story
World Environment Day 2010 - Many species, one planet, one future - Uniting Justice news
Arresting Mexico's borderland femicide - Ellena Savage - Eureka Street
Phony Tony and the Liar's Paradox - Tony Smith - Eureka Street
Asylum seekers and refugees: what are the facts? - Parliamentary Library, Dept of Parliamentary Services
Labor complacent as Indigenous gap widens - Jack Waterford - Eureka Street
Abbott's immigration paranoia - Eureka Street
The Land Song - Recent British Election - BBC (background to the song)
The budget of social exclusion - Frank Quinlan - Eureka Street
Open letter to PM on 2010 Budget - Friends of the Earth Australia
Making poverty personal - Simon Moyle - Eureka Street
Making work pay and making income support work - Brotherhood of St Lawrence
Women on the move - evaluating a refugee mentoring pilot program - Brotherhood of St Lawrence
Sri Lanka: anatomy of a tragedy - Inside Story
Words in a time of war - Mark Danner - Inside Story
How to save billions in health costs - John Menadue - CPD/Croaky
Catholic Church needs total reform - Bishop Pat Power - Eureka Street
An open letter from Hans Küng to the Catholic bishops of the world - Hans Küng
What do Hans Küng, Geoffrey Robinson, and Pat Power have in common? - Shane Woods and Peter Hoi - Eureka Street
When Harry Hogan went to war - Eureka Street
A new kind of politics - Uniting Church insights
Refugee back flip misses what matters - Andrew Hamilton - Eureka Street
What makes an activist Tick? - Helen Caldicott - newmatilda.com
Why Ali fled Afghanistan - Frank Brennan - Eureka Street
Immigration control versus human rights - Kerry Murphy - Eureka Street
Australian of the Year (Prof Patrick McGorry) "staggered" by suicide figures - ABC News
Uniting Justice joins the campaign for a Robin Hood Tax - Uniting Justice
Nuclear Calendar - FCNL
Abbott, Santamaria and Catholic Liberals - John Warhurst - Eureka Street
Can Capitalism have a Conscience? - Mark Swivel - newmatilda
Romero: faith and power in hard places - Andrew Hamiliton - Eureka Street
Growing a Culture of Peace - Columban Mission Institute - Centre for Peace Ecology and Justice
Israel's rogue behaviour - Michael Mullins - Eureka Street
The War We Can't Win - Afghanistan & the Limits of American Power - Commonweal
Ben Salmon and the Army of Peace - John Dear SJ - National Catholic Reporter
Telstra profits at the expense of low income earners - Australia Institute
Abbott Advises Homeless People To Get A Home - Stephen Nash - newmatilda
Real stories betray Abbott's homelessness untruth - John Falzon, CEO St Vincent de Paul
Global Ethics and Human Responsibilities - Hans Küng
Declaration Toward a Global Ethic - Global Ethics Foundation
Taliban friend's letter to the enemy - Eureka Street
Obama and the works of death - John Dear SJ - National Catholic Reporter
Where to from here on climate change - Centre for Policy Development
Climate Change Refugees - Simon Meyer - Centre for Policy Development
What we failed to learn from the GFC - Ian McAuley - Centre for Policy Development
Reining it in: executive pay in Australia - The Australia Institute
Haiti video - It was hell then....Imagine the horror now - National Catholic Reporter
What a waste - An analysis of household expenditure on food - The Australia Institute
Living in the Midst of Affluence - Catholic Voice
March 2010 Briefing - Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
What's new Feb 2010 - Uniting Justice Australia
Going to Church on Wall Street to Talk about Ethical Economics - Sojourner
In Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand
Pod Rights - Australian Human Rights Commission
Make all drug use legal - Festival of Dangerous Ideas - Radio National Counterpoint
Refugee hysteria breeding Pacific Solution 2.0 - Kerry Murphy - Eureka street
Hope for the Common Good - Uniting Justice
When tolerance doesn't cut it - Andrew Hamilton - Eureka Street
Climate Change - Don't give up on your Government yet - Christine Milne - newmatilda
ACSJC submission to Review of Tax System
The Limits of Crisis Exploitation: The NT Intervention as a Reform Boomerang - Murray Edelman
Gallipoli Diggers and the 'forgotten' holocaust - Eureka Street
The Monthly - Australian Politics, Society and Culture - April 2009 Edition
Australia Institute - For a Just, Sustainable, Peaceful Future - Assorted topical papers/articles
Global Crime Wave? A Syndrome of Crime, Violence, and Repression on the Way (DRUGS) - By Michael T. Klare
Mental Health and smoking - NSW Consumer Voice
GM patents exploit the poor Charles Rue - Eureka Street
Mundine calls for rethink on intervention - CathNews
Exploring the Underlying Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health - Beyond Bandaids
New Report shows Social Inclusion Antidote to Turbulent Times - ANGLICARE Australia
Towards an ethical future - Economy in crisis # 3 - Mark Speeks (The Tablet)
"Dignity in Humanity - Recognizing Christ in Every Person." A Uniting Church in Australia Statement on Human Rights
View the story of the Yolngu people of Ramingining in the northern part of Central Arnhem Land.

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