HELLO!! WE’RE BACK.
Looking forward to another
exciting year of action for justice
Love to hear from you about any
of the issues raised or any comments or questions. There might be issues you
would like to be raised.
We can be contacted either by email.
Margaret Hinchey
Marie Butcher
mhinchey@lifequestoz.net mbutcher@mercy.org.au
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL PEOPLES
CLRI NSW Social justice Committee has developed 2 projects in order to give recognition to and acknowledgement of the Indigenous Peoples in Australia.
1. 1. A sheet of suggested forms of acknowledgement eg
a) We acknowledge the traditional peoples of the land on which we stand. We pay our respect to them for their care of the land.
b) We acknowledge and pay respect to the ……….. people as the original and on-going owners and custodians of this land. We commit ourselves to actively work alongside the Indigenous Peoples for reconciliation and justice.
Additional statements can be found at http://www.clrinsw.org/
ACTION: To select one and read it at the start of any gathering
2. CLRI (NSW) Social justice Committee has a strategy to acknowledge the traditional peoples in their area through the placing of a plaque. The plaque will contain the following.
The plaque is made from hard, gold coloured plastic with black writing, drawing and symbol.
It may include your congregational symbol if you wish. This plaque can simply be attached inside or out by being glued/taped as it is very light.,
You may choose plaques with
1. The words and the feet OR
2. The words, the feet and your congregational symbol.
ACTION: Contact Margaret Hinchey if you would like to purchase a plaque for $5.00
Speak to your local Catholic School to encourage them to purchase a plaque
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The next two issues come from the Social action office Queensland http://sao.clriq.org.au/
MANDATORY DETENTION and MENTAL HEALTH
Australia's policy of mandatory detention requires that if a person is 'known' or 'reasonably suspected' to be an unlawful non-citizen they must be detained. Amnesty International Australia (and many other people/organisations) has campaigned against the policy since it first came into effect in 1994, arguing that it is a breach of Australia's international obligations under the Refugee Convention and other international human rights standards.
Amnesty International is further concerned that asylum seekers in detention are experiencing significant levels of mental health disorders. Studies published in the December 2004 Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health confirm earlier clinical consensus that high levels of psychopathology of detainees is attributable to the experience of detention.
Please read the whole Amnesty International Australia document on this issue which also includes Recommended Action.
URGENT:
Water Matters
is a campaign to ensure that all people, especially the world's poor, have
access to safe water and adequate sanitation. Currently over 1.1 billion people
lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion to adequate sanitation.
Water Matters is lobbying around
the agreed United Nations target to halve by 2015 the number of people without
access to water services. We are calling on the Australian Government to direct
more funds to meet our fair share of achieving this goal and to
increase
its own aid spending on water and sanitation.
How to Lobby: Send a postcard to the Prime Minister - postcards are obtainable from Water Matters in Melbourne.
For Reflection:
Columban Sean McDonough’s article on Global Water Crisis and Reflections from our Christian Perspective
Good Samaritan Sister Pauline Coll's reflection on the International Year of FreshWater for a recent edition of Australian Religious - God's Hospitality and the Earth. (Pauline was the former Eco-justice Coordinator with the SAO) For more on the issue of WATER, go to SAO’s Living Sustainably page.
CCJP
SUNDAY SEMINAR
SUNDAY MARCH 20TH 2005 At 9.45-12pm
33 Tavistock St Enfield South
TOPIC: HIV-AIDS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA : A Global Challenge
SPEAKER: Sr. Libby Rogerson (Social Justice Coordinator and Director of Caritas –
Parramatta diocese.) Recently returned from Southern Africa
Registration $10
Palm Sunday: March 20, 2pm Prayers, March and Rally
Prince Alfred Park, Victoria Rd Parramatta
2pm: Service and multi-faith prayers for peace sponsored by NSW Ecumenical Council
2:40 March to Parramatta Town Square for rally speakers
Doug Cameron (ACTU Vice President)
Rawan Abdul-Nabi (Arab Council Australia)
Prof Stuart Rees (Sydney Uni Peace Centre)
Rose Jackson (President Sydney Uni SRC)
A survey of Iraqi households published in The Lancet suggests that at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by the coalition in the last 2 years.
Organised by Sydney Peace and Justice Coalition www.nswpeace.org
