24 September 2004
The MDGs are an ambitious but achievable set of hard targets which aim to guide the world in a coordinated and concerted effort to halve global poverty by 2015.
Australia has committed to contribute to achieving the MD
24 September 2004
The MDGs are an ambitious but achievable set of hard targets which aim to guide the world in a coordinated and concerted effort to halve global poverty by 2015.
Australia has committed to contribute to achieving the MDGs. Unfortunately, to date our Government has failed to give effect to that commitment. Australian aid falls far short of our fair share of what is required to achieve the Goals, and no new aid has been pledged. Nor are the MDGs used in any meaningful way in the development and evaluation of Australia’s policies and activities on aid, debt, trade, environment, and foreign affairs.
In short we are not doing our fair share.
For more information visit the website of the Australian Council for International Development
If you would like to write a letter to a candidate in the election on this issue the World Vision website has some suggestions for how to go about it.
In their annual Social Justice Sunday statement the Catholic bishops of Australia re-affirmed, despite the fear and violence that continues to afflict our world, that peace is both possible and a duty for each of us to promote. The words of John Paull II are quoted
“In the end, peace is not essentially about structures but about people … [and the] innumerable gestures of peace made by men and women throughout history who have kept hope and have not given in to discouragement. Gestures of peace spring from the lives of people who foster peace first of all in their own hearts … Gestures of peace create a tradition and a culture of peace”
The full text of the bishop’s statement Peace Be With You – Cultivating a Culture of Peace can be found at the ACSJC website.
The statement "Truth and Trust in Politics" is part of a discussion document prepared for the forthcoming federal election. It is available for viewing and download at the Catholic Social Services Melbourne website.
"There are about 100,000 children living on the streets in Manila and about 1.5 million total homeless people in the Philippines. This means that there are many young children who cannot afford to go to school or to rent or buy a home As a result children lack their basic needs. The people can't afford a one-bedroom home so they live wherever they can, which sometimes means living in a rubbish dump with children sleeping on rubbish. Children also collect cans to feed and clothe their families.
This is why we do the Bahay Taluyan Just Cycle bike ride - to help provide the bare necessities to some young children. The event is a five-day riding tour from the Mornington Peninsula to Melbourne, advocating children’s rights and increasing global awareness of related issues. Two teenagers from the Philippines will be joining the ride and speaking to schools around the state. This year we have 23 students participating. This group, along with representatives from Bahay Tuluyan, will complete the final leg of the ride from Parade College Bundoora to St. Bernards."
CFAR has joined with a range of church and welfare groups calling for aboriginal people to continue to be given primary responsibility for decisions affecting their health, wellbeing, education and living standards. The statement signed by about thirty groups also points out that the recent government decision to disband rather than reform the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) means that progress towards reconciliation in this country has reached a critical point with the current election.
A key agency supporting the statement is the Brotherhood of St Laurence who have also developed a policy analysis of the major parties on a range of social issues Advance Australia Fairly
9 September 2004
In a recent statement Bishop Manning of Parramatta expanded on this theme and reminded Catholic voters that Jesus was especially concerned for the welfare of the poorest and most marginalized in our world. Readers of this bulletin would be aware that this was also the motivation for Edmund Rice.
Bishop Manning went on to ask voters to consider "which candidate or party will best serve the needs of the poor?".
Many of the moral issues he raised have been featured in this bulletin previously. Some selected quotations from Bishop Manning are given below and are followed by a web address where readers can find more information or suggested actions to participate in the current election campaign.
"At the heart of the modern Australian nation is the unfinished business between indigenous and non-indigenous people. A lot of sincere effort has been put into reconciliation over the years, but the process has stalled. Which candidates or parties have the best strategies to take the reconciliation agenda forward?"
"Some of the most basic human rights, such as access to adequate health care, decent, affordable housing and education, are beyond the reach of many families..."
No More Povery
"How we treat people seeking asylum on our shores is a measure of our humanity and justice as a nation."
The Justice Project
"The world is so interdependent that we need to think of the whole planet when we are voting. As a rich nation, is Australia doing enough to promote integral human development for the poorest of the earth? Are we good global citizens, upholding international humanitarian law? Are we responsible stewards of the planet itself?"
The Earth Charter
It has minimal industry and commerce and more than 80 per cent of the population survive on subsistence agriculture and farming.
With a current annual budget of only $120 million, the East Timorese Government sees increased revenue from oil and gas reserves as a basis for economic independence and development.
Yet under the current arrangements for the development of these reserves, the Australian Government will receive proportiona