2007 AGM

Workshop following Social Policy Connections’ AGM 1st December 2007

The 25 participants were invited to address three questions:

On what issues is your passion for social justice focused?
In your view what do Australians regard as the key social justice issues for Australia?
In your view what do Australians regard as the social justice issues internationally?

Participants worked in three groups each group addressing all three questions.
The results are reported below:

The following workshop benefits were anticipated:

Members of SPC would be helped to know each other better through hearing each other's answers to the above questions.
Provide input to the research agenda for the start-up of the Yarra Institute.
Start to promote the advocacy agenda of SPC by setting up working groups to produce briefing notes for people wanting to meet with their local members of parliament. The notes would appear on our website.

Action:

In response we can say the results have been circulated to all members of SPC.
Also, this report will be tabled at the next meeting of the Committee for the Yarra Institute.
Thirdly, the following working groups were set up. If you would like to participate contact the members and find out when and where they are meeting.

Education:
. Suzy McManus
. Karen O’Toole
People Movement & Refugees:
. Catherine Kelly
Indigenous matters:
. Robyn Reynolds
. Paul Rule
. Bob Glass

We also had ‘Health’ listed but no one put their name down to be part of a working group. If you would like to form a working group on this or any of the other issues below, please contact Stephen Ames at Social Policy Connections.

The SPC Board will locate resources in Christian social thinking relevant to these issues and send it to the working groups. Help from members on this task would be much appreciated. Please send any references or email downloads to Stephen Ames or hard copy to, Social Policy Connections P.O. Box 88, Richmond, Vic., 3121.

Other matters from the workshop:

Participants decided to meet again in about six month’s time to look at ‘where to from here?’ Board will organise this and inform members early in 2008.

The ‘voting’ on issues was inconclusive – the seventeen out of a possible 50 votes (two each) were widely spread, not showing any clear focus by the meeting on a few issues.

Two matters were highlighted by individuals in the discussion following. One was the meaning of ‘fair’ in such expressions as ‘a fair go’ or ‘fair trade’. The other was the way research and experimentation on human beings raised the question of what is the normatively human.

Some reflections from the Board:

This was a valuable start to us getting to know each other and especially our interests in social justice and in our perceptions of what is important to Australians. It also showed we could work well together on this task. Follow-through is important. The working groups are one kind of follow-through as is the meeting in the middle of the year. The exercise focuses several matters:

what policies do we want to influence?
what influence from Christian social thinking do we want to bring to bear?
and how will we do this?

This is the sharp end of our working together to pursue the ends for which SPC exists. Early in 2008 the website should be fully operational and provide opportunity for interaction with each other on these and other matters.

One area of follow-through for the Board is fundraising. Any suggestions about possible donors, trusts, foundations would be much appreciated and can be sent to spc.inc@optusnet.com.au

Workshop results from 3 questions:
1. On what issues is your passion for social justice issues focused?

User-pays ignores the reality inequality of users with financial implications as well as implications for the dignity of users.
Use of women’s and men’s bodies in marketing - an issue for human dignity
Education process (primary, secondary, tertiary, post secondary) is a sausage machine which ignores differentials in students and fails to support teachers adequately
Passionate about helping young people through education to grow up confident, competent and contributing to society
Need to help refugees, indigenous, homeless single women and addiction affected
Uninformed judgements against people of different culture, religion, ……
Bring values of Christian social tradition into engagement with modern social issues – e.g. how to turn back the tide of secularism and see society embrace values inherent in Christian social tradition
A justice issue: how justified/justifiable are the huge $$$ for world youth day against other needs
Participatory democracy – particularly with respect to the intervention in the N.T.
Peace at every level
The plight of indigenous in Australia
Equality of gender and race
Integrity in government
Be more without having more
Have Australia take a moral position and lead internationally

Plight of asylum seekers and refugees:

questionable inhumane policies
review and rewrite immigration act
questionable morality of accepting applications without providing reasonable living and health conditions

Social inequality in education for indigenous people:

5-15 yrs, obligatory education with same opportunities as for most of us
adult education and education of disadvantaged indigenous people
money for indigenous media (radio, TV, internet)
advocating an SS system as committed to self worth as to food and shelter (attitude change)
look at Swedish system as a role model for attitude of mind

Socialisation of medical care (health) system:

people are not forced to live with pain / chronic illness
free and available medical care
invalid pension – difficulties in qualifying
aged health care needs a stronger voice
tax cuts to stop advocacy for public funds to be used four infrastructure, utilities and public goods

2. In your view what do Australians regard as the social justice issues for Australia?

Debt burden of young people; HECS; Credit; living expenses
Associated issues:

housing debt
identity – consumers
run down in public infrastructure (schools, transport, etc.)
impact on relationships
should not be a source of debt

Fair go at work:

outworkers in clothing
insecurity in employment, especially for young people
breakdown in social contract.

Refugees:

contravening international law / detention / terrorism legislation

Aged population:

mistreatment; inadequate government support for high care residents

Indigenous problem:

disenfranchisement of natural leaders
need to allow indigenous Australians to influence the solutions

Trust and security is a ‘community ideal’. People don’t feel ‘safe’ anymore. We need to increase people’s connectedness and we need a framework/leadership;

Energy and water security;

Decent housing for all;

Overcome divides on gender and work background;

Create respect for fragile Australian land, flora and fauna;

Education – access, funding and values;

Christian values and social policy;

3. In your view what do Australians regard as the social justice issues internationally?

Need for Australia to move from other cultures and ‘powerful friends’
Need for moral leadership
Millennium Development Goals
Fear of the other
Need to understand and respond to movement of people
Ethical exports cf. fair trade
Justice issues around the food chain and water – ‘ownership’ and ‘access’
Consumerism and the run down of natural resources, fair trade issues, climate impact
How to create a real sense of the common good in international trade and in response to climate change/pollution
War - indifference to the poor in Dafur and how to control the arms industry
In the WTO, IMF and World Bank, who has the power and where is the democratic voice on issues such as trade, debt and development
The mentality of ‘who ever pays the piper calls the tune’
Corruption checks and balances
Greater focus on current ‘brain drain’ from underdeveloped countries and unprotected unskilled ‘illegals’ to developed nations
Human trafficking; advocating for visas for trafficked individuals
Insularity of the nations versus family of nations.