The range of SPC concerns
Social Policy Connections is committed to provide collaborative leadership and to speak out with its allied organisations on key social justice matters. As a nascent organisation, SPC cannot claim a long track record in social debate. However it is our intention to provide a new vehicle to augment the voices of people concerned to bring the values of our Christian social traditions to bear more closely on efforts to advance human wellbeing in our society and world.
Many of our members have long been involved in debates about social and economic policies, as is evident in the publications listed elsewhere. However, the precise agenda issues for SPC and the Yarra Institute for Religion and Social Policy will be determined more precisely as we engage with a wider membership, drawing especially on their skills and expertise as well.
Among the issues SPC considers of particular urgency are the following seven (not listed in priority):
1. Why fairness matters in Australia: recovering the legitimacy of social equity as critical for social harmony; enhancing equality of opportunity; repairing the results of inenquitable policies derived from neo-liberal philosophy.
2. Tackling the looming threat from global warming:
evaluating the threat, and the consequences of inaction; the climate sceptics and their interests; the question of nuclear energy; possible solutions; what organisations, schools etc can do; how individuals can make a difference.
3. Reshaping the global economy: explaining the global economic crisis; exploring the ethical aspects of economics; critiquing neo-liberal economic philosophy; the role of moral values in modern economies; spreading ownership and responsibility more widely; is economic growth a good-enough answer? How do we balance good living standards for everyone in the world with sustainability?
4. Welfare ‘reform’ in Australia:
Australian egalitarianism under threat from US models of welfare reform; the ideological underpinnings in neo-liberal economics and philosophy; how and why these views need to change in Australia; the role of the media.
5. Religion and politics:
why values matter; religious traditions as nurturers of values; determining the boundaries between religious conviction and public policy; how religious beliefs can contribute to human wellbeing; pitfalls in relating religion and politics; lessons from Australia’s past.
6. Australia’s role in eliminating global hunger:
the UN Millennium Development Goals; Australia’s past mediocre response; how to improve the quality and quantity of our overseas aid; how our trade policies can make a difference; Australia as a global advocate for the poor.
7. War and Peace
– Australia’s share of responsibility for the war in Iraq; the accountability of politicians; complexity of nationalism and Muslim traditions of just war; terrorism; reconciliation after conflicts; the morality of economic sanctions; economic and social reconstruction.
Other issues of particular concern include the following:
8. Nuclear energy The arguments for and against nuclear energy; the question of special interests; the problem of waste disposal; safety and the threat from terrorism; lessons from Chernobyl; alternatives.
9. Practical ways to change our lifestyles: the challenge of consumerism; how to change our expectations and attitudes; implications for food, travel, home building, greening offices and schools; living more simply but more equitably. 
10. Ethics and Industrial Relations:
affirming the moral aspects of full employment; the right to a just
wage and working conditions; the family wage; gender equity; home
ownership; a more equitable distribution of wealth and ownership;
cooperatives; arbitration and conciliation; the right to collective
bargaining and to form unions, along with the right to strike in
extreme circumstances.
11. Overcoming indigenous disadvantage
12. Affordable housing for all
13. Can we restore full employment in Australia?
14. Improving the distribution of wealth in Australia
15. Australia’s role in the Pacific: dominance or partnership?
16. Water resources: how should we manage these?
17. Refugees and asylum seekers: searching for more humane policies for Australia
18. Keeping health care affordable for all Australians.
No doubt, one could add many more important issues. However it is clear that SPC does not have the resources to debate all these issues at any depth. We will prioritise our efforts in accord with opportunities available to us, the urgency of issues and the limits of our resources; and depending how well we can expand our networks, we invite the collaboration of concerned individuals and groups.
SPC endeavours to avoid duplicating what other groups are doing well, but tries to augment the work of others by drawing critically from the resources and scholarship of our Christian social traditions and joining the civic conversation about improving human wellbeing. SPC wishes to encourage a wider effort to help shape a better world.