Election 2010 UCA Resources

Hi Guys, below is all the great work from uniting justice on some of the issues and things to think about leading up to the 2010 election. I have copied the page in full because it could do with a couple of home plus less clicks for you. I will have some hard copies at upperoom project this month or just download some now.  - Age

Your Faith, Your Vote, Your Voice

When it comes time to exercise one of our core democratic rights and responsibilities and vote in a parliamentary election, how do we think about our vote? Do we vote the way we always have? Do we vote on the basis of a single issue? Will we vote for whoever is promising the most? Is our vote based on which candidate will be better able to  represent our locality? Will we think about what kind of society we want and which politicians seem to share our values?

Building an Economy for Lifeinvites you to consider the values which underpin the policies of the political parties and candidates who are asking us to give them the responsibility of national leadership.

Download these resources

Building an Economy for Life Booklet

The cornerstone of the resources is the Building an Economy for Life booklet, which explores some of the major areas of public policy and current issues from a Christian perspective on human and ecological wellbeing. A fuller introduction to the theology and more detailed information about the purpose of the resource can be found here.

The booklet also includes an election toolkit with useful links to information on all things politics and elections and suggestions for planning activities such as pre-election candidates forums and a meeting with your local MP or candidates.

Click here to download the booklet

You can obtain hard copies of this booklet, free of charge, by contacting the Assembly office, on 02 8267 4300 or email enquiries@nat.uca.org.au

Hot Issues

The Hot Issues papers are A5 sized flyers that take a snap-shot look at particular topical issues such as Indigenous health, the Northern Territory intervention, gender pay equity, freedom of religion and multiculturalism. Several of these papers are available in hard copy - contact the Assembly office to place an order, on 02 8267 4300 or email enquiries@nat.uca.org.au

• Alcohol Misuse
• Christmas Island
• Taking the “Dis” out of Disability
• Gambling
• The State of Indigenous Health
• Northern Territory Indigenous Intervention
• Multiculturalism in Australia
• People Trafficking
• Freedom of Religion (web-only)
• Gender Pay Equity (web-only)
• A Tax on Financial Transactions (web-only)

Issues Papers

These web-only papers offer a more in-depth look at the issues and policies covered in the Building an Economy for Life booklet. Papers have been contributed from many parts of the Church, including the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress and numerous Assembly agencies and units.

• Recognition and Respect: Justice for Indigenous Australians
• Protecting the Persecuted: Compassion for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
• Tackling Climate Change: Ensuring our Future
• Beyond the Urban Fringe: Issues for Outback Australia
• Protecting Human Rights
• Justice in Income Support
• Sharing the Wealth: A Just and Progressive Taxation System
• A Decent Life for Older People
• Embracing our Diversity: A Multicultural, Multi-faith Society
• Justice in International Development

Additional Resources

How to plan a candidates forum

Read the statement ‘An Economy of Life’ adopted by the 12^th Assembly. 
http://www.unitingjustice.org.au/uniting-church-statements.html#economyoflife.

* all Federal Election 2010 resources have been printed on ‘carbon neutral’ paper

Koornang welcomes Coorong

New hospitality house in the south east Suburbs Melbourne is welcoming 10 indigenous friends this weekend. Can you help?

Hannah will be needing more linen (sheets towels etc), plates and pots.

(She could probably do with a beds and side tables etc too)

The house is connected with the Koornang UCA (Murrumbeena) and  Hannah is the host welcoming friends from the Coorong SA.

Also, if you have been thinking about being a resident in this house - this would be a good to time to chat - not such a good time to move in

Contact Hannah Dungan

email: mousey_brown@hotmail.com

and her phone is 0422 628 028

National Reconciliation Week 2010

Week of Prayer for Reconciliation was started in 1993, and expanded to become National Reconciliation Week in 1996, becoming an Australia-wide focus point for reconciliation activities. The week gives us the opportunity to reflect, through prayer, thought, discussion, and act on what still needs to be done in reconciliation. The week follows on from Sorry Day (26 May) commemorating the release of the ‘Bringing Them Home’ report in 1997 which detailed the damaging effects of the policy of removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

National Assembly have created resources for Reconciliation Week this year that are available here.

Tomorrow, Friday May 28, Reconciliation Australia will launch a new public awareness campaign that encourages Australians to consider their own role in reconciliation. There will be online, television, cinema, radio and print components, and it will call for all Australians to help finish what was started. The Unfinished Oz website will be central to the campaign and offers a range of ways for people to get involved in the reconciliation process. Check out the website tomorrow atwww.unfinishedoz.com.au

Also this Reconciliation Week ANTaR is inviting you to show your commitment to reconciliation by participating in a Virtual Bridge Walk! Make your ANTaR Avatar, join the walk and then tell your friends to join in…

See below for events happening to commemorate Reconciliation Week. For further info about the history of Reconciliation Week and the theme for this year check out the Reconciliation Australia page here

And add your events to the mix here

ANTAR virtual bridge walk

ANTaR

Welcome to the virtual bridge walk for reconciliation!

10 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Australians walked to show their support for reconciliation, starting with a walk across the Sydney Harbour bridge during Corrobboree 2000. Now’s the time to show that, even if we’re not there yet, our passion has never been stronger.

Show your support for respectful and equal relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia by joining in this virtual bridge walk for a united Australia.

Join the virtual walk! I did and here’s my ANTAR-Avatar Age!! 

Click here http://www.bridgewalk.org.au/

Congress (UAICC) Press Release

?TUCKEY AND ABBOTT STUCK IN THE DARK AGES’

The Indigenous arm of the Uniting Church in Australia has today labeled the comments made by Tony Abbott and Wilson Tuckey concerning acknowledgement of Indigenous traditional owners of land as nothing more than an opposition desperate to maintain its relevancy.

National UAICC Administrator Rev Shayne Blackman and UAICC Chairperson Rev Ken Sumner said the venomous and archaic comments were deeply offensive to all Indigenous people and would unravel any goodwill the opposition may have had made in recent times.

“It is now clear that the Leader of the Opposition and his learned underling have no genuine understanding of how to politically or culturally align themselves to Aboriginal people and their struggle and regrettably their comments and stance will cost them down the line” Rev Blackman said.

“These are elected members of parliament who cannot be allowed to use their tax payer salary to incite contempt under the guise of genuine political commentary - it is one thing to make legitimate political statements, it is another to belittle any group within the nation for sensationalism” said Rev Blackman.

Rev Ken Sumner said Tony Abbott getting lost in the outback recently was indicative of planned media attention which may have been amusing to some however; the line was drawn in the sand over these obnoxious ?media driven’ comments which cut to the very heart of the respect and recognition for what Indigenous people have been struggling for since this country was invaded.

“Further, by Wilson Tuckey deriding the weight of some Welcome to Country dancers is unhelpful and indicative of an individual who has no understanding of the very real health issues facing Indigenous people not having equitable access to good nutrition in remote communities” Rev Sumner said.

“We would have hoped for a responsible opposition party that sought to outline alternative policy to address the socio-economic plight of many Indigenous people - one of them being obesity linked to proper nutrition, not via derision and mockery” said Rev Sumner.

Sign up for the newsletter of congress here

about face 2010 applications close soon

Applications for the About FACE 2010 program close in 2 weeks ? Friday 26^th February, 2010!

About FACE 2010 is a?Faith?And?Cultural?Exchange for young adults between 18 and 30 years, to take place from 26^th June to 17^th July, 2010.? Participants will elect to spend two weeks in a placement with either an Aboriginal community in Australia, or with one of our partner churches in the Asia-Pacific region. The About FACE program is an exciting and strategic opportunity for young adults to participate in the reconciliation and covenanting process with Aboriginal communities in Australia, and to share in solidarity with partner churches in the region.

The program will raise awareness of what it means to live in a global community, and to share resources and opportunities responsibly and with justice. It aims to create an ?about face? in the attitudes and lifestyles of participants, and to build relationships and bridges of understanding. About FACE is not simply an event for an individual, but is a shared experience with congregations and communities.

In 2010, placements will be within indigenous Australian communities, SE Asia, South Asia and the Pacific.

For more information please visit the About FACE website ??www.aboutface.org.au (the website is currently in the process of being upgraded, so it may look a little different from when you visited last time).?? You are also welcome to contact either Jill or Tess in the Justice & International Mission Unit on (03) 9251 5271 or?info@aboutface.org.au

note from Age

Hi guys if your thinking of applying but are unsure if it is for you …. then that wonder mean yes it is you - register already and I will see you at briefing. - I’m already looking forward to this years mob - gotta love about face!!!

facebook event here

Lest we forget a cruel act of dispossession

Peter Lewis (many of us know through AboutFace and other places) and Richard Franklin have a remembering article in the Age about the Aborigines Protection Act 1869

It is an odd coincidence of history that the 11th day of the 11th month is a day of several anniversaries of great significance for Australian identity. The first anniversary that comes to mind is Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War - a war where too many young Australian men met their deaths and the legend of the digger was born.

The next most remembered anniversary is the dismissal of the Whitlam government, which brought to an end a dramatic period of progressive government in Australia (if we ignore East Timor and the economy).

It is also the anniversary of the execution - in 1880 - of the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly. Kelly was either a villain or an imperfect embodiment of the Irish-Australian radical tradition, possibly both.

But an anniversary that has been forgotten is one that has even more relevance for understanding the ironies of Australian identity.

Eleven years before the hanging of Ned Kelly and 140 years ago this year, the Victorian colonial government passed an act ”To Provide for the Protection and Management of the Aboriginal Natives of Victoria”, more commonly known as the Aborigines Protection Act 1869.

This gave government control of where Aboriginal people could live, of how they would relate to Europeans, of their labour and earnings and of the ”care, custody and education” of all Aboriginal children.

It was this act that created the conditions for Aboriginal containment and assimilation, and its legal platform enabled policies that led to the stolen generations and stolen wages.

For us it raises an interesting question - why have we so rarely included this anniversary in our remembering?

keep reading here

AI Action - Racial Discrimination Act

REINSTATEMENT OF THE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACT (RDA)

Amnesty International Australia - Working to Protect Human Rights:

No conditions, no excuses Mr Rudd

http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/21865/

14 Oct 09: “Suspending the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA)?allows racially discriminatory actions to occur - and this?is exactly what happened in the roll out of the Northern?Territory Intervention. … The Federal Government has?promised to take steps to reinstate the RDA as soon as next?week. However, the Government is proposing to designate?some discriminatory practices, such as welfare quarantining,?as a ?special measure? to allow them to continue. Such??special measures? would defeat the purpose and the spirit?of the reinstatement of the RDA. It is important that the?reinstatement of the RDA should contain no loopholes to?allow racial discrimination to continue. Call on the?Federal Government now to reinstate the RDA in full? no?conditions, no excuses! … Take action now - Send a letter?to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, by clicking on the ACT?NOW button on right-hand side of this page.”

UCA writes to UN about Northern Territory Intervention

Thought this press release could use some air time?

Territory Intervention highlighted for UN Rapporteur

Sorry is the first step

The National Apology on February 13 was a truly momentous occasion. The healing power of that simple word - sorry - has helped to build a bridge of trust.

Our task now is to make sure that we don’t look back on the apology to the Stolen Generations as merely a symbolic gesture, but as the beginning of something far more significant. Sorry is only the first step.

The Stolen Generations survivors should benefit from both a specific, targeted response that comprehensively addresses the recommendations of the Bringing them home report, as well as broader efforts to close the gap in Indigenous life expectancy and health status.

Please send your elected state and federal representatives an email asking them to implement all the recommendations of the Bringing them home report

http://takeaction.antar.org.au/1/sorry-is-the-first-step

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