If the first week of the Abbot government is anything to go by we are witnessing a retreat from internationalism to a fairly ugly nationalism. We have appointed a military commander to “protect our borders”, started sweeping changes to international aid that will include $4.5 billion in...
Wear Sunscreen
A marvellous graduation speech from last century by Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune. Enjoy! Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’98: Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists...
Selling Out the Poor for a Few Kilometres of Bitumen
Good on you Joe, you have traded the opportunity to end extreme poverty for millions for a few extra kilometres of bitumen.
Five Wishes for the New Government
So, we have a new Prime Minister and a new government (or at least will have once they are sworn in). Now the rancour of electioneering has passed, here’s what I am hoping. That Tony Abbott rises to the challenge of high office to be a good, or even great, Prime Minister. For me the...
Does the Bible Endorse Slavery?
On the ABC’s Q&A program this week the Prime Minister suggested that the Bible sees slavery as a natural condition. The context was a question about his endorsement of same sex marriage, and his answer suggested that parts of the bible reflect now unsustainable views of human beings which...
Why the Washing Machine Has Been More Important than the Internet
The internet has changed our lives. It’s given us access to a world of information and allows us to communicate with people all over the planet. Thanks to the internet I no longer need to invest in a bookcase full of encyclopedias, carry a couple of hundred novels on my kindle, keep up with...
Global Citizenship. Putting the National Interest in its Place
When it comes to sport I am an unabashed nationalist. There is something delicious about beating the English in cricket, the All Blacks at rugby and the US at anything- not that we’ve been doing much of that lately. But there lies the problem with nationalism. While it may be relatively...
Jesus and Suffering
“Life is difficult.” So begins Scott Peck’s best selling book, The Road Less Travelled. This has certainly been driven home to me the last couple of years. At some stage most of us experience significant pain. A broken relationship. A debilitating illness. A period of unemployment. A violent...
An admission of cruelty
Finally a politician has admitted it-asylum seeker policies are quite intentionally cruel. Malcolm Turnbull was quoted in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald as saying Our policy is a harsh one, it really is. All of the policies to deal with asylum seekers and people smuggling are harsh, cruel...
A Bigger Vision for Who We Can Be
It seems that the major parties are leading us into a time of turning our backs upon our global neighbours. We are witnessing a race to the bottom on asylum seekers, both parties are pulling back on their previous commitments to increasing aid, and there is fading resolve to lead on combating...