mountain masala

Some humble proposals about asylum seekers...

In response to the current political debate about asylum seekers,

I propose that the Australian government agree to triple our very small annual refugee intake, in a spirit of generosity.

I propose that the government publish statistics about the costs of surveillance, detention and legal action regarding asylum seekers, widely and regularly, in a spirit of honesty.

I propose that the government enter more rigorously into bilateral negotiations regarding the causes of people fleeing their countries, and seek to redirect funds from protection (from unarmed, impoverished asylum seekers) to targetted aid to such countries in a spirit of mercy.

I propose that the government ask more openly for groups and individuals who are willing to offer time, resources and care to refugees, in a spirit of hospitality.

I propose that the government document and publish the stories of asylum seekers so that the public may better understand the reasons why people would risk their lives to leave their countries, in a spirit of compassion.

I propose that the government ask the people of Australia to spend 1 minute on the first day of each month in silence, contemplation and lament for people fleeing unjust and violent homelands, in a spirit of prayer.

I propose that the government establish an advisory council of former refugees, in particular those arriving by boat, to help advise us as a nation as to how we might respond to the current refugee crisis, in a spirit of hope.

Terrified, desperate people in fragile boats are not the threat to our identity, security or economy. The threat is a political and media culture that feeds our insecurities for the sake of its own well-being.

This is not a party poitical issue, but it is political for God's sake (see Matthew 25).

If the politicians and media know that we are a people of hospitality, generosity, truthfulness, mercy, compassion, prayer and hope, they will address us differently. Rather, they see us as self-interested, defensive, and fearful of the truth.

I refuse to believe that God calls us to be the image of who the media think we are. The absurdity of this debate is that as a nation we are made of arrivals. May we lead our politicans rather than be led by them at this time.

This is my proposal and prayer. It may seem simplistic and irrational. That would make it like the current political debate at worst!

We will not be defined as a people by fear and distrust, but by compassion and hope.

thanks for listening. clearly I am wound up about all of this....

2011 Census Data Released

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released data from the 2011 Census yesterday. The good news is that you can access community profile info free and online. Click on the above link,  the "Data and Analysis" on the left, then choose QuickStats and go to Advanced Search. Type in your postcode or whatever.

Here's an interesting summary of changes in religious affiliation - Land of Many Cultures.

"Multiculturalism has won the battle for Australia. The 2011 census reveals that Australia has become a melting pot of races, with more than one in four Australians having arrived here as migrants, while almost one in eight has Asian ancestry"

"For the first time, most Australians aged 25 to 34 are no longer Christians."

The Age online has a a data summary here.

australian poetry library

thanks to stephen webb for this: a new website on Australian poetry.

The Australian Poetry Library - with thousands of free poems, including

James McAuley

AD Hope

Henry Lawson

David Malouf

Les Murray

Oodgeroo Noonuccal

David Rowbotham

Kenneth Slessor

Judith Wright

woooo. enjoy.

(now where is Kevin Hart?)

Freedom of Religion in Australia

I'm in Sydney for a few days getting oriented to working for the Assembly and meeting with the Assembly staff team with whom I will relate for two years.  Really great to discover more about what our church is doing nationally. I remember having the same feeling at Assembly Standing Committee meetings and of course at our triennial Assemblys.

I'm going mention a few things in the next few days, but the first (thanks Elenie) is that the Australian Human Rights Commission has just released a report called "Freedom of Religion and Belief in 21st Century Australia". The report is co-authored by Professor Gary Bouma, Professor Desmond Cahill, Dr Hass Dellal, and Athalia Zwartz.

Gary Bouma of course is Professor Emeritus of Sociology from Monash University, with a research specialisation in religion in Australia. He's the author of Australian Soul from Cambridge University Press.

I'm looking forward to reading this and working its findings into my writing about the kind of landscape in which Christian education takes place.

The main project page is here. There are a number of supplementary papers, some available now and some forthcoming.