Social justice
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Society urges Morrison Government to tackle unfinished business
National Council President Claire Victory congratulated Prime Minister Scott Morrison after the Coalition Government was re-elected on 18 May. ‘We…
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We live in the shelter of each other
Diego Rivera, the great Mexican muralist, had one piece of advice for his students. He told them: Never withdraw from…
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The Cost of Education
The rising costs of education are putting financial pressure on vulnerable families. The Society in Victoria is addressing these needs…
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Congress 2017: taking the next step
Inequality is injustice. It has many forms but it has only one meaning: that the people who bear the brunt…
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Vincentians speak up for asylum seekers and refugees
Thousands of people, including members of the St Vincent de Paul Society and those representing the Catholic Alliance for People…
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Church calls for a living wage for Australian families
Neither employers nor governments are doing enough to support low-paid Australians, and particularly Australian families, the Catholic Church has told…
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#RaiseTheRate campaign gathers momentum
The St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia is proud to support the #RaiseTheRate campaign to increase the…
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Let justice roll on like a river
Nobody says or does anything in a historical vacuum. What has happened and what is happening encompasses and shapes how…
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Young people feel the full effect of economic disadvantage
With work insecurity and income inequality growing in Australia, we need to carefully consider the impact that a family’s limited…
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Advocating for a strong social safety net
You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis. You must study their condition and the injustices which…
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The politics of charity and justice
St Vincent de Paul Society members can play a vital role in pushing for structural change in their local communities…
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Dr Hugh Mackay: the state of the nation starts in your street
The Gandhi Oration is delivered each year at the University of NSW by a person whose life’s work exemplifies the…
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Walls and bridges
Societies build walls, not because they are strong but because they are weak. They build walls to keep out people…
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Must we remain so exceptionally cruel?
Australia has been bogged in mediocrity for some time. It has sunk in critical areas: climate action, renewable energy, wildlife…
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Raising the Rate of Newstart
The stark inadequacy of Newstart is pushing many recipients into poverty, contributing to housing insecurity, financial stress and diminished health…
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Inequality on the rise
by Dr Helen Szoke As an organisation dedicated to tackling poverty for more than 60 years, Oxfam Australia is deeply…
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Do you expect a return on your compassion?
By Brad Chilcott In 2014, two Vietnamese high school students were suddenly taken from my local community and put into…
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The costs of a casual job are now outweighing any pay benefits
By Joshua Healy and Daniel Nicholson Workers aren’t being compensated as much as they should be for precarious work in…
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I don’t want slaves working for me
I have the power to show, through the choices I make, that everybody matters—that I don’t want any slaves working…
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Student poverty: a wall on the bridge of higher education
As a parent, one of the bridges to a better life for our children that we try to build is…
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Justice reinvestment key to reducing Indigenous incarceration
Crime rates are dropping, but jailing rates—particularly of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people—are sky-rocketing. A new approach is needed,…
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Policy updates from the National Council office
The St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia is working to shape a more just and compassionate community…
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Penalty rates for Sunday and public holiday work slashed
On 23 February, the Fair Work Commission announced penalty rates on public holidays and Sundays for full-time and part-time workers would…
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Youth coordinator opposes penalty rate cuts
Michael Walter, a youth engagement coordinator at the St Vincent de Paul Society in Victoria, used an appearance on ABC…
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As good as it gets or as good as it could be?
Professor Larissa Behrendt is Professor of Law and Director of Research at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the…
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Marketisation and competition policy
Introduction Competition and efficiently working markets have their role to play, but collaboration, not competition, and mission, not markets, should…
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A history of social security in Australia
Just about everyone in Australia benefits from social security at some point in their life. Those who don’t are, for…
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Alternative facts in the Centrelink debacle
Over Christmas 2016 and well into 2017, Centrelink’s new policy of automated online debt collection was subject to conflicting reports, making…
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Addressing poverty and inequality in an age of budget repair
The first teaching document authored mainly by the Pope invites people to take on a new mindset that considers the…
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