Social justice
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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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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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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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#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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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