This weekend, we celebrate both Easter and ANZAC Day. Both are times to remember the sacrifice of others on our behalf. On ANZAC Day we remember those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom and peace, and we honour those currently serving to defend justice and rebuild nations ravaged by war. And at …
Australia a great place to live
As a general rule, Australians don't like "tall poppies," and we feel a bit uncomfortable when someone pats us on the back and tells us how good we're doing. But if we take a report released this week as gospel, we're feeling relaxed and comfortable about ourselves, despite the troubled times we're living in. The …
Gambling ads are un-Australian
This week saw the O'Farrell government throw its full support behind the powerful pubs and clubs lobby in its campaign to stop the federal government from introducing reforms to help problem gamblers. Clubs Australia and the Australian Hotels Association have launched a $20 million advertising campaign opposing a mandatory pre-commitment scheme for poker machine betting, …
Faith and the National Curriculum
In early 2008 the Rudd government set up a National Curriculum Board to develop a national school curriculum for Australia. Documents for key subject areas have now been released, and have attracted strong criticism from educators and churches. Dr Kevin Donnelly, director of the Melbourne-based Education Standards Institute, writing in Quadrant magazine, said the new …
Burning holy books is wrong
To the dismay and horror of most Christians, the pastor of a tiny fringe church in Florida supervised the deliberate burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an, on March 20, an act that has unleashed a wave of retaliatory protests, burnings and even killings in Muslim-dominated countries. The NSW Council of …
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