Tag Archives: catholic social teachings

Laudato Si Action Platform

Commission Calls for Action on Indigenous Rights

10 December 2008

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has called for both the Federal and Queensland Governments to take action on the rights of Indigenous Australians.

In particular, it has called on the Federal Government to become a signatory to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and for the Queensland Government to act on the concerns of Indigenous people about the use of money from its “Stolen Wages” reparations Scheme and the Aboriginal Welfare Fund.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was of the highest priority to the Commission.

“On International Human Rights Day, the Commission wants to express its solidarity with Indigenous people who are still waiting for justice,” Mr Arndt said.

“After speaking with our Indigenous advisors, we urge the Federal Government to act quickly to become a signatory to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” he said.

“The Prime Minister promised to do this at last year’s election, but the Government has not done so yet,” he said.

“The Government was given an opportunity to show its support for the Declaration in the Senate in September, but did not do so,” he said.

“Our Indigenous advisors have also told us that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are very upset with the Queensland Government’s unwillingness to listen to them on the Stolen Wages issue,” he said.

“The great majority of Indigenous people consulted by the Government wanted it to use unclaimed funds in its reparations scheme to pay more money to Indigenous workers who had wages taken away from them and never given back,” he said.

“They do not want any of the money from the reparations scheme or the Aboriginal Welfare Fund being used to establish an education fund, but the Government has ignored them,” he said.

“Aboriginal workers have a right to be paid their wages in full,” he said.

“Every Indigenous child also has a right to get a decent education funded by the Government and not just a select few who get a scholarship funded out of Indigenous workers’ wages,” he said.

“The Government should not be taking money from funds put aside to pay Indigenous people what they are owed in wages and using it for other purposes,” he said.

“There is a lot of anger and hurt within Indigenous communities over this issue and the Government must listen,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Commission Urges Queensland Government to Act Quickly on Clothing Outworkers Protection

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Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has urged the Queensland Government to act quickly to proclaim a mandatory code of practice for outworkers in the clothing industry.

The Queensland Government legislated in 2005 to enable it to proclaim such a code and recently sought comment on a proposed code which it has developed.

The Commission has made a submission to the Government supporting the introduction of the code and urging the Government to proclaim it as soon as possible.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that the Commission had shown an interest for the last decade in better protection for clothing outworkers.

“One of the first things I did when I became the Commission’s Executive Officer in 2001 was to represent it at the official launch and signing of a voluntary Queensland code of practice for outworkers,” Mr Arndt said.

“The Commission also did a lot of work to ensure that special protections for outworkers were included in the former Coalition Government’s WorkChoices legislation in 2005 and its independent contractors legislation in 2006,” he said.

“Many of the people we are seeking protection for are vulnerable women who get paid very low rates for making garments at home,” he said.

“They often have unrealistic demands placed on them in terms of delivery times for orders,” he said.

“The proposed code means that there will be greater transparency in the complex production chain in the clothing industry,” he said.

“This transparency will help in tracking down unscrupulous contractors who are not paying outworkers adequately,” he said.

“The Commission’s submission argued that the code would also help in protecting these workers’ entitlements to health and safety protection,” he said.

“Outworkers suffer three times the rate of manual handling injuries as factory-based clothing workers,” he said.

“We think this is linked to their poor pay rates and unrealistic delivery times,” he said.

“The Commission’s submission stressed that outworkers had rights in relation to their working conditions and pay,” he said.

“These rights are essential to protect their human dignity which is a principle at the heart of the Church’s social teaching,” he said.

“We want Queensland to join New South Wales which has had a mandatory code in force since 2005 and South Australia which introduced a code last October,” he said.

“These workers should not be exploited and a mandatory code will help to stop this,” he said.

“It will also help ethical contractors who are looking after their workers because unscrupulous contractors won’t be able to undercut them by paying their workers below-award pay rates,” he said.

”This code is another step in efforts to provide vulnerable women with fair and just conditions,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Commission Calls for Action on Poverty

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Australian Catholic Bishops Social Justice Statement 2008

Friday 17 October 2008

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission called on Catholics to pressure political leaders to take action to end poverty in Australia and around the world.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, was speaking after leading Archdiocesan staff in pledging a commitment to action on world poverty in the grounds of the Cathedral of St Stephen on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Friday 17 October.

Similar gatherings, involving tens of millions of people, were held in parishes, schools, workplaces and communities around the world between 17 and 19 October to remind world leaders of their commitment to end world poverty and hunger.

“We gathered on the same day as the Prime Minister sat down with the leaders of Australian business to discuss responses to the current global financial crisis,” he said.

“We gathered to say that almost a billion people around the world are hungry and malnourished and that this is as important a crisis which demands urgent and substantial action,” he said.

“We must keep reminding our leaders that they made important promises at the United Nations in 2000 and that they must keep them for the sake of our suffering sisters and brothers,” he said.

Mr Arndt said that Catholics should also be asking our leaders to take concerted and sustained action to address the poverty which over two million Australians face,” he said.

“The Social Justice Sunday Statement of Australia’s Bishops indicates that poverty in Australia is a critical issue which needs sustained action and Catholics should be tirelessly advocating this,” Mr Arndt said.

Mr Arndt is a member of the Queensland Facilitating Committee for Anti-Poverty Week which coincides with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Committee helped community groups and agencies around the State to organize events and activities to raise awareness about poverty.

Anti-Poverty Week was launched by the Speaker of the Queensland Parliament, Mike Reynolds, at the Parliamentary Annexe earlier in the week (on Monday 13 October).

“The Bishops told us that much of poverty in Australia is structural which means it is caused by the way society and our economic system are organized,” he said.

“The Bishops urge us to be advocates for change which makes it possible for our fellow Australians to throw off the shackles of poverty and live dignified lives,” he said.

“I encourage Catholics who have not yet read this year’s Social Justice Sunday Statement to get a copy or read it on the internet and use it as a basis for action,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

Commission Appeals for Life of Bali Bombers

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Friday 1 August 2008

The Bali bombing memorial on the site of Paddy's Pub.

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has appealed for the lives of the Bali Bombers who may soon be executed.

The Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that this action was consistent with the Commission’s commitment to the Church’s Teaching on the death penalty.

Mr Arndt said that this appeal should in no way be seen as minimising the seriousness of the violence perpetrated by the bombers or the enormous personal pain and loss their actions have caused.

“We condemn the actions of the bombers as a gross violation of the dignity and rights of the victims of the bombing of nightclubs in Bali in 2002,” Mr Arndt said.

“Those who have lost family members and who live with injury and disability because of the bombings are entitled to on-going Government and community compassion and support in their efforts to deal with their loss and suffering,” he said.

“Those responsible for this crime deserve the most serious penalty, but this should fall short of the death penalty,” he said.

“The Commission has campaigned for the universal abolition of the death penalty around the world over the course of this year and we must take this action as a matter of principle,” he said.

“Capital punishment should not be used as revenge or retribution or as a deterrent,” he said.

“We must be consistent in our defence of human life, even in the case of people who are responsible for the most appalling actions,” he said.

“Both the Old and New Testaments guide us in this conviction,” he said.

“God ensured that Cain was punished severely for killing Abel, but God also protected him from any attempt to kill him in retribution,” he said.

“In John’s Gospel, Jesus stopped the execution of the woman caught in adultery by demanding that those who were without sin cast the first stone,” he said.

“We will write to the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and ask him to convey our appeal for the lives of the Bali Bombers to the Indonesian Government,” he said.

“We also ask Catholics to continue to send messages to their local MP, Senators, the Prime Minister and Government Ministers asking them to work for universal abolition of the death penalty,” he said.

“We also ask that Catholics continue to pray for the victims of crime and acts of terror, for those on death row and for their families,” he said.

The Commission’s petition asking for Government action on the issue will be lodged in the Senate at the end of August and further public action will accompany that event.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Commission Welcomes Visa Abolition Decision

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Media Release

Monday 19 May 2008

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has welcomed the Federal Government’s Budget announcement that temporary protection visas for refugees would be abolished.

In welcoming the decision, the Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that many Catholics in the Brisbane Archdiocese needed to be thanked for their efforts to promote the human rights of asylum seekers in recent years.

“Since 2002, the Commission has asked local Catholics to sign petitions and to write letters of support for a number of asylum seekers who were seeking Australia’s protection,” Mr Arndt said.

“Many Brisbane Catholics responded with great compassion for people like Zahra Alawi and Kibre Kebede and their efforts helped to gain protection for them,” he said.

“It is due to their efforts, in part, that Zahra and her family became Australian citizens last year and that Kibre will become a citizen this Thursday,” he said.

“Because of the compassion and generous hearts of many people, they no longer have to live in fear that they will be returned where they were persecuted,” he said.

“The abolition of temporary protection visas means that, once an asylum seeker is recognized as a refugee, they do not have to worry that they could be sent back to violence and persecution after their visa expires,” he said.

“They can get on with their lives, secure in the knowledge that they can continue to live in a country where they will be safe,” he said.

“Catholics should know that their efforts have helped to bring about this decision which gives some dignity back to people who seek our country’s help and protection,” he said.

“This work is very much part of our mission in the world,” he said.

Mr Arndt said that the Commission encouraged Catholics to continue to maintain an interest in the welfare of asylum seekers and refugees.

“We encourage everyone to get involved in activities during Refugee Week from June 16 to 22,” he said.

“We also hope that those who wrote letters of support for people like Zahra and Kibre will come to a special celebration at the end of August at which some of the refugees we have helped will be present,” he said.

“We are working with the Centre for Multicultural Pastoral Care to organize an event to say thank you to Catholics who helped us over the past few years,” he said.

“We also want them to have an opportunity to find out what is happening now for the refugees they helped,” he said.

“We also hope that we will have a chance in July for American Jesuit, Fr Mark McGregor, to present a film he produced on Latin American minors who sought asylum in the USA,” he said.

More details of these events will be announced in the next month.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

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NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

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For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right. The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

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Media Release

Monday 19 May 2008

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