West End Community Justice

A lecture which has been a significant contribution to the discussion about our response as a church to the issue of Indigenous dispossession and injustice. This is a scholarly biblical exploration of the history of this country and the implications for the church.

Dr Peter Adam is an Anglican minister and Principal of Ridley Melbourne, Theological College. The DVD of this lecture is now available. For more information on how to access the DVD or the text of the lecture Click Here.

See below the trailer for a recently released documentary about the 2007 Philippines Election. For more information or to purchase a copy go to the website Click Here. Check back soon for an interview with the Director, Jason Bray.

The Government has made some significant changes to asylum seeker policy. Please find a briefing on the suspension of processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers below. Please feel free to distribute this amongst members of your congregation or community and encourage people to write or email the Ministers named.

Asylum Seeker Briefing

For a links to the Uniting Church Media Releases click on the links below:

No more land of the ‘fair go’ for asylum seekers

Uniting Church condemns suspension of Afghan, Sri Lankan visas

For the join media release from the Australian Government Click Here

For a copy of the transcript of the press conference Click Here

If you would like to contact your local member about this issue Click Here to find their details.

The electorates and members in the Moreton Rivers Presbytery are:

Brisbane, The Hon Arch Bevis MP (ALP)

Griffith, The Hon Kevin Rudd MP (ALP)

Lilley, The Hon Wayne Swan MP (ALP)

Bonner, Ms Kerry Rae MP (ALP)

Petrie, Mrs Yvette Darth MP (ALP)

Dickson, The Hon Peter Dutton MP (LNP)

Longman, Mr Jon Sullivan MP (ALP)

Nationwide rallies on this issue are currently being arranged, stay in touch here for more information.

On 11 April the West End Uniting Church and the Progressive Spirituality Network hosted a lecture by Dr Libby Connors a Senior Lecturer from the University of Southern Queensland.

The lecture was entitled Aboriginal Sovereignty and the colonisation of South East Queensland – a history of conflict.

A podcast of the lecture is available below:

Dr Libby Connors Lecture Hi (15Mb) Low (7Mb) (31mins)

A version of the lecture is also available in print here.

A conversation followed this lecture. Please come back soon for highlights of that conversation.

For information on some of the resources mentioned during the lecture and discussion see below:

The Secret War: A True History of Queensland’s Native Police by Jonathan Richards

Professor Henry Reynolds

• Aborigines and Settlers: the Australian Experience, 1788–1939 (ed) (1972)
• The Other Side of the Frontier : Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia (1981) ISBN 0-14-022475-0
• Frontier; Aborigines, Settlers and Land (1987) ISBN 0-04-994005-8
• Dispossession; Black Australia and White Invaders (1989) ISBN 1-86448-141-2
• With the White People (1990) ISBN 0-14-012834-4
• Race Relations in North Queensland (1993) (ed) ISBN 0-86443-484-7
• Aboriginal Sovereignty: Reflections on Race, State and Nation (1996) ISBN 1-86373-969-6
• This Whispering in Our Hearts (1998) ISBN 1-86448-581-7
• Why Weren’t We Told? (2000) ISBN 0-14-027842-7
• Black Pioneers (2000) ISBN 0-14-029820-7
• An Indelible Stain? The Question of Genocide in Australia’s History (2001) ISBN 0-670-91220-4
• The Law Of The Land (2003) ISBN 0-14-100642-0
• Fate of a Free People (2004) ISBN 0-14-300237-6