Religion & Ethics Australia Daily

A twice-weekly public affairs review from the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College

No. 012, 23-25 November 2004  ² compiled by Rod Benson

News reports

Aboriginal issues

On footballer Malcolm Long’s protest walk from Melbourne to Canberra, The Australian’s leader argues “there is nothing to be gained from standing outside the political system. It sends a signal to other Aborigines that there is a prospect of progress in symbolic gestures . Practical reconciliation is now the main game.” Aust 24 Nov 04

Abortion

The abortion debate is “an act of futility” because a majority in the federal parliament will never legislate to discourage abortion, argues Joe de Bruyn. AFR 24 Nov 04

The abortion issue shows how John Howard governs as a realist and secular leader, writes Paul Kelly. Aust 24 Nov 04

Abuse – sexual

Sexual assault continues to be a problem due to a lack of respect for women in the family home and excessive television violence, NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said yesterday. Aust 23 Nov 04

The government should consider chemical castration for child sex offenders, NSW Opposition spokesman on justice Andrew Humpherson said yesterday. SMH 24 Nov 04

Aged care

Australia is hurtling toward a “demographic Armageddon,” requiring sweeping reforms to the delivery of health and aged care. Aust 25 Nov 04

Ageing

The Productivity Commission warns that the cost of Australia’s ageing population will be greater than federal government estimates in the 2002 Intergenerational Report. AFR 25 Nov 04

The AFR leader examines the Productivity Commission’s report on the economic implications of an ageing population. AFR 25 Nov 04

Australia will enjoy a golden era of income growth as wealthy baby boomers retire leaving a legacy of an efficient and growing economy, the Productivity Commission’s draft paper on the effects of an ageing population claims. Aust 25 Nov 04

The Australian’s leader examines the Productivity Commission’s report on the economic implications of an ageing population, offering suggestions for productivity and workforce participation. Aust 25 Nov 04

Australia’s booming aged population will halve economic growth in 20 years and leave governments with a $2200 billion budget hole over 40 years. SMH 25 Nov 04

Alcohol

Parents are the most likely suppliers of alcohol to high school students, undermining a $10 million government advertising campaign to cut binge drinking among teenagers. SMH 24 Nov 04

Anti-discrimination

The NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal found Sydney broadcasters John Laws and Steve Price guilty of vilifying homosexuals, but it is “far preferable to allow public opinion and market forces to regulate public speech than to involve official tribunals.” Aust 23 Nov 04

The Australian publishes four letters to the editor on vilification. Aust 24 Nov 04

Bible – general

Far fewer households in the UK now own Bibles than was the case fifty years ago, with an ICM Research poll revealing that 90 per cent of British adults owned a Bible in 1954 compared to 65 per cent today. Ekklesia

Bioethics – general

BioEdge editor Michael Cook suggests that, while Australia boasts three high-profile international bioethicists in Peter Singer, Philip Nitschke and Julian Savulescu, their (questionable) celebrity status does not mean they are authoritative guides on bioethics. The Age 22 Nov 04

Bioethics – stem cells

US scientists have used adult stem cells from bone marrow and brains to cure diabetes and repair damaged spinal cords in mice. SMH 23 Nov 04

Corporate governance

Visiting Canadian corporate governance expert Richard Leblanc says splitting the chairman and CEO’s role on a board is overrated and a waste of time. AFR 25 Nov 04

Debt

Australia has settled the terms for forgiving most of the $1 billion it is owed by Iraq. AFR 23 Nov 04

Drugs

The liberation of Afghanistan has led to its rebirth as a giant of the international heroin trade. SMH 23 Nov 04

Ethics – business – Australia

The directors of the foundation set up to compensate asbestos victims will move to appoint a provisional liquidator unless an urgent cash injection is made to fund claims. AFR 25 Nov 04

Ethics – business – general

Good values make good business sense, argues corporate social responsibility guru David Grayson. AFR 23 Nov 04

Ethics – government

Two federal departments spent almost $7 million without authorisation from parliament. AFR 24 Nov 04

Evangelism

Jews for Jesus has moved its national headquarters to the heart of Sydney’s Jewish community, and is accused of inappropriate proselytizing and misrepresentation of the Jewish faith. SMH 23 Nov 04

Family

Almost one in five lesbian couples in Australia had a child living with them, but most of these were born into a previous heterosexual relationship. SMH 24 Nov 04

Salt Shakers CEO Peter Stokes said the Australian Institute of Family Studies’ message that traditional family within marriage is on the demise is misleading. “[It] was set up by the Government to promote family but seems commited to promoting alternatives to the nuclear family and this report is no exception,” he said. Media release.

Marriage

Cohabiting before marriage is now the norm, with 72 per cent of those who married in 2001 having lived together before they married. SMH 24 Nov 04

Politics – Australia

Federal police last night cleared Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson of attempting to bribe independent MP Tony Windsor to quit politics. Aust 23 Nov 04

High Court judge Michael Kirby signaled last night that he was prepared to rein in the Howard government’s enhanced mandate, saying the rights of minorities were at risk of being abused. Aust 25 Nov 04

Pollution

Stephanie Peatling and Andrew Darby explore why only certain green issues enter the public consciousness.

SMH 25 Nov 04

Poverty

Americans wanting to help poor children appear more prone to spend their charity dollars within the US, according to a survey by Compassion International. “Americans often don’t understand the scope of the problem in developing countries,” said Dr Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International. About 25,000-30,000 children under the age of five die every day because of malnutrition and disease. Media release.

Privacy

Police should be banned from gathering DNA samples without the approval of a court. Aust 23 Nov 04

Sydney probation and parole officer Liz Munro made an unauthorized search of a criminal database to unearth a convicted child sex offender. The offender now wants a personal apology from Munro. SMH 23 Nov 04

In the wake of unauthorized accessing of Corrective Services records by Liz Munro, the SMH leader asks why such records are not encoded and restricted to those who need them. SMH 25 Nov 04

Reconciliation

The Baptist Bishop of Georgia, Malkhaz Songulashvili, has been reconciled to his worst enemy, former Orthodox Priest Basil Mkalasvishvili, responsible for burning Bibles in front of a Baptist church in Tbilisi in February 2002 and for various violent attacks on Baptist worshippers in 2003. Idea 23 Nov 04

Religious liberty

Kopassus, the Indonesian Special Forces, may be fomenting unrest in West Papua that would justify a massacre of indigenous Papuans. The President of the Fellowship of Baptist Churches in Papua, Pastor Socrates Sofyan Yoman, said that on 14 September, Kopassus killed Rev Eleesa Tabuni in Mulia. Then a helicopter fired on Papuans gathering food in a garden, killing two. “Twenty-two churches empty now,” says Yoman. “People [estimated at 50,000]

run to the mountains. Now they need food.” Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin 24 Nov 04

Roman Catholic Church

Africa could ease the acute shortage of Catholic priests in Europe by sending clergy to “re-evangelise the West” under new proposals. SMH 25 Nov 04

Secularism

Responding to the Vatican’s Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s attack on secularism, Chris McGillion argues that advances in human rights and liberal democracy brought about by secular states, and respect for difference, should be celebrated as much by those who enjoy the liberty to hold their religious beliefs as by anyone else. SMH 24 Nov 04

Smoking

Almost 90 per cent of Australian secondary school children had consumed alcohol, and a quarter had used cannabis, but tobacco smoking had dropped to its lowest level in 20 years, a government survey found. Aust 24 Nov 04

Social justice

The next design frontier is homewares with a social conscience, writes Nick Galvin. SMH Domain 25 Nov 04

Trade

Free and fair trade will increase prosperity in the developing and developed world, argues Herbert Oberhaensli. AFR 24 Nov 04

Violence

US Congress members have warned retail stores to enforce age restrictions on Andreas and Halo 2. The US-based Interfaith Center also singled out Halo 2 for packaging excessive violence, racial profiling and brutality towards women in a way that could appeal to children. SMH 25 Nov 04

War crimes

Alleging war crimes where none may exist is morally repugnant and legally wrong, argues Jane Albrechtsen, referring to the US marine who shot dead a wounded and unarmed Iraqi in a Falluja mosque. Aust 24 Nov 04

Workplace safety

State industrial law makes a mockery of the principles of justice, argues Institute of Public Affairs consultant Ken Phillips. AFR 23 Nov 04

Other items of interest

“Unravelling The Da Vinci Code and Gnosticism” – recording of a lecture given by Ben Witherington III at Morling College, Sydney, 23 August 2004 (12.3 Mb). http://baptistnsw.asn.au/ministry/Resources/CMS_files/Da_Vinci_Code_Lecture.mp3

“The interview with God” – an anonymous poem enhanced by music and images of nature that may be used for worship or evangelism – if you can pause to appreciate it!

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/presentation.html

As the Christmas season approaches, Richard Shadinger observes that several Christmas carols convey a strong biblical message of social justice and peace. http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=5008

Rick Jordan writes about ethical problems that may arise when fundamentalist pastors with a covert reform agenda assume interim ministries in Baptist churches in the US.

http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=5019

READ is published by the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College, 120 Herring Rd, Eastwood NSW 2122 AUSTRALIA. Telephone (02) 9878 0201. The content of READ and the views expressed in articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College or the Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT. Subscription is free. To subscribe, email with the words “subscribe to READ” in the subject line. Use the same email address to request more information. Copies of original articles are available on request. Abbreviations: AFR=The Australian Financial Review; Aust=The Australian; SMH=The Sydney Morning Herald.