A crisis of confidence
More disturbing than the revelations of political bias in sports grants by Bridget McKenzie is the failure of the Prime Minister to lead according to Australian values.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the wake of Australia Day when so much is said about the response of communities, we have good reason to have a crisis of confidence in our institutions. Scott Morrison who continually references faith-based authority is revealed with feet of clay, failing the pub test, failing the pulpit test, and failing any test that relates to integrity. The accepted levels of corruption within the Australian government should be a matter of national shame.
The vision of our national leader with Gina Rinehart and the American president, the steady progress of the Adani agenda, the meeting with religious freedom fighters in Canberra and his failure to meet with fire chiefs, yell an ugly anthem of bias and compromise. Is it really necessary to mount a royal commission in order to give courage to our federal leaders to make any decisions based on justice and fairness?
It is outrageous to hear deference to Indigenous wisdom in back-burning to preserve the environment, while Indigenous demands for justice and throttling the Uluru statement and denying constitutional recognition are totally ignored. The sudden fascination with mental health concerns in the wake of the fires seem totally beyond the vision of our leaders when it comes to the mental health impact of religious discrimination toward minorities, the Constitution and invisibility of our first peoples or the impact of incarceration on refugee adults and children.
Thrown together in the damper mix with the appalling media ownership landscape and the endangered species of investigative journalism with a national broadcaster under continual attack, Australian communities will do well to cultivate that national attribute of cynicism when our so-called leaders approach the podium.
There are all sorts of crises across Australia, not the least the failure to acknowledge the real fire at the heart of the smoke that continues to rise above the narrative of those elected but not trusted to lead.
Father Peter MacLeod-Miller, St Matthew's Anglican Church
Learn from our mistakes
As Australia Day fades for another year, let us learn from our ancestors' mistakes of the past regarding treatment of our First Nation People.
We have said sorry and there are some impressive schemes out there assisting young Aboriginal people to learn about and re-connect with their cultures.
The recent catastrophic bushfires have left our native flora and fauna absolutely decimated. Let us not repeat the same mistakes of the past of thinking that we have superior knowledge of dealing with these ancient and precious resources that we are custodians of.
Irrespective of our different ideas, let us all work together with all who have the knowledge to better manage our climate and its impact into the future, including traditional land owners and those with local knowledge.
The last thing we need is another sorry day for our native species, held at a sanctuary where only endangered species survive.