source : the age
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CLERICAL ABUSE
That the Christian Brothers, an order of the Catholic Church, indicates that there is no money left for victims of clerical abuse is a disgrace. (″Christian Brothers claim no money left to pay sex-abuse survivors″, 23/6.)
An Age investigation (″Catholic Inc. What the Church is really worth″, 12/2/18) found that the Australian Catholic Church owns real estate and other assets in Australia to the estimated value of $30 billion.
But by clever legal manoeuvres, each diocese and order is effectively independent and the overarching Catholic system and avoids responsibility.
Then, to add insult to injury we, as taxpayers, provide them with tax-free status and they just continue on their merry way. To ensure appropriate recompense to the many individuals traumatised by the Catholic system, there must be a better response public response to ensure that justice is provided.
Denise Stevens, St Kilda
Fair compensation must be paid to victims
The Catholic Church has found another way to protect itself from paying realistic compensation to the victims of its ″Christian Brothers″. (The 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Abuse found 22 per cent of these ″brothers″ were alleged sexual predators between 1950 and 2010.)
The ″brothers″ offloaded their assets to Edmund Rice Education Australia in 2013 which has revenues of $1 billion today, and are now crying poor.
Can I suggest that parents and students of these educational facilities which teach, and indeed, insist on high moral principles and boast about the Catholic’s sense of social justice make it known to their leaders that such hypocrisy, which would have led to the closure of any other public institution, is unacceptable and that fair compensation should be paid to every one of its victims.
Julian Guy, Mt Eliza
Church seeks to avoid its responsibilities
Re Cameron Houston and Caroline Schelle’s report on the Christian Brothers order (23/6), How utterly disgraceful the Catholic Church yet again tries to avoid responsibility (and compensation) for victims of abuse.
Rosslyn Jennings, North Melbourne
Behaving like a multinational
It beggars belief that the Christian Brothers, a part of the massively affluent Catholic Church, is claiming to be on the edge of financial collapse thereby leaving victims of sexual abuse without compensation.
It impresses upon me once more that the Catholic Church is simply a multinational corporation that operates exactly like any other corporation when it comes to protecting its assets.
The Christian Brothers is merely a subsidiary and should be treated as such. The Catholic Church as the parent company should be required to meet any shortfall. Anything else would be insincere to their teachings at best, and corporate style bastardy at worst.
Stephen Farrelly, Donvale
Moral credibility in question
Corporate moves mean that the Christian Brothers may not have any money to pay abuse survivors. The Catholic Church must step in and pay any owed monies if it wishes to retain any shred of moral credibility.
If it does not, then strip it of its tax exemption and use the money saved to pay survivors.
Ross Hudson, Mount Martha
THE FORUM
Paying dues
Your correspondent (Letters, 23/6) expresses his disappointment at the unfairness of ″non-unionised teachers not heard″ in response to member rejection of the recent EBA proposal. He should ″get real″.
The 58 per cent ″No″ vote from approximately 60,000 Australian Education Union members is a true reflection of member discontent with the deal, the way it was negotiated, and the build-up of angst from a history of poorly negotiated agreements.
Assuming your correspondent is a non-union member in the Victorian education workforce, he will get a chance to vote on the agreement when it is presented under the auspices of the Fair Work Act, assuming that has proceeded with AEU member approval. Eventually, the government will put the agreement to all staff.
In the interim, I suggest he pays his dues and joins the union so as to contribute to fair debate, stops bleating about ″hardliners″ pushing agendas, and non-unionised teachers not
being heard. The ″hardliners″ he refers to are people he probably works with, and who may well care more deeply about achieving a fair result than he does.
Marshall Toohey, Fairfield
Don’t pay, don’t complain
Re ″Non-unionised teachers not heard″ (Letters, 23/6): Non-members get a free ride. They happily sit back and accept the pay rises and other benefits hard-won by often difficult and prolonged union negotiation and action.
Union members pay a substantial annual fee to support the union in its endeavours to maintain working conditions. If employees choose not to be members, they can hardly complain when union decisions don’t go their way.
Bruce Atkin, Yarram
State out of touch
As a parent with two boys at a state primary school in regional Victoria, I am deeply frustrated and disappointed with the state government’s utter contempt for our teachers.
The fact that 58 per cent of teachers voted ″no″ to a deal that included some reasonable wage increases suggests that working conditions and morale in our schools have never been so low.
Education Minister Ben Carroll’s deeply offensive statement that he will “not be rushing back to the negotiating table” shows a government completely out of touch with the community.
As the minister for education, he should be champing at the bit to get this deal done.
His actions should demonstrate that the Labor government actually values education; that they actually want a state where the best and the brightest compete against each other to apply for jobs to teach our children, rather than the reality, where teaching jobs in regional Victoria sit unfilled for term after term, and students are left with a revolving door of casual relief teachers trying to fill the gaps.
Steph Davidson, San Remo
Unsafe in the world
Peter Hartcher’s analysis of the latest Lowy poll (″Australia the frightened country″, 23/6) essentially concludes we should buckle up for a rough ride, and along the way denigrates Paul Keating and Bob Carr as apologists for the Chinese Communist Party – rather than having genuine concerns regarding the US alliance and AUKUS locking Australia into armed conflict with China if the United States chooses to start such a conflict.
Meanwhile, the poll results show a trend in Australian opinion away from unswerving support for the US alliance.
The poll finds that for the first time, the majority of Australians feel unsafe in the world. What it doesn’t investigate is the range of options and approaches that might make us feel safer.
An arms race that involves Australian taxpayers forking out $33 million every day for the next 30 years on AUKUS while our diplomatic and development efforts in the region are, at best, tepid is not one them.
Bill Forrest, Princes Hill
Climate worry missing
Peter Hartcher (23/6) lists our perceived threats as a global economic downturn, authoritarian states, terrorism and a possible US-China war. Frighteningly, global warming does not even rate a mention.
Has that threat dropped off the radar, to our great peril?
Phil Labrum, Trentham
Trust in politicians
The Liberal candidate for Bass has been castigating the state government for not doing more to keep the MotoGP and the Superbikes events at Phillip Island. Given the event owners quite clearly and unequivocally stated they wanted an urban circuit, not a country circuit, it is difficult to see what the government could have done short of towing Phillip Island into Port Phillip Bay.
Just a small example perhaps of why people no longer trust what politicians say.
Louise Kloot, Doncaster
Volunteer barrier
Your correspondent suggests that there is nothing stopping well-qualified Boomers from volunteering (Letters, “Crocodile Tears”, 22/6). From my direct experience, there is a good reason.
Volunteers have no broad legal protections for bullying and harassment. I thought the new Compliance Code: Psychological Health (2025) in state legislation may have been helpful, however, volunteers are specifically excluded. The blurred lines of the legal status and rights of volunteers would make any volunteer, “well qualified” or not, carefully assess the risk.
Australian employees have experienced huge increases in workplace bullying and harassment claims. Psychological injury claims linked to bullying have increased by 75.7 per cent in the past year alone, according to Allianz Australia data. Bullying and harassment is evident in incorporated associations and not-for-profit organisations, too. However, the data is not widely documented.
Bruce Watson, Clifton Springs
Price drop dreams
A drop in housing prices of $100,000 will make the difference for some people to achieve the dream of home ownership instead of being lifelong renters. However, for many others, this reduction in highly inflated property prices will still not be enough.
I urge the government to address the imbalance in supply and demand that is at the core of the housing crisis. Use the tax savings from the changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing to build quality social and affordable bousing. Secondly, get off the population Ponzi scheme and plan an economy based on a sustainable population. We have already exceeded the planet’s carrying capacity.
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove
Make it mandatory
When will governments have the foresight and courage to make approval of a data centre contingent on it providing its own power and water sources? Wind and solar farms and desalination plants are not science fiction.
These could be on site or, where not practical, in different locations, as long as they provide compensatory power or water to the community. This is already happening in some places , but it needs to be mandatory, not voluntary.
Sue Cas, Ashwood
Prime ministerial record
Re “Labour to roll the dice after Brexit claims another PM”, (23/6): It is not a question of the length of the UK prime ministership, but what did they achieve in that time? In little over one term of government, Clement Attlee, among many other things, established the NHS and laid the basis for a modern post-war British society.
For Keir Starmer, ending austerity in Britain, resurrecting school breakfast clubs and raising more than 500, 000 children out of poverty is a record that will endure any naysayer’s analysis. (“Labour to roll the dice after Brexit claims another PM”, 23/6).
Anders Ross, Heidelberg
Looks over substance
Well said, Jo Pybus (″Where’s the tap? Why public bathrooms give me a sinking feeling″, 23/6).
As the parent of an adult special needs child with low vision and autism, wrapped up with various sensory challenges, your article struck a chord.
I sometimes struggle myself to work out where soap, water and hot air come out in public bathrooms. And that’s before the challenge of waving my hands in the right direction, at the right distance, and hoping that the stars align to ensure that I can leave with clean hands.
It can be literally impossible for my daughter to decipher the teeny, discreet symbols to tell her what is where. I won’t start on the issue of noisy hand dryers.
Public facilities must be practical for everyone, not just those of average height and
above, with 20-20 vision and a musician’s dexterity. As the population ages, surely, this must be the design priority.
If something is not accessible to all users, it doesn’t matter how fabulous it might look – it’s not doing its job.
Jennie Irving, Camberwell
Me, myself and I
Re “When did ‘My mate and I went to the game’ become “Me and my mate went to the game‴? (Letters, 23/6): Possibly just before it became “Myself and my mate went to the game”.
Deborah Morrison, Malvern East
SBS delivers
I recently heard a lot about SBS, including from one vocal critic. As a result, our family is more aware of SBS’s value than ever before. It’s a free and culturally rich source of entertainment, including extensive World Cup coverage, and diverse selections of SBS On Demand content.
For example, we recently finished a Hugh Jackman movie, followed by a Japanese romance. Perhaps it’s an example of an old saying? That there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Michael Radywonik, Moonee Ponds
AND ANOTHER THING
Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation speech was all class and humility. Unfortunately, it seems that to be a successful politician in the outrage economy you’re better off as a power-hungry charlatan.
Tim Wright, Point Lonsdale
George Brandis describes Starmer as having no personality (22/6). Pauline Hanson, who attends parliament sittings half the time, describes Australian workers as lazy. Tony Abbott calls the Albanese government the worst in history. ’Tis the season for irony.
Greg Abramovitch, Portarlington
Congratulations to the ALP and the Greens for working together on the tax overhaul and NDIS delays. Great to see what can be achieved on the progressive side of politics. More please.
Sharon Gardner-Drummond, Blackburn South
Donald Trump has changed the world order, possibly permanently, and it’s time people acknowledged this. America under Trump is not a reliable ally or partner. Nothing he says can be trusted. China poses much less of a threat.
Juliet Flesch, Kew
The threat of a 10-year jail sentence for whoever is the Lincoln reflection pool vandal? Case solved. Look no further than the White House.
Kim Kaye, Surrey Hills
Please, don’t denigrate Our Don, “The Donald” Bradman, by referring to Trump as “The Donald” (Letters, 23/6). Ours was a revered and classy legend, while the other Donald could be considered a different kettle of fish, altogether.
Tris Raouf, Hadfield
Brilliant encapsulation of One Nation (Letters, 23/6). Congratulations to cartoonist Megan Herbert.
Jane Ross, San Remo
People in Europe have a lot to learn about dealing with heatwaves. The photo of the huge crowd lining the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris (23/6) shows only two wearing hats.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn
Jo Pybus’ ″Evil designers of toilet humour″ (23/6) reminds me that the NGV always played the best chamber music in its toilets.
Robin Jensen, Castlemaine
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