Category Archives: Blog
The Confessional must not hide the criminal
I can understand why Premier Barry O’Farrell struggles with the fact that the Catholic Church might enable pedophiles to hide behind the secrecy of the Confessional. Barry, like most modern thinking people, sees the danger that represents. We in the western world have created a system of laws for our citizens to live within, a system of courts to dispense justice and a penal system for those society needs to punish or have protection from. In other words we have laws, courts, and gaols. Our… Read more »
Church abuse and a Royal Commission
What a sorry state of affairs. I guess this is what comes of decades of lies, obfuscation and cover-up. Average people have been asking me just how far Church loyalty lends itself to cover-up. How far does it stretch it’s tentacles into the upper reaches of other institutions like the police and politics? It’s a serious question when politicians pour cold water on the idea of serious investigations. Of course Barry O’Farrell has announced an inquiry – an inquiry into the way the police have… Read more »
Is aged care up to scratch?
Did you hear the reports that dementia patients were being drugged in nursing homes to make it easier for carers to deal with them. It’s a shocking story. Lateline on the ABC broke it. They revealed that conservatively thousands of dementia patients die each year from the affects of these anti-psychotic drugs. In fact one researcher suggested that as many as 6,000 patients a year might die. I really got mad watching the story. One family put their loved one into what they thought was… Read more »
The Olympics and hope
One of the great privileges of my life was to be an Olympic torch bearer for both the Sydney Olympic Games and the Sydney Para-Olympic Games in 2000. I still remember Sydney during the Games. For that period it seemed everybody forgot their woes and a real bond of friendship and hope developed that bathed the city in a warm glow. When the day arrived for me to carry the torch I was surprised at how many people came out to watch. It was as… Read more »
Graffiti – art or vandalism?
Two articles about graffiti really caught my eye this week. The first one appeared in our local paper as a letter from a resident, and I quote her: “On my Monday walk into Ashfield (a mere 4 blocks) I walked past at least 20 sites of fresh graffiti, tagging on houses, fences, Ashfield railway underpass and Croydon Station – some tags as large as a metre square”. She continued “As I understand it, graffiti photo databases can assist police in potentially identifying offenders (by their… Read more »
Closure of the Drug Court
Well did you know that a special court designed to divert young offenders from prison has been quietly shut down by the NSW government. The Drug Court was closed on the 1st of July after 12 years of operation. It was designed to give offenders aged between 14 and 18 a chance to avoid going to jail. In other words, it was intended to stop these kids starting down the road to serious crime. The government questioned its effectiveness, but the Salvation army have come… Read more »
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