MORE than 50 organisations have stepped up pressure on the Rudd Government to begin consultation on human rights within three months and to ensure Australians from all walks of life are included in the process.

The Uniting Church, Amnesty International, the Australian Lawyers Alliance and GetUp! are among the groups that have sent an open letter to Kevin Rudd urging him to kickstart the consultation process. The groups want discussion to begin by December 10, the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Government has allocated $2.8million to cover the costs of a human rights consultation process. But it has not indicated when or in what form the consultation will occur.

The letter urges the Government to commit to an “open and fair” process that gives all Australians an opportunity to participate. It also calls on the Government to appoint an independent panel comprising “people from different walks of life”.

Nicola Berkovic | August 29, 2008 | The Australian

On 13 February 2008 the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd made an apology to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Australian Federal Government. If you didn’t get to see the apology on television these are some videos of the apology and the supporting speech made by Kevin Rudd.

The apology is broken up into three parts.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Another short video in response, titled The Apology, was made from some of the footage from the apology to the Stolen Generation.

Sojourners have created this downloadable small group study guide to look at Christians and the Environment.

Blurb: The Bible offers many images that emphasize the profound relation between God and the environment— from the importance of Sabbath in Genesis to Christ’s work in reconciling all creation to God. The Christian theology of “domination” has played a destructive role in the degradation of the environment, but the Christian theology of stewardship and sacred relationship between God, humans, and creation was also an essential element of the environmental movement.
Designed to spark discussion and thought about how to live out God’s call for justice in our world. Each session includes Sojourners articles, questions for discussion, and ideas for further study.
Link to Product

“… freedom to choose does not mean freedom to choose the consequences of our choice, for we are living in a universe, not a chaos: we can choose to do this or that, but the consequences of that choice will be governed by the laws of the universe in which we are. It is only if we use our freedom of choice–that is, our freedom to choose without coercion–to make choices in harmony with the reality of things–in harmony with what God is, with what we are and with what all other things are–that we achieve freedom in its sense as the fullness of being.” – Frank Sheed, Theology and Sanity

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.

- Robert F. Kennedy, in a speech in Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966. Today is the 40th anniversary of his assassination. (Source: Wikiquote )

The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God’s perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Meditations on the Cross

After hearing Jonathan and Sue Cook speak you may be interested in exploring further the Illabunda Village project. You can find out more details at their website for Illabunda Village.