The story goes on

As part of GetUp's Reconciliation meetings tonight (see details of ours here) participants will be asked to share any stories.
Hopefully this is an exercise in listening rather than grandstanding, which would seem to me to be part of the fundamental principles of reconciliation, something I think John Howard didn't get easily. The image, that stays imprinted with many of us, of him thumping the lectern at the Melbourne reconciliation conferenece (see a YouTube reflection on it here) is hideous. And gave a defiunitive meaning to the idea of 'tub thumping'.
So today I have been thinking how scant my 'story' is:

• The only Australian my father knew when we came here 40 years ago was an aboriginal manwho had played rugby with a local English league team, he was working quietly in the town of Whyalla where we came to live
• I am totally unaware of any aboriginal kids who were in the post year 10 classes at Whyalla High School...that may be because I was streamed academically ...but even that speaks
• In the early 70s I didn't come across any aboriginal students at eitherAdelaide University, or Adelaide CAE and certainly not at that bastion of elitism, St Mark's College
• There were no aboriginal teachers or aides at any of the large high schools in which I taught.
• There were a few students, but, I suspect, they were less represented than they should have been
• None of this says anything other than what I might have observed, and therefore says as much about me as anyone else.

I am afraid my time at theological college is not much better. I don't ever recall ministry with aboriginal people being discussed, let alone presented.
There was one Torres Strait Islander student and I was pleased to help him with some language development. In reality we had more exposure to the South Pacific and Asia than to local indigenous culture.Neither of my training parishes had any contact with indigenous people
In my first parish there were aboriginal people, but they had little to do with Church. One Ngarriendjeri woman in our small congregation.
I then didn't have much to do with aboriginal issues until I worked at St Paul's Centre where part of our watching was to promote aboriginal interests in all the fields of interest we were operating.
So I met some good people working with aboriginal social issues, promoting aboriginal interests in finance and small business, and in trying to address some fo the issues of homelessness and dispossession in the city.
My current parish has the dubious honour of having one of those places of shame in its midst, yet it has become a focus for galvanising community spirit and hopefully moving middle-class endearment and apathy to something like social action. That place, Colebrook Home, (something of the story here) is a mixed blessing. Whilst, no doubt, saving the lives of some it destroyed others. I remember the chilling photograph the day the memorial was opened and hearing one of the fine women saying of a photographic display....."None of the men in those photos are still alive!"
How little I have done, and how much I could have done. Perhaps I can try a little harder

Ongoing Reconciliation

We (friend Cath, Sue and I) are hosting a Reconciliation meeting on Tuesday 29th at 7 p.m. These are being promoted by activist group GetUp, which seeks to ensure genuine grass roots political action.
After the historic apology it would seem important that there is at least some talk about next steps.
So if you would like to come then you can take a look here (Cath, Sue and Stephen's GetTogether)

Here's a clever little thing

Well I'm not pretending that Get Up is not a front for the Trotskyites, but I am sure that filling in their questionnaire about how to determine who you really want to vote for should at the very least amuse you in this torturous election campaign

Go here http://www.howshouldivote.com.au/ to find your best fit. What a hoot!

Get up to that Senate

I have been interestedted to be included on Get Up's mailing list largely because I am pretty disillusioned with traditional party politics.
Get Up is an interesting phenomenon (and may yet prove to be more partisan than it claims to be), in our two party system neither of the major parties likes the suggestion that there should be a genuine third, fourth or fifth voice.
This seems to me be undemocratic!
Democracy is not about hearing two voices, it is about hearing the voice of the people who comprise the democracy. Some of those voices are easy to hear. They are articulate, dominant, rich. They are privileged, educated and entrenched.
Some, many certainly, perhaps even most, find it difficult to make their voice heard. The infamous Richard Nixon used the term "silent majority" and perhaps that is a good way to characterise what is a political reality.
In such a system a bicameral (two chamber) parliament has its part to play. In Australia the Senate has been touted as protecting States' Rights. Though in latter years it has perhaps given a voice to the disillusioned, who find that neither of the major parties adequately expresses their position.
The two major parties seemingly hate the Senate, because it has so often stood in their way. Such a possibility occurred when the Coalition fluked a majority in bth houses at the last election. They then presumed to pass their raft of IR laws which they had not (it would seem to me) put to the people!
This, I suspect, will play no small part in their downfall if and when the next election is called.

Pray it may be today or tomorrow...but surely no longer!

Any way, into this comes the innovative Get up. Who have with innovative aplomb invited us to share in the democratic process in a way never before seen. Explore their site and see if it apeal to you (here) It must have the Rudds and the Howards quaking.
So we might just go along on Friday:

You're invited GetUp's "Save Our Senate" Town Hall Forum at the Adelaide Museum
at 12:30pm this Friday 5 October, including Senators Natasha Stott-Despoja and
Bob Brown in a frank discussion of the importance of our house of review and how
it has changed since the Coalition won control. Seats are limited so be sure to
RSVP now - and invite your friends and family: