MEDIA RELEASE Sydney, Friday, 27th Aug 2010
Cutting Edge of Climate Change - Still The Moral Challenge
Patrick Dodson to lead important delegation to Kiribati

The Edmund Rice Centre in conjunction with the Pacific Calling Partnership next week will be taking a delegation of Australian community leaders to Kiribati. The delegation will be led by one of the most senior Indigenous leaders in Australia Patrick Dodson and ERC director Phil Glendenning, and will include representatives from Indigenous communities, the arts, media and education.

“The sad reality is that the impact of Ms Gillard’s speech will be to drive the Coalition's response even further to the right. This is not the leadership the country needs. In ethical terms, Ms. Gillard has ensured this debate becomes a race to the bottom.”

ERC Director, Phil Glendenning

Edmund Rice Centre director, Phil Glendenning, expressed serious concerns today at both the content and language used by Prime-Minister Julia Gillard in her address this morning on the Government's policy response to asylum-seekers.

Policy takes dangerous risks with vulnerable lives” – Edmund Rice Centre

Researchers at the Edmund Rice Centre this evening condemned the asylum seeker policy announced today by the Coalition, renouncing it as a return to the worst strategies of the past, with potential dire consequences.

“This policy is fundamentally flawed,” said Edmund Rice Centre director, Phil Glendenning. “It takes dangerous risks with vulnerable lives.”

“To return to such a policy with such little regard for human life - this time with full knowledge of the implications – would mark a new low-point in Australian national life," he stated.

"It is our own humanity that is demeaned, by our failure to respond to the humanity of our vulnerable neighbours.”

Copenhagen: Participation by Australian human rights centre at UN Summit

Edmund Rice Centre director, Phil Glendenning, today issued an urgent appeal from Copenhagen calling Australians to make known to the Government the need for urgent and drastic action on climate change.

"We can't let ourselves fall in the trap of self-interested and cynical hard-heartedness,” he said. “If we do so as a nation, then it is our own humanity that is demeaned by our failure to respond to the humanity of our vulnerable neighbours.”

MEDIA RELEASE   Sydney, Wednesday, 19th May 2010

One year after the war Sri Lanka is not safe

Edmund Rice Centre calls for Australia to suspend returns to Sri Lanka

On the first anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, Edmund Rice Centre director, Phil Glendenning, who recently returned from Sri Lanka, said tonight that the country is not safe for deported asylum seekers.

“The position taken by Minister Evans yesterday - in urging caution about returning asylum seekers connected to the Tamil Tigers - is a very sound and welcome development. However, based on our experience, similar reservations need to be
extended to all those who left Sri Lanka by unauthorized means,” Mr Glendenning said.

On the 9th April, 2010, delegates from the Edmund Rice Centre (ERC) met with Ms Virginia Judge, the Minister for Fair Trading and Arts, and local member for Strathfield , to present to her the declaration from the food summit last year organised by the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance. The delegates were Ms Jill Finnane, eco-justice coordinator, Father Claude Mostowik msc, research and publications officer, and Mr Matthew Balane research/writer volunteer. The meeting’s primary goal was to determine what Ms Judge could do to support the goals of the SFFA both within the government and within the Labor Party.

On the 26 March 2010, in recognition of Earth hour staff members of the Edmund Rice Centre turned off all computers and lights, and assembled under the trees for an hour of sharing and reflection. Cassandra Gibbs, the Indigenous Education officer, led staff in a reflective exercise where each pencilled on recycled paper words or pictures’ expressing their individual hopes for the Earth – globally, nationally, personally or at the ERC. Then, these sheets of paper were inserted into a box wrapped with the Earth Charter label. March of next year the same box will be opened and staff will reflect on how much they have been able to bring about.

The Edmund Rice Centre (ERC) today called for a definitive end to the sort of debate that treats asylum seekers as political footballs - willfully tossed around with the sole aim of gaining a team advantage in the game of politics.

This stand-off in Indonesia demeans Australia in the eyes of the world, and diminishes us as a people. It is ugly politics that under a discourse of 'deterrence' uses vulnerable people to send a message to others who simply are not listening,” said ERC Director, Phil Glendenning.

The current political debate is wrong because it demonises the vulnerable, it employs the ugly tactics of petty partisan race-politics. This is dog-whistle stuff which summons up the darkest fears that reside within Australians' hearts historically.” he said.

 Artwork for publication: ERC Director Phil Glendenning

The Edmund Rice Centre (ERC) has condemned the Federal Liberal Party’s television ad campaign broadcast in Western Australia and Queensland on Sunday night – calling for an immediate withdrawal of the campaign.

"This ad campaign is a prime-time attack on asylum-seekers, and can only be regarded as another low in Australian politics,” said ERC Director, Phil Glendenning.

“Australia and Australians have moved on from being frightened by images of extensive arrows coming from our north to represent invading hordes,” Mr Glendenning said.

Against the background of a small asylum-seeker boat in open ocean, the ads show a map upon which five large red arrows progressively stream towards Australia from the north-west – with the arrows bearing the names: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

Edmund Rice Centre's grave concern for immigration detainees

Alarm at suspension in processing of asylum claims

The Edmund Rice Centre today made clear its grave concern at the Australian
Government's announcement of suspensions in processing of some asylum seeker
claims - three months for Sri Lankan claimants and six months for Afghani claimants