Last Thursday, our Director 'Alopi Latukefu met with Professor Peter Yu to discuss next steps in the Murru Waaru agenda on First Nations economic empowerment and the implementation of the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart and what role the Edmund Rice Centre might play in future with its work with First Nations. Professor Yu apart from his current role as head of the First Nations Portfolio has had a storied career promoting and prosecuting the rights of First Nations in Australia whether labour, land, political or economic. His early work in Noonkanbah and with the Kimberley Land Council is part of a generational wisdom and experience that should not only be celebrated but learned from by the next generation.

26^th Sunday of the Year

Migrant and Refugee Sunday

It seems that even in the wilderness, the people fleeing slavery for a land that is unknown, there is a call for Moses and the people to share power and curb their desire for excess that only results in division. The Psalmist declares that God’s laws guide the people in ways that mirror God’s justice towards them. In the gospel, Jesus calls his disciples to align themselves with his most vulnerable followers and make extreme choices to ensure communal well-being. It is often said that what one sees depends on where one stands whether it be colonised, occupied, outcasts in society, poor or among the powerful. It also depends on remembering what we have experienced, who we are and where we want to be as humans. Often texts of people who have been oppressed or dominated become texts of domination when used by powerful interests or when oppressed people forget that it was in their vulnerability, not their strength, that God was near them.

New strategies are needed to help youth at risk

From the evidence gathered over the last 20-30 years, professionals have seen the need for new strategies to help youth at risk: early intervention, provision of wrap- around services and the provision of alternative models of programs/ schooling. Those places that have committed to adopting these strategies have seen long-term reduction in youth crime. The cycle of crime can be broken. With the right interventions, young people can embark on different pathways that do not involve crime. Not only does the young person benefit, but so does the whole community. There are no “quick fixes” to youth crime. Societies and governments will need to have a long-term commitment to effective, evidence-based solutions.

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