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poverty

Overhead Shot of the Vatican

The Synod and Justice

Those who are committed to the Church’s social mission will be particularly interested in that section in the Synthesis Report of the first assembly of the Synod on a Synodal Church which considers the Church’s relationship with people who are poor.

A womans hands, holding a meagre amount of coins

Justice for People on Low Incomes

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has led a national campaign to urge the Federal Government to raise the rate of income support payments made to Australians on job seeker and some other payments. We update you on the campaign and the just released Budget.

A calculator and a pile of money

Minimum Wage Case Submission

The Australian Catholic Council on Employment Relations recently made a submission to the annual minimum case. It recommended a wage increase of 7.2% for Australia’s lowest paid workers. We look at some of the key points in the submission.

Opening Mass at the Federation of Catholic Bish

From the Director

Peter Arndt, Director of the Office reflects on Advent and particularly on seeing God with us each day. The hustle and bustle of this time of year can stop us seeing and hearing God in our day-to-day lives. He urges us to keep Christ in our celebrations of Christmas by remembering and including people excluded from society and our brother and sisters in the environment in our celebrations. Peter farewells Patrice Moriarty who is moving on from her support of the Office.

A close up picture of a section of a Christmas tree with a wooden ornament that says, "Merry Christmas".

Advent and Christmas Reflection

Peter Arndt, Director of the Office reflects on Advent and particularly on seeing God with us each day. The hustle and bustle of this time of year can stop us seeing and hearing God in our day-to-day lives. He urges us to keep Christ in our celebrations of Christmas by remembering and including people excluded from society and our brother and sisters in the environment in our celebrations. Peter farewells Patrice Moriarty who is moving on from her support of the Office.

A mother sits with her son look together at a piece of paper on a coffee table.

Update on the 2022-2023 Budget and Asylum Seekers

The Federal government released their 2022-2023 budget after the election. Although there is new funding available to speed up visa processing which is years behind, and there is a review on Australia’s multicultural policies and more support for people learning English, there was no commitment to permanency for those on temporary visas and no increased refugee intake.

Anti-Poverty Week logo on an aqua background. Text reads "16-22 October 2022. Anti-poverty week. 20 years action on poverty."

Anti-Poverty Week

Anti-Poverty week (16-22 October) is being observed this week, and we are being called on to raise awareness and taken action against poverty and organisations such as Vinnies Australia are calling on all parliamentarians to halving child poverty by 2030. Recent reports show 761,000 children live below the poverty line. Pope Francis’ message for World Day of the Poor (Nov 13) states, “This is the moment for us not to lose heart but to renew.”

A mother sit besides her son as they complete work at a table in a run down apartment.

End Temporary Protection

You are invited to contact your local Federal parliamentarians to join your voice with calls to end Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs). The federal government has committed to this however there is no timeline in place, meaning people seeking asylum continue to be in limbo. Advocates across the country are asking for this and for people seeking asylum to finally be granted permanent protection.