2016 Forum Series: “Common wealth, common good”

24 February 2016: “Post Paris: Psychology of a New World Order”, Bishop George Browning

20 April 2016:  “Religion, Violence and the Peaceable Kingdom”, Rt Rev’d Professor Stephen Pickard

25 May 2016:  A Christian Vision for Tax Reform in Australia, Dr Brendan Long, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture

  • Audio recordings:
    • Dr Long’s address
    • Comment on the speech, Bishop George Browning
    • Question 1: Tax reform as a challenge to economic liberalism open to be accused of playing the politics of envy or dismissed as wowserism as have been church concerns about regulation of alcohol and gambling
    • Question 2: What is tax, and regressive, unfair nature of broad GST?
    • Question 3: Should we not first give attention to current distribution to those who do not need it rather than to redistribution?
    • Question 4: Better to use tax to nudge behaviour rather than tax everything.
    • Question 5:  Selective taxes such as on tobacco and exemption of GST on fresh food can benefit the poor.
    • Question 6: Why are politicians so scared of the GST?
    • Question 7: Taxes should serve the environment and people. Can we be more creative with taxes like a Tobin tax?
    • Question 8: Impact of Capital Gains Tax and Negative Gearing
    • Question 9: The Level of Taxation in Australia and opponents of change
    • Question 10: Why do we need to raise taxes further?
    • Question 11: Don’t tax avoidance and tax havens have a good effect?
    • Question 12: We should avoid taxation of the productive process.
    • Question 13: Which countries do taxation better than Australia and why?
    • Conclusion: Bishop George Browning

 21 July 2016: “What makes for the common good” Frank Brennan (Annual dinner forum)

  • Audio recordings:
    • Introduction: Bishop Stephen Pickard
    • Prof Brennan’s address
    • Question 1: What relevance has the common good to revenue and taxation such as the reductions in taxation of multinational companies in the context of a revenue shortfall?
    • Question 2: Australia and Observance of the international rule of law: China and South China sea dispute and Timor Gap dispute with Timor Leste.
    • Question 3: Why do politicians oppose the adoption of an Australian Human Rights Act?
    • Question 4: Common good and majority rule of democracy.
    • Question 5: The importance of hope in contrast to pessimism and optimism.
    • Question 6: How would the offer of sanctuary to refugees stand up in jurisdictions that have a human rights act?
    • Question 7: Securing a political consensus for closing offshore detention centres.
    • Question 8: The impact of the number of women in positions of authority on the common good.
    • Vote of Thanks: Prof Ingrid Moses.

21 September 21 July 2016: “Strategy, not charity: why we need effective aid now”, Helen Szoke, Chief Executive of Oxfam Australia

19 October 2016: “A Place at the Table: social justice in an ageing society” – Public Forum on the 2016-17 Social Justice Statement, Kevin Vassarotti, Richard Gray and Sr Colleen Clear rsj

  • Audio recordings:

8 November 2016:  Does Beauty say Adieu? The Call of Beauty in a Disfigured World. A performance in Four Acts on environmental degradation and climate change.  Canon Graeme Garrett and Dr Jan Morgan

  • Audio recordings:
    • Welcome: Bishop George Browning, Chairman, CES
    • Introduction: Rev Thorwald Lorenzen, President, CES
    • Introduction to the presentations: Canon Graeme Garrett
    • Act I, The Pieta: Dr Jan Morgan, Pastoral Care Educator
    • Act II, The Ocean: Canon Graeme Garrett
    • Act III, The Sheerwater: Dr Jan Morgan
    • Act IV, The Star Jump: Canon Graeme Garrett
    • Question 1: Impact of technology and virtual reality and whether we Christians stand condemned for our lack of guardianship of the rest of creation.
    • Question 2: Impact of habituation of degradation. How do we introduce appreciation of beauty in small things and revive a sense of wonderment?
    • Question 3: Distraction of technology in impeding people being in the present. If you were an artist what would you paint?
    • Question 4: How do we communicate wonderment and the appreciation of beauty to those preoccupied with survival?
    • Question 5: What would you write in a letter to Minister Josh Frydenberg to move him to take serious action on climate change?
    • Question 6: The challenge of climate change is spurring people and governments to work together.
    • Question 7: The image of the intrusion of alien plants in our perfect garden.
    • Final remarks and thanks: Rev Thorwald Lorenzen
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