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I am struck by lurid online comment on whether Aussie troops should go or stay in Afghanistan, a miasma of old-left vs new-right trench exchanges, armchair military strategists and conspiracy theorists. As in the national game of Buzkashi, Afghanistan is a goat carcass fought over by a gaggle of teams.
Last week CEOs across Australia 'slept out' to raise awareness and funds for homelessness. The kindness expressed through such charity makes us a richer nation. But charity is no substitute for the justice needed to prevent homelessness.
If a 'fiscally responsible Budget' can increase spending on Australia's representatives in elite sports by $237 million, it is hard to imagine that there is not room somewhere for our unemployed to eat a little better.
There are widespread calls for the stimulus measures to be wound back as the Australian economy emerges from the global economic crisis. It might be better in this year's and subsequent budgets to continue the economic stimulus, but focused on our most disadvantaged communities.
Just as architecture plays a role in community building, community building is important to architects looking to develop as creative innovators. A new breed of public spaces is helping put the flesh and blood back into 'community'.
Australia has spent the past decade in a consumer frenzy, while social infrastructure vital to our wellbeing has been neglected. The Government's belated $40 billion National Broadband Network will have many long-term benefits.
The $3 billion blowout in Federal Government spending on disability pensions highlights the financial side of a crisis in our midst. The story of Jason, a relative of mine who is an addict and on a disability pension, reveals a personal side.
Some of the soup van's clients collect cans to sell to a scrap dealer. The work supplements their welfare income and provides a sense of fulfillment. Since the global market crash business has been slow: 'China doesn't want aluminium now.'
The housing crisis is here, but its effects are just beginning to be realised. A 'common equity' model suggests an alternative means of home ownership that excludes profit-driven banks and lenders, so that housing becomes a right rather than a privilege of the privileged. (June 2008)
The outcomes of the G20 meeting this month demonstrate the limited vision of many of the world's politicians in confronting the global financial crisis. If our leaders can't imagine a different future, it is up to us to do so.
The 'trickle down' of wealth proclaimed by neo-liberalism is debatable, and hardships flowing from sub-prime activities descend on the disadvantaged with the finesse of a freight train. Some economists have demanded the GDP measure be replaced by goods and services data that promote the common good.
Many low-paid workers experience stress and illness due to jobs that are dangerous, arduous or powerless. Perhaps it is they who should be compensated with higher pay, rather than those who perform interesting, high-status work.
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