Communities in Control

"The year is 2030. On behalf of the Australian people the Prime Minister apologises to refugees, now resettled in Australia and elsewhere, for the conditions they were forced to endure in offshore detention camps. As Australians, we reflect. How could we allow this to happen? What could we have done to stop it?"

"The year is 2030. On behalf of the Australian people the Prime Minister apologises to refugees, now resettled in Australia and elsewhere, for the conditions they were forced to endure in offshore detention camps. As Australians, we reflect. How could we allow this to happen? What could we have done to stop it?"

“Most of us want to act ethically, but it's not always that simple, amiright? We start with the best of intentions but then we bang up against the realities of what the boss wants, the clients are shouting at us, the kids need us to get home ("stat!"), we have to sort out an issue with the plumbing, and we haven't had a proper holiday in a thousand years. American leadership guru Mary Gentile knows all about it. She's pioneered a leadership development approach, Giving Voice to Values, that starts from the assumption that most can take to lea over, around or through the barriers that inevitable arise along the way between our ethical intentions and our actions."

“Sometimes, those who try to change the world for the better are forced to deal with criticism from those who would much rather things stayed the same. Professor Gillian Triggs' five-year stint at the helm of Australia's human rights watchdog exemplifies this: her relentless pursuit of justice, particularly in relation to children in detention, was met with political pressure to fall back. We all need to ignore the critics if we are to lead change."

“Weighing the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary Australian society, Hugh Mackay calls for a renewed commitment to equality in all its forms. He believes the health of the nation depends on the health of our local neighbourhoods and communities, and he suggests we need to add a missing ingredient - compassion - to the national conversation about Australia's future."

“Jax's work explores the intersection between LGBTIQ issues and disability rights, and highlights the inequalities that hold people back from reaching their full and effective participation on an equal basis with others."

“It's been ten years since Kevin Rudd apologised in Parliament for the profound grief, suffering and loss inflicted on this country's Aboriginal and Islander people by laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments. Ten years on, we are still waiting for the healing and change Rudd envisioned."

“Kathy Kelly lost two sons to tragedy, then strove to change a broken system. Her story reveals how bad things can happen to the best of us. If your life was changed by tragic yet entirely preventable events, what would it take for you to focus on finding solutions so nobody else need suffer the same grief?"

“Kathy Kelly lost two sons to tragedy, then strove to change a broken system. Her story reveals how bad things can happen to the best of us. If your life was changed by tragic yet entirely preventable events, what would it take for you to focus on finding solutions so nobody else need suffer the same grief?"

“What kind of future do we want to live in? What kind of world do we want to leave for our children, our grandchildren, and all of those who come after? The time has come to stop asking questions, and get on with ending the inequalities that are holding our communities back. Paul Higgins explains why the future won't change itself and it's time to act now."