Uniting Church in Australia
Northern Synod

I commend to you for reflection, prayer and wide networking the Media Release from the Assembly calling for an end to asylum seeking children being held in detention. To lock-up the innocent is never just, children represent the most vulnerable and innocent and our response to their trauma and need must be to protect and care for them. Incarceration denies their human rights and only re-traumatises them, as countless reports have found. Importantly this action by our nation diminishes our humanity, indeed our freedom is connected to theirs. Read the media release here.

Secondly, the “Closing the Gap Report” ought to cause us as Second Peoples enormous shame and heart break for the lives of our sisters and brothers, First Peoples. We commend the Northern Territory Government for reintroducing a ministry for Indigenous People. We pray that Australia will adopt bipartisan collaborative approaches which work with First Peoples. In the Northern Synod we are committed to the covenant, our destiny together, indeed Second Peoples destiny, our personhood is connected intimately with that of First Peoples.

Senator Nova Peris responded to the release of the Report and you can view her thought provoking speech on here.

Shalom, Stuart
Moderator
https://pastorstuartmcmillan.wordpress.com