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The Justice and International Mission (JIM) Unit is involved in Stop the Traffik campaign which counters people trafficking, slavery and sexual exploitation. JIM is happy to hear that the Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, has announced the passage of legislation reforming Commonwealth child sex offences, including child sex tourism and online offences. More information here….

The Herald Sun is again raising the issue of suspended sentences in Victoria – negatively highlighting that these sentences are ‘on the rise’. The Director of JIM wrote a published letter (country edition) to the Herald Sun about this, which we include for JustAct supporters,

There is concern related to sentencing in Victoria (‘Suspended sentences rise in Victoria’ – Mar 22). Suspended sentences are prison terms which are suspended wholly or in part for a specified time, subject to conditions of good behaviour (i.e. not reoffend). Suspended sentences are not given for serious crimes unless there are exceptional circumstances. Rob Hulls says that this framework will be further tightened.  Do suspended sentences result in higher rates of reoffending? If we are concerned with rehabilitation of offenders, and less harm in the community, then this is an important question. Recent research from NSW has found that there is no evidence that full-time imprisonment exerts a greater deterrent effect than a suspended sentence of imprisonment. For offenders with no prior prison sentence there was no real difference in reoffending. Among offenders who had previously been to prison, those who receive a prison sentence reoffend substantially quicker than those who receive a suspended sentence. Prison should be a last resort. - Mark Zirnsak

Join the campaign to advocate for garment outworker rights in Victoria and Australia, with support for international garment worker campaigns. FairWear Victoria is focusing on new campaigns to address outworkers’ pay and conditions in the 2010s.

Unions, community groups and individuals are most welcome to come along.

When: 5.30pm Wednesday 24 March 2010

Where: The Order of Melbourne, Level 2, 401 Swanston Street, city.

(between Little LaTrobe & A’Beckett Sts, opposite RMIT. The venue is on the second floor (no wheel chair access!)

More information: Mark Riley, FairWear Campaign & Education Officer  ph. 03 9251 5270 (Tues. –Thur.)

e.  fairwear@fairwear.org.au

w.   www.fairwear.org.au

Following a horrific factory fire that killed 21 employees of a garment factory in Bangladesh, the factory workers are demanding swift reforms, a criminal investigation and compensation for the victims. Support these workers’ demands by writing to the Government of Bangladesh and international fashion brands sourcing from this factory.

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, twenty-one workers died and another 50 were injured when the Garib & Garib Sweater Factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, caught fire for the second time in six months.

Please join us today in calling upon the brands, the employer and the government of Bangladesh to take immediate action to ensure justice for the victims, and to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future.

Please take a few short minutes to join these letter-writing campaigns now!

Clean Clothes Campaign – action

Maquila Solidarity Network – action

More information

Chocolate — it’s a little indulgence that brightens our day but did you know the chocolate you choose can also help brighten the future for thousands of cocoa farmers and their families in developing countries? When you choose Fairtrade Certified chocolate you’re helping create a better and brighter future for these farmers and their families through the fair price they receive as well as additional funds to develop their communities and invest in everyday things like education and healthcare.

So this Easter just remember your small choice can go a very long way!

To view the range of Fairtrade chocolate choices available, including a range of Easter eggs, visit www.fairtrade.com.au. You can also help by spreading the word about making the Fairtrade choice this Easter to your colleagues, staff, students, members and constituents – it’s simple, click here to find out how and also be sure to follow our campaign updates on Twitter and Facebook!

Help shape the agenda!
Social Policy Connections invites you to a Consultation on Election Priorities 2010

You are warmly invited to join this consultation on SPC policies and priorities
10am – 1 pm, Saturday 20 March at the Study Centre, Yarra Theological Union, 98 Albion Rd., Box Hill. Best entry via 34 Bedford St. Click HERE for directions. Please RSVP by Friday 19th 3pm: 9899 4777 or admin@socialpolicyconnections.com.au

The Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church has been highlighting corporate responsibility issues relating to Nestle for some time now (in areas such as unethical marketing of infant formula and their actions in the Philippines). According to Australian Asia Workers Links Nestle is feeling the heat on a few different fronts at the moment. In February 25 the Nestle Ponda and Nestle Bicholim unions in Goa, India, held protest actions against trade union rights violations at Nestle Waters in Russia. The unions, members of the IUF affiliated Federation of All India Nestle Employees, condemned union-busting at Nestle Domodedovo and demanded the reinstatement of the union vice-chair Sergei Strykov. Last year Nestle unions in India won collective bargaining rights with the support of the IUF’s global Nespresure campaign, and are now extending the same global solidarity to Nestle workers in Russia. Six days earlier, on February 19, Nestle workers picketed the gates of the company’s factory in Montevideo, Uruguay, to demand rights and recognition for Nestlé workers and their unions in Russia and Indonesia.

What I’ve learned from Dr. King and Dorothy Day is modesty—one does what one can and lets the results go. … The closer we are to biblical wisdom, the less consumed we will be about proving ourselves and about ego and celebrity. The less we will know about the outcome in our lives. And that’s very helpful—you don’t have to know, just do it. Sounds simple, eh?

- Jesuit peace activist Daniel Berrigan who at one time was one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted

Have you heard the one about the Dominican friar, a farmer and a teacher? This is no joke – they are currently on trial for breaking into the Waihopai spy base in New Zealand, and deflating a protective dome over a satellite dish.