Become a roadtrippper…

Sign up today to participate in the Roadtrip! If you are aged 16- 26 apply now to take part in this opportunity to make a real difference while having fun and traveling across Australia.

To participate in the full Roadtrip the cost is $350. This covers transport, accommodation, most meals and entry to the summit and festival in Canberra.

The Uniting Church is offering subsidised places for 50 lucky Roadtrippers! Contact Age Greenwood at age@morepraxis.org.au for details.

Applications close this weekend so get in quick! Apply now at www.theroadtrip.com.au

Host or attend a Roadtrip event

The Roadtrip is all about mobilizing the community so even if you can’t get be a part of the full Roadtrip you can take part in the many events happening along the way. Or if you can even host your own!
Contact the following contact person for your area to offer to host an event or find out about events happening near you:

VICTORIA TRIP (Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Wangaratta, Albury -Wodonga, Shepparton, Healesville, Colac, etc)
Peter Willis: p.willis@theoaktree.org | 0439 326 343

WESTERN AUSTRALIA TRIP (Perth city and suburbs, Sydney city)
Jody Lightfoot: j.lightfoot@theoaktree.org | 0404 491 494

SOUTH AUSTRALIA TRIP (Adelaide city and suburbs, Mt Gambier)
Adam Pulford: a.pulford@theoaktree.org | 0424 885 387

TASMANIA TRIP (Hobart, Launceston, North West Coast, Melbourne)
Jess Jacobson: j.jacobson@theoaktree.org | 0418 961 971

QUEENSLAND TRIP (Brisbane, Lismore, Byron Bay, Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Gosford)
Ali Eather: a.eather@theoaktree.org | 0420 463 298

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY TRIP (Canberra and surrounds, Cooma, Bateman’s Bay, Bega, Goulburn)
Harry Aitken: h.aitken@theoaktree.org | 0432 185 820

NEW SOUTH WALES TRIP (Sydney city and suburbs, Sutherland, Campbelltown, etc)
Amritha Thiyagarajan: a.thiyagarajan@theoaktree.org | 0402 509 864

The Issue

What’s the Roadtrip?

From 8-14 May 2010, 1,000 young people will participate on a road trip across the nation to Canberra in what could become the largest ever youth-run campaign of its kind.

Departing from 7 cities, the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Roadtrip will:

• Train & mobilise 1,000 young people,
• Engage & activate 50 local communities,
• Speak directly with 100,000 ordinary Aussies,
• Create & build Australia’s largest video petition,
• Converge in Canberra for a huge camping festival,
• Impact the media to reach over 10 million Australians,
• And generate the public momentum towards ending extreme poverty!

How will the Roadtrip create change?

At each location the Roadtrip will activate the local community through public stunts, forums, speaking engagements, community events and concerts. It will partner with local schools, clubs, churches, businesses, councils and individuals. We are asking everyday Australians to take charge of their impact on the world by consuming ethically, living sustainably and donating their time & treasure to help make poverty history.
The Roadtrip will end by converging on our nation’s capital for a two day camping festival and lobbying summit at Parliament House, asking the Australian government to do our fair share to end extreme poverty and climate change. In Canberra, the Roadtrippers will get to experience live music, speakers, politician visits, workshops, stalls and more.

Get onboard the Roadtrip and help MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY!

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

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

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!

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

Alan Howe (punch.com.au)

The Herald Sun has been supporting the Victorian Opposition in their call to get rid of suspended sentences. Writer Alan Howe outlined the story of a mother who allowed her child to drink alcohol to bolster this case. Most people would share Mr. Howe’s revulsion at the situation. However the solution he proposes is questionable. Do we need more people like the mother in the story to go to jail? More deeply, does the community somehow feel better about itself by demonising ‘our worst mum’? Some more questions, of a more legal nature, here.

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.

Now the Herald Sun has decided to run an online poll in relation to the sentencing of the woman labelled as ‘our worst mum’….