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IN THIS ISSUE
2 POETRY
Inspirational poems.
4 FRONTLINES
From the President of the National Council of Australia, Graham West.
5–7 SOCIETY NEWS
The latest news from the St Vincent de Paul Society.
8 SOCIAL JUSTICE
Poignant words from the Society’s National Council CEO, Dr John Falzon.
9–14 CONGRESS FEEDBACK
The St Vincent de Paul Society National Congress 2017 was held in Adelaide 6 to 8 October. ‘Inspirational’, ‘emotional’, ‘prayerful’ and ‘joyous’ are only a few of the words used to describe the congress.
15–17 PROFILE
Brian Murnane has a long history of working in housing in New South Wales but did you know he also spent 10 years living in a monastery? He is currently CEO of St Vincent de Paul Housing, which trades as Amelie Housing, and has shared his life story in this profile.
18–19 ASYLUM SEEKERS
By Rebecca Lim
Earlier this year, a Vincentian from Queensland travelled to the UN to advocate for asylum seekers. Rebecca shares her experiences working with the Sri Lankan Tamil community.
20–23 HOMELESSNESS
By Dr Cameron Parsell
Read an edited excerpt from a paper published by a University of Queensland academic on the issue of ethical responses to homelessness, which challenges some aspects of how charities currently respond to homelessness and poverty.
24–25 TWINNING
By Andrew Rice
The president of the South Woden Conference and Twinning Officer for the St Vincent de Paul Society Territory Council of Canberra- Goulburn reports on a recent trip he and fellow Vincentians made to Indonesia to see firsthand the benefits of the Society’s twinning program.
26–29 FAMVIN
By John Forrest and Robert Leach
The St Vincent de Paul Society of Australia was represented at FAMVIN 2017—a celebration to mark the 400th anniversary of the worldwide organisation that is the Vincentian Family. The event was held in Rome in October and two Vincentians share their account of the presentations and dialogue.
30–31 ENERGY
By Gavin Dufty
The St Vincent de Paul Society has been tracking gas and electricity prices across the national energy market since 2008. Our most recent report, National electricity market: time to shed some light on this market, has been released and it explores changes in prices and the drivers of these changes across the various states and territories.
32–33 HUMANITARIAN SERVICES
By Deirdre Moulden
For 12 years the St Vincent de Paul Society New South Wales has successfully managed two humanitarian programs in the Riverina. Deirdre Moulden has managed the program for the last 10 years and witnessed many achievements in that time, some of which she shares in this article.
34 PERSONAL ACCOUNT
By Jen Vuk
Writer Jen Vuk reflects on three powerful encounters she has had thus far in her role as Communications and Public Relations Coordinator for the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria.
35 POLICY MATTERS
By Len Baglow
Last month the St Vincent de Paul Society National Council Office produced a briefing note on the issue of drug testing income support recipients.
