A GROUNDBREAKING study shows the huge community contribution of the Catholic Church across south east Queensland. The Archdiocese of Brisbane makes a $2.5 billion contribution to the Queensland economy through its parishes, schools and agencies, employing 22,000 staff to carry out its work and has 14,000 volunteers. “I think even our own aren’t aware of how significant our contribution is ... Read More »
VINNIES in Queensland are gearing up for a “wave” of people needing support in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The St Vincent de Paul Society’s Queensland chief executive officer Kevin Mercer said there had not been a significant increase in volumes of people needing support “as yet”. “I think some of the reason for that is that there is ... Read More »
FEDERAL senators examining the cashless welfare card (CDC) used to restrict spending in remote Indigenous communities, have heard the card can be used to pay for sex services. The card, currently being trialled, puts part of a Newstart recipient’s payments onto a debit card that can’t be used to buy alcohol, gamble or withdraw cash. After being questioned by Labor ... Read More »
A PARISH priest in Logan, one of the sites proposed to trial drug testing for welfare recipients, says the experiment does not make practical sense. “The addictions of drugs and alcohol need psychological and social work intervention, not compulsion,” Fr David Batey, priest at St Paul’s parish, Woodridge, in the heart of Logan, said. A Senate committee has heard reams ... Read More »
A FEDERAL Government decision to choose Logan as a site for a national drug testing trial for welfare recipients has missed something crucial – the human element. That’s the view of Catholics who work on the pastoral and welfare frontline of Queensland’s rapidly-growing city, southeast of Brisbane. “At a human level, it can be heartless. At a practical level it ... Read More »
FOUR dollars. It’s the cost of a cup of coffee. For some of our most disadvantaged, with an empty wallet, bills to pay and two or three days until the next benefits payment, it can be the tipping point. And yet, until a last-minute turnaround yesterday, the Federal Government was proposing to cut more than $4 a week from the Newstart ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
