Agency News

EVERY Christmas, Wesley Mission Brisbane provides a big old-fashioned sit-down lunch and entertainment for people who are homeless and disadvantaged right in the middle of King George Square. But what's unique about the Wesley Mission Christmas Day lunch is that it's for everyone – a place and time for "streeties" and anyone else who lives in Brisbane to share a ...

UNITINGCARE Australia welcomed the federal government's commitment on Wednesday 17 October to reduce unnecessary and redundant paperwork for the not-for-profit sector. National Director Lin Hatfield Dodds says that adopting the "report once, use often" principle, which will commence shortly, is an important first step in ensuring that government agencies take responsibility for reducing unnecessary reporting obligations on the sector. "It ...

One hundred years ago today, on 26 September 1912, one of Australia's greatest pioneering ventures began. The man on the $20 note, John Flynn, embarked on his dream to build a network of care for people across the outback with the establishment of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM). More than 1000 people from across the country will gather in Melbourne ...

THOSE who love travelling in Asia but feel concerned about the negative impact of tourism on local environments, livelihoods and cultural traditions can now turn to Responsible Travel, an initiative by the Commission for Mission of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. I always felt guilty at enjoying being a tourist while so many people lived in desperate poverty, and ...

PAST Director of Pilgrim Learning Community Rev Dr Rob Bos is taking up the challenge in his retirement of training ministers in the Solomon Islands. He has just left for a one month teaching stint at Seghe Theological Seminary in the Solomons, where he will focus on how Scripture can be used to respond to issues affecting Solomon Islanders today. ...

ON 26 September, up to 2000 people will celebrate 100 years of continued support for the people of remote Australia in a celebration in Melbourne. Moved by John Flynn's vision for the church to extend "a mantle of safety" across the outback, the Australian Inland Mission was established on that date in 1912. A century on, Frontier Services continues to ...

THE world-renowned team of neurologist Professor Peter Silburn and neurosurgeon Associate Professor Terry Coyne have together performed their 500th deep brain stimulation (DBS) operation at UnitingCare Health's St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital in Brisbane. "This is an extraordinary achievement, and we believe it to be unmatched by any other team in Australia. Peter and Terry are among the top five ...

ON Friday 10 August, CEO of UnitingCare Queensland, Anne Cross, launched an innovative week-long internship program at The Wesley Hospital for Year 11 students. Twenty-five students from 12 schools in the Wesley Hospital catchment area of the Brisbane inner-city and western suburbs will be selected for the tailor made experience. The week-long program designed to identify and support the healthcare ...

ONE hundred years ago Australian legend John Flynn went to the outback and came back with a vision to make life sustainable at the heart of the nation. A photographic display which captures Flynn's vision and how it became a reality opened at the National Library of Australia on 10 August. The display, Beyond the Furthest Fences: the Australian Inland ...

GENDER equality in the Pacific will be bolstered through a regional initiative announced yesterday by the Australian Prime Minister at the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands. The $320 million Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development initiative will support the efforts of Pacific countries to empower women to fully participate in political, economic and social life through a range of ...