The public perception of the homeless is of an old man in a shabby overcoat lying on a park bench clutching a bottle of sherry in a brown paper bag, but the reality could not be further from the truth. In Australia today, on any one night, 105,000 people are homeless. Of these 46,000 are women and 63,000 are aged 34 years or less with 18,000 children under 12. The main causes of homelessness are domestic violence and relationship issues; access to safe affordable accommodati

The dominant political doctrines of the 20th century failed us economically, socially and morally. The beneficiaries of the welfare state have not been the poor and the disadvantaged; they have been those with influence who can capture and manipulate the system. It is hard to imagine an ethic better suited to undermining the moral basis of a free society. [Yuval Levin] The ethics of liberty on the other hand are based on the principle of private property and founded on n

It is important to realise and accept that opposing and irreconcilable religious, philosophical, and moral views can be reasonably held.

The reform of the welfare state is going to require courage, intellectual honesty and a willingness to admit that cherished beliefs were wrong. Politically, many of my friends are a little left of centre. I observe them having great difficulty coming to grips with the moral failures of the welfare state and its financial unsustainability. This is quite understandable. Their beliefs about social fairness are deeply held but seldom subjected to rational debate. The following q

Noel Pearson Noel Pearson is admired as one of Australia’s great political leaders and thinkers. Last week, he released a 165-page document Empowered Communities: Empowered Peoples recommending radical changes to government policies for Indigenous Australians. Instead of policies being determined by bureaucrats in our capital cities and delivered by a largely non-indigenous support industry, the report calls for the decision making and its execution to be devolved to empow

We shall not be free if we are not compassionate. We should always be ready to assist those experiencing hardships, particularly unanticipated ones such as the loss of a job or a death in the family. We should want to provide ways to help those suffering from trauma or mental or chronic health problems. Our current welfare systems do not work well. The following article from an Australian Community Health brochure describes the practical difficulties: We have a problem in