News and Publications
Micah Challenge launches new blog
24 March, 2011
Micah Challenge Australia has launched a new blog aimed at sparking discussion on the issues of theology and policy behind the Millennium Development Goals.
The blog features commentaries and opinion pieces from the Micah Challenge staff team, the wider Micah Challenge coalition and leading Christian figures. It also includes stories from campaign supporters highlighting the difference they are making at the grassroots of their electorates.
Readers will be inspired and challenged to learn more about the issues of global poverty, faith, advocacy and justice.
"We are excited about the opportunity our new blog provides for contributors and readers to 'go deeper' with some of the issues that concern the work of the Micah Challenge campaign," said Micah Challenge National Coordinator, Mr John Beckett.
"The blog posts will ask some big questions about some of the big issues we face in this world, such as 'How do we solve global poverty?' I often meet Christians who are frustrated that the Church often hesitates to even take part in these discussions, let alone lead them," he said. "This is our small part in trying to address that concern.'
"Our regular contributors are mostly young people who work in advocacy roles in our endorsing agencies. I'm personally looking forward to hearing the thoughts of these inspiring young leaders, as well as voices from our sister campaigns around the world."
As a space for community debate, supporters are encouraged to comment on the posts and take part in discussion and debate.
"Here in the Micah Challenge office, we are often amazed by stories we hear of our supporters taking action. We are looking forward to sharing some of these stories with our blog readers" said Mr. Beckett.
"We welcome your thoughts via our comments wall. Join the discussion," he said.
The launch of the blog coincides with the new look Micah Challenge Australia website, which was released earlier this month. To read the latest blog posts and subscribe to the Micah Challenge blog feed, visit: http://www.micahchallengeblog.org.au.Micah Challenge opposes cuts to foreign aid
9 February, 2011
The Federal Opposition today announced a proposal to defer $448million of foreign aid to Indonesia as part of their opposition to the government's flood levy.
Micah Challenge strongly opposes this proposal, which places a question mark over the Coalition's pre-election commitment to increase aid spending to 0.5 per cent of gross national income by 2015. The proposed budget cuts would seriously jeopardise the government's ability to achieve this projected aid increase.
"Today's announcement is not good news for the world's poor," said Micah Challenge National Coordinator John Beckett. "It's alarming that the Opposition would propose foreign aid as one of the first budget items they would cut. If Mr. Abbott is considering walking away from the bipartisan commitment to 0.5%GNI, Christians in Australia need to hold him to account."
Mr. Abbott today said his party is committed to global poverty reduction. "As for the millennium goal, we have committed to it, we are committed to it," he said.
But Abbott also stated that the Millennium Development Goals are "a commitment for 2015; not necessarily a commitment for the next couple of years", and that aid spending is something that can be deferred.
"Our message to our nation's leaders is simple: don't defer poverty reduction," said Mr. Beckett. "The need for action is urgent; we cannot put it off."
The proposed funding cuts will see a deferral of spending for a schools program in Indonesia, a country where none of the Millennium Development Goals have yet been achieved. But international evidence shows that education is a stepping-stone out of poverty and that better educated kids have more opportunities to make a positive contribution to their communities and to their wider society.
"In Australia's time of need, we should be acting with more compassion, not less. We would not be acting with integrity if we redirect promised funds away from others in their time of need," said Mr. Beckett. "We are a wealthy nation and we have the capacity to find or raise the necessary funds without jeopardising the wellbeing of our global neighbours."
"Australia's aid program is both effective and affordable. This year it will represent only 34cents in every $100 of our national income. This investment saves lives. It is an investment we can and must make," said Mr. Beckett.
______________________________Click here for information from AusAID outlining the Indonesia schools program in question.
Christians unite on 10.10.10
15 October, 2010
On Sunday 10 October 2010 (10.10.10) millions of Christians across the globe united for a day of global prayer and action. From India to the UK, Zambia to Ecuador and every state and territory around Australia, Christians paused to remember the poor in our world, and to worship God for his heart of justice. More than seventy countries took part in the first global Micah Challenge campaign.
In Australia every major denomination was represented, including Churches from Anglican, Catholic, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Uniting Church, Salvation Army and Baptist traditions. The day was a powerful example of the body of Christ coming together in unity.
"We've been so encouraged by the Church in Australia standing and committing themselves to fight for God's justice - to stand up for God's heart for the poor!" said Micah Challenge National Coordinator, John Beckett.
Globally, more than 60 million Christians - the equivalent of the population of the UK -prayed a prayer based on the words of the prophet Nehemiah, as they stood in the gap for those in poverty and repented of their own inaction.
"Zimbabwe will never be the same again," is the message that Jonathon Chikumbu has been hearing from people in his country. "We pray that it will be so in the name of Jesus." In Malawi, more than 82 000 citizens across the nation took part in the 10.10.10 activities. "To God be the glory!" said Lloyd Mtalimanja.
"We are excited to be part of what's happening around the world. The people of God have prayed and they have integrated God's heart for justice into their worship." said John Beckett.
Churches also 'leant a hand' to the 10.10.10 cause, making handprints as a symbol of their pledge to fight poverty. These handprints will be delivered as petitions to newly elected parliamentarians, ensuring that global poverty is on the political agenda early in the election cycle.
"Churches will now carry this message to their politicians and let them know, 'We want you, as our leaders to take this fight against poverty seriously'. The collective voice of Christians in this country is being heard, and it is really making a difference!" said John Beckett.
West Ryde Baptist Church got behind 10.10.10, basing their service around the action. They also took the opportunity to engage with another local Presbyterian Church in their area, who also took part in 10.10.10, and now plan to deliver their handprints in a joint visit to their Member of Parliament.
"10.10.10 worked really well at our Church", said Senior Pastor, Steve Hales. "We often feel so helpless in the face of poverty, but this is one way we can express our allegiance to something that is so clearly close to God's heart, and our desire to do what we can."
"We love getting involved in Micah Challenge actions because they provide a concrete way that people can commit themselves to do something in response to injustice," he said.
Click here for more 10.10.10 stories from around the world.What does the new minority Govt mean for the poor?
8 September, 2010
After more than a fortnight of uncertainty, Australians finally have a Government. But while we've been waiting for the independents to make their decision and the votes to be counted, another set of numbers have continued to dictate the reality of lives across most of the planet. Despite some progress, the number of children who don't live to see their 5th birthday is still almost 8.8 million each year, and 350,000 women don't survive child birth. So while the media's focus has been on the political drama of a hung parliament, for Micah Challenge, the question that really matters is 'What will this new government mean for the global poor?'
Prior to the election, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith reaffirmed Labor's commitment to increase Australia's funding for overseas development assistance to 0.5% of gross national income by 2015. This is an important commitment that was initially made during the 2007 election campaign and has now achieved bi-partisan support throughout the Parliament. In the current financial year, the forecast is that aid levels will reach 0.33% of GNI, so there's still a long way to go in reaching the promise of 0.5%, and this new term of Parliament is going to be critical in ensuring that it is delivered. Beyond the challenge of ensuring the delivery of existing policy, this term will also be critical in gaining new commitments to take the aid budget to 0.7% of GNI - the level our leaders have always acknowledged as the international benchmark. It is also vital that Australia strengthen our response to key areas of global need such as maternal and child health, and climate change adaptation.
So what prospect do these issues have within the new Parliament?
Perhaps the most significant change we face over the next three years is Labor's lack of a sufficient majority in the House of Representatives to form Government in its own right. Instead, Labor is reliant on the support of a motley crew of independents and cross-benchers. This effectively means that the vote of each and every local MP becomes critical in ensuring that the government's agenda is able to pass through the Parliament.
For Micah Challenge this is good news. As a campaign we have always been driven by grassroots Christian advocacy for the poor in local churches across the nation. Over the years, activities such as Voices for Justice, Offering of Letters, and 5th Birthday parties, have engaged local MPs and expressed genuine grassroots concern to see Australia contribute its fair share toward the achievement of the MDGs. The actions of individual Christians, small groups, and churches have meant that we built up a strong network of support throughout the Australian Parliament. In the new Parliament there are almost 40 individual politicians who have been identified as strong allies of Micah Challenge and the MDGs, and many others who are broadly supportive. Ongoing grassroots engagement is going to be foundational to achieving progress over the next three year.
But what about those cross-benchers?
In the statements made by Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott when announcing their decision to back the formation of a Labor Government, we heard a lot about the concerns of regional Australia, and the need for MPs to balance local and national interests in their parliamentary deliberations. Micah Challenge, and indeed, most Australians, agrees with the need to ensure effective consideration of the challenges facing rural and regional Australia. Yet missing in this mix was an explicit recognition of the significant challenges of poverty, health, education, and food security facing many communities beyond our borders. The question we are then faced with is what impact will the new-found importance of the cross-benchers have on the global poor?
There are some encouraging signs:
In his maiden speech to the Parliament in 2008, Rob Oakeshott went beyond the local-national formulation he offered yesterday, to acknowledge that the commitment to "care, protect, and build a better place... [is a] borderless commitment". "The litmus test for reflection at the end of my political career will be how these factors—international, national and local... have been managed" he said. Mr Oakeshott has also met with Voices for Justice delegates in the past, expressed a strong commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, and stood on behalf of the Parliament to read a response to the Micah Call at the Signature Event in June this year (click here to watch a video of his address).
Tony Windsor has also been broadly supportive of the need to prioritise progress on the MDGs. As recently as last month he replied to a Micah Challenge supporter's email asking the Poverty Question by indicating that he "would be supportive of increasing Australia's overseas aid to 0.7% of GNI and the appointment of a Minister for International Development". He has also met with Voices for Justice delegates and attended Micah Challenge events in the past.
The new MPs in the mix - Greens Member for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, and Denison (Hobart) independent, Andrew Wilkie - have not yet been met by Micah supporters, but early indications of their attitude toward international development are positive. Both attended Make Poverty History electorate forums in the lead-up to the election, and both are or have been members of a party with a strong commitment to reaching aid levels of 0.7% of GNI before 2015.
Keep engaging your MPs!
There is a lot at stake for the world's poor during this next Parliament, both in seeing existing promises honoured and vital new commitments made. The reality is that the new Parliament will at times be a messy and fragmented place as the Government has goes about building a coalition of support for any policy change both in the House and in the Senate. The parliamentary process will sometimes be slow, and it will sometimes be difficult to get the voices of the poor heard amidst the diverse voices competing for attention. But the fine balance of numbers, and the procedural changes that will enhance the ability of all members to ask questions and move private member's bills, will also create new opportunities for engagement.
The foundational work of recent years puts the Micah Challenge campaign in a great position to continue to speak into and influence the Parliament's deliberations for the poor. More than ever the dedication and commitment of Christians and churches to speak out for the poor is going to be what counts. More than ever actions like 5th Birthday Parties, local churches taking part in 10.10.10 prayer services, letters and visits to local MPs, and the Voices for Justice pilgrimage will be critical in putting the needs of the global poor on the agenda of our nation's decision makers. And with just five years to go until the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, more than ever, now is the time for us to renew our commitment to the Prophet Micah's call that we pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and walk humbly with God.
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