Church

Uniting Church embarks on major reform and expresses ‘grave concern’ for refugees

The Uniting Church in Australia is embarking on major structural reform following a recent meeting of the Synod of New South Wales and the ACT.

The decision to undertake a ‘major reform’ of the internal structure of the church came as the Synod elected a new Moderator for the coming three years, Rev Dr Brian Brown.

Rev Dr Brown has spent the last 11 years ministering at Hamilton Broadmeadow Uniting Church in Newcastle since 2000 and will serve the Synod as its 26th Moderator.

At the same meeting, the Uniting Church also committed itself to continue to play an active role in political discussion, with a particular focus on people smuggling, out-of-home care and juvenile justice.

The Uniting Church did not hold back in attacking the Federal Government over its decision to support overseas processing for asylum seekers, saying it has ‘grave concerns’ over the policy.

The Synod said it “expressed its grave concern at the Federal Government’s attempts to deal with people smuggling to Australia by overriding and disregarding the human rights obligations to which Australia committed itself;

The Uniting Church also set their sights on the New South Wales State Government for their policies relating to the treatment of young people in the criminal justice system.

The Synod “called on the New South Wales Government to make changes to the Bail Act to divert children and young people away from detention centres as a first step in reform of juvenile justice”.

Finally, the Synod also petitioned the NSW State Government to make good on its recent election promise and called on the NSW Government to deliver on its commitment to transfer all out-of-home care services and placements to accredited non-government service providers so that children have access to good quality care.

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