Just Dates January 2022

You can access a scroll version of the calendar here

Supporting the Romero Centre in Brisbane

 

Making a public stance about values and beliefs can take many forms from signing petitions to acts of civil disobedience. As a photographer I have used my work to highlight issues of diversity, justice making and inclusion.

On the other side of the lens I have been happy to be photographed at public events that  promote my  values and beliefs. Knowing that these images go into the public domain I hope to inspire, influence and challenge those who follow my social media feeds.

Today I am  honoured  to have my image  feature in the currentnewsletter of the Romero Centre . I encourage you to read this publication and  support a local community project here in #Brisbane.

2021 Welcome Walk

Earth Day 2020

Earth Day is April 22 of every year. April 22, 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day.

The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action. The enormous challenge — but also the vast opportunities — of action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary.

Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.

On Earth Day 2020, we seize all the tools and actions that we have, big and small, to change our lives and change our world, not for one day, but forever.

While the coronavirus may force us to keep our distance, it will not force us to keep our voices down. The only thing that will change the world is a bold and unified demand for a new way forward.

We may be apart, but through the power of digital media, we’re also more connected than ever.

On April 22, join us for 24 hours of action in a global digital mobilization that drives actions big and small, gives diverse voices a platform and demands bold action for people and the planet.

Over the 24 hours of Earth Day, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day will fill the digital landscape with global conversations, calls to action, performances, video teach-ins and more.

While Earth Day may be going digital, our goal remains the same: to mobilize the world to take the most meaningful actions to make a difference.

No matter where you are, you can make a difference. And you’re not alone, because together, we can save the Earth.

Visit earthday.org on April 22 as we build an Earth Day unlike any other — We’re flooding the digital landscape with livestreamed discussions, a global digital surge, and 24 hours of actions that you can take, right now and from wherever you are.

Australia Day 2020

Last night thanks to Jackie Trad I joined friends from South Brisbane at The Australian Dream - Free Local Screening. Sam Grant's speech concludes this powerful and disturbing documentary.

My life experience includes unlearning the racism of my childhood and cultural upbringing. It wasn't the vicious racism of name calling and shaming that this doco exposes.Rather it was the more insidious racism of silence,ignorance and cultural prejudice

In my childhood home my parents had two small prints of the work of Albert Namatjira. This was my only exposure to First Nations people as a young boy.My Catholic education from the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers made no reference to local or national Aboriginal or Torres Strait islanders peoples.

I was 26 years old when I first met an Aboriginal person at our community share house in Fitzroy. Brian was my age and a good friend for that year.

Due to travel I was 60 years old before I met my first traditional owner of the land on which i was born on #Wathauring Country. I hold in sacred memory the meeting with Wathaurong elder Uncle David Tournier RIP.

This weekend once again I stand with friends and colleagues of First Nations Peoples. I also join with those who are doing sorry business with the passing of two people.

Aunty Pamela Mam will be buried from Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Tuesday. Her passing has been acknowledged in public for her pioneering work in providing health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Griffith University in 2018. Her tributes included a statement from the Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles. Her life and achievements are celebrated across social media posts.

The other passing this week came to me via a text message from an elder of the community who wanted to let me know that "Sam: had passed away. Sam was a man I had supported during my work with survivors of childhood institutional abuse.

Sam had the look and the passion of a warrior for rights. He stood tall with a thick beard that added to his dignity. His body and soul carried the scars of childhood abuse that haunted him into his adult life.

Sam's life is recorded only in official documents and the records of his institutional history. His passing is shared among the community who knew him as one of the Forgotten Australians.

I had photographed both Aunty Pam and Sam. Both of them gazed into my lens with two very different stories of First Nations peoples that I will hold in sacred memory this weekend.