Voices for Justice heard
Nathan Brown
Master of Arts (Research) student
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
Not quite. I did talk with Ewen Jones, Member for Herbert (based in Townsville, Qld) in Australia’s House of Representatives, but Mr Smith—my local member of parliament—ruined my headline by postponing our appointment due to other commitments.
These meeting opportunities were part of Micah Challenge’s Voices for Justice (September 15-18). After two days of worship, training, networking and prayer, 280 Christians from around Australia went to Parliament House in Canberra to speak on behalf of those who suffer because of global poverty.
The focus: to ask for Australia’s continued commitment to the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the government’s promise to work to increase Australia’s international aid contributions to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income. But we also thanked Australia’s leaders, noting globally extreme poverty has been halved from 1990 levels and that some of the MDGs have already been achieved.
I have written previously to my local member of parliament, sometimes about big issues, sometimes about local concerns. But at Voices for Justice I spoke up in a different way and in an unfamiliar setting. Yet it seemed to fit with a different way of seeking justice and goodness: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice” (Proverbs 31:8, 9, NLT).
And I believe our voices were heard. Over two days, the 40 impromptu Micah Challenge “lobby groups” walked the halls of Parliament House and dozens of parliamentarians made the commitment to work toward these goals.
And I still have work to do to complete the headline. I have already written to Mr Smith requesting a meeting with him when he and I are back in our electorate. But it isn’t just about a corny headline; it’s an opportunity to make a unique difference in the world, despite our all-too-common surnames.
Tags: Micah Challenge, Nathan Brown
An update: I had a positive meeting with Member for Casey Tony Smith on October 15. He asked for more information on this issue of international tax evasion by multinational corporations and was open to further meetings on these issues.