Speaking of Social Justice

It has been a while but we are back! In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken cuts through the noise on Australia's latest budget and she's not here to crunch numbers. She's here to ask the bigger question: what does a nation's spending say about what it actually values? From intergenerational inequality and housing unaffordability to the media's framing of the US-Iran...

In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, host Dr Julie Macken reflects on the past 24 hours and what this means for Australia. The past few months, weeks, days, the past few hours, we have witnessed a world of chaos, a world of despair, a world of conflict. In Australia, 24 hours ago we were going to bed wondering if we will awaken to a nuclear strike, to Australian troops on the grou...

In a week marked by deep global uncertainty, Dr Julie Macken reflects on what it means to speak about social justice when democracy itself feels under strain. Drawing on recent global reports, this episode explores the erosion of democratic values, the decline of freedoms, and the devastating realities unfolding across regions including Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran, and beyond. In what some...

In this episode of Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken explores the growing geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and what they reveal about the risks of military alliances. As conflict escalates in the Middle East, Julie asks a difficult question: what happens to smaller countries that host military bases or align themselves closely with global powers? Drawi...

Ahead of International Women’s Day, we gathered five influential women from diverse backgrounds for a powerful conversation about leadership, justice, and the ways power shapes our world. Too often, the models of power we inherit are hierarchical, extractive, and patriarchal. But what if power could look different? In Reimagining Power , our panelists drew on lived experience, leadership, and crit...

In this episode of Speaking of Social Justice, host Dr Julie Macken turns her attention to International Women’s Day and to a deeper, more uncomfortable question: how do we exercise power? Ahead of a special panel discussion, Julie reflects on the state of the world for women today. From persistent gender pay gaps to gender-based violence in Australia, and from global scandals of abuse to politica...

Dr Michael Walker steps into the host’s chair to unpack why capital gains tax has surged back into national debate and why it matters for every Australian feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis. At the centre of the discussion is the 50% capital gains tax discount, introduced in 1999, and how it has fuelled property speculation, inflated house prices, and pushed home ownership further o...

This week on Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken takes on one of the most overused — and often misunderstood — phrases in our public conversation: “social cohesion.” What does it really mean to “hold together” as a society when people are hurting, divided, and afraid? And is cohesion even the right word, or does it risk glossing over pain, inequality, and real difference? Julie reflects on...

Dr Julie Macken looks ahead at the major social justice issues shaping Australia, from offshore detention inquiries and national security investigations to rising political division and community strain. But beyond the headlines, this is a deeper reflection on something more personal and urgent: our shared humanity. Julie explores what happens when public debate turns into social fracture, why so...

In the first episode of 2026, Dr Julie Macken returns with a heavy heart and a frank assessment of the year we’ve stepped into. From the December attack at Bondi to the political theatre that followed, Julie speaks to a nation struggling with grief, division, and identity. With Australia Day around the corner, she asks uncomfortable but necessary questions: What does it mean to be Australian? Who...

In our final episode of 2025, Dr Julie Macken reflects on a year marked by secrecy in government, stalled human rights reform in Australia, and the devastating normalisation of genocide, war, and systemic abuse across the globe. Julie unpacks: Why Australia still has no Human Rights Act How secrecy and disappearing communications undercut democracy How the genocide in Gaza is reshaping global norm...

Next year marks 25 years since the Tampa crisis, a week that changed Australia forever. In this episode, Dr Julie Macken reflects on how one political decision reshaped the nation’s moral compass, turning compassion for those seeking refuge into cruelty and complacency. From the shocking revelation that an outlaw motorcycle gang is being paid billions to run our offshore detention centres, to the...

In this week’s episode of Speaking of Social Justice , Julie Macken challenges Australia’s narrow view of national security. While policymakers pour billions into defence and submarines, real security, climate resilience, housing, health, equality, and community wellbeing, remains dangerously neglected. Julie asks the questions few in power dare to: What would national security look like if it act...

In this episode of Speaking of Social Justice , Dr Julie Macken explores the alarming findings of the federal government’s climate impact report and the hidden intelligence reports they chose not to release. While Australians were told about rising temperatures, collapsing fish stocks, and dire environmental futures, the government kept quiet about the geopolitical fallout across our region. Macke...

In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken delves into the seismic development in Australia's national security landscape from ASIO, confirming that Iran, through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated anti-semetic attacks on Australian soil. In response, Albanese has expelled Iran's ambassador, suspended operations at the Tehran embassy, and initiated steps...

In this episode, Dr Julie Macken shares the story behind Sydney’s first Peace Picnic, happening on 31 August at Wentworth Common, Sydney Olympic Park. She talks about why, in a world full of conflict, from Gaza and Ukraine to rising domestic violence and community divisions at home, people are looking for a simple, peaceful way to come together. Julie explains how a humble picnic can be a powerful...

In this week's episode, Dr Julie Macken confronts the emotional and spiritual toll of witnessing injustice; from the horrors unfolding in Gaza to the growing despair in Australian communities. She explores the concept of moral injury, the deep internal wound that arises when we witness atrocities we cannot stop, and its ripple effects on our collective wellbeing. Julie also offers a hopeful path f...

This week on Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken dives deep into three major news stories; one dominating headlines, the others barely noticed. While the world devours every detail of the Victorian “death cap mushroom murder,” two seismic reports about Australia’s treatment of First Nations people, historic genocide in Victoria and systemic racism in the NT police, barely register. Why? Ju...

In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, we bring to you a special post-pentecost reflection where Dr Michael Walker challenges the myths of modern freedom and fulfilment. Speaking from the historic St Peter’s Church in Surry Hills, where Mary MacKillop and Eileen O’Connor once prayed, Michael explores how social media-fuelled consumerism has seduced us into lifestyles of overwork, is...

In this week's episode, Dr Julie Macken unpacks the dangerous absurdity of war-making power in Australia. As conflict escalates globally, from Gaza to Ukraine, from Iran to Sudan,Julie calls out the hypocrisy of world leaders, the silence around nuclear stockpiles, and the erosion of public trust in our institutions. But here’s the kicker: in Australia, only one person decides if we go to war, the...

This Saturday, June 21st, is the shortest and coldest night of the year, and for many sleeping rough in Sydney, it could be their last. In this stark and urgent episode, Cailey exposes the deadly intersection between homelessness and mental illness in our city. With over 122,000 Australians experiencing homelessness and soaring rates of untreated mental health conditions among them, this is more t...

In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken reflects on the frustration many Australians feel; from climate inaction to the horrors in Gaza. Why does real change feel so out of reach, even when public support is strong? Julie explores Australia's role in global emissions, the moral cost of silence, and the deep need for everyday citizens to take up the call for justice. W...

In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, Dr. Julie Macken speaks on why the genocide in Gaza is not just a distant humanitarian crisis, it’s a mirror reflecting our own national conscience. She lays out three crucial reasons why Australians must speak up: to safeguard our climate future, to protect our moral integrity, and to reclaim our shared humanity. It’s a wake-up call for action...

What does justice look like when viewed through a Catholic lens? The newest Social Justice Facilitator, Pauline Jasudason, leads this conversation, guiding listeners through key principles of Catholic Social Teaching, the historic 1986 address by Pope John Paul II to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s 2023–2024 Social Justice Statement o...

In this week's episode of Speaking of Social Justice, Dr Julie Macken speaks plainly about the crisis unfolding in Gaza and Australia’s deafening silence. With 14,000 children facing starvation and international law on the brink, Julie challenges political narratives, unpacks our complicity, and calls for real action. From arms exports to the rejection of asylum seekers, she asks: if we don’t act...