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therecord.com.au
Government and Opposition do deal on Sunday trading but, some say,
Workers left unprotected
By Robert Hiini
IF NO conscience protections are built into proposed Sunday trading legislation, people who object to working on the Sunday will lose out, a former union official told The Record last week. Ivan Sands, now a permanent deacon serving in Bassendean, was responding to news the State Government had struck a deal with Opposition Leader Mark McGowan to end the Sunday trad-
ing standoff, with proposed legislation being introducted to parliament on Monday, 13 February. “It’s no different than what’s happened over the years. If you want the job then you do what the employer asks,” Deacon Sands said. “I don’t see any change unless there is some legislation that protects workers; that they are not discriminated against because they have a belief (and) they don’t want to work Sundays. “Unless those protections are
there the employee is going to be asked the question (will you work on Sundays?),” Deacon Sands said. “Almost inevitably they won’t get the job.” A media representative from the office of finance minister Simon O’Brien said it was illegal to fire someone for objecting to working Sundays on religious grounds. He cited WA’s Equal Opportunity Act 1984 and section 351 of the federal Fair Work Act 2009. Workers who have been sacked
or who have lost work due to conscientious objection must pursue their claim in the courts. The goverment had tried to balance the needs of families, churches and sporting groups, Minister O’Brien’s representative said, which was part of the reason for the proposed Sunday opening times of 11am-5pm. When asked if another referendum had been considered, he said there had been “no plan to go to a new referendum at all”.
In a 2005 referendum, just over 61 per cent of Western Australian voters said ‘no’ to six hours of trading for general retail shops on Sundays. “They (the government) have taken the pulse of the public and that’s what the public wants,” Minister O’Brien’s representative said. “So long as the Opposition is true to its word we will have Sunday trading some time between now and August.”
Things that count: making a difference one step at a time Audrey, a Bardji woman, with members of her community at Djarindjin, 200km north of Broome in the Kimberley. To address high rates of health problems such as diabetes which, in indigenous communities, are often many times the national average, Caritas Australia funds community-owned diabetes management and care programmes in eight Kimberley communities such as Audrey’s. During Lent, Catholics can contribute towards projects such as this through Project Compassion. This week, Caritas Australia’s chief executive officer, Jack de Groot, writes for The Record on how Catholics can make a difference far beyond their own parish horizons week by week via Project Compassion. Making the difference - Page 17 PHOTO: COURTESY CARITAS
Mary, Salesians, family, state take pride of place ARCHBISHOP Timothy Costelloe’s coat of arms was unveiled this week, bringing together symbols of his devotion to Mary, his Salesian roots, the Costelloe family and his new home of Western Australia. The coat of arms consists of a shield upon an archiepiscopal cross (a cross with two horizontal arms) surmounted by a green galero (a hat) with 10 green fiocchi (tassels) suspended on each side. These are standard ecclesiastical heraldic devices indicating the coat of arms is that of an archbishop.
The charges (emblems) on the left half of the shield (as the observer faces it) represent the Archbishop’s See, the Archdiocese of Perth. These include the constellation of the Southern Cross, a symbol for Australia and a black swan on a gold background, the state emblem for Western Australia. The charges on the right half are personal to Archbishop Costelloe and include: The gold star on the blue background represents Mary, the
Mother of God. In Catholic tradition, Mary is often referred to as the Star of the Sea. She is the one whose prayer and whose presence in our lives leads us to safety. The three trees represent Saint John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Congregation, to which the Archbishop belongs. (Bosco, in Italian, means wood.) The three diamonds are taken from the Costelloe family crest. They may be understood to represent the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.
Archbishop Costelloe’s motto is Via, Veritas, Vita (the Way, the Truth and the Life). In the Gospel (John 14:6), Jesus describes himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life. In choosing this motto, the Archbishop wanted to indicate that Jesus stands at the very heart of our faith. It is he whom we seek to know, to love, to serve and to proclaim. It is he who will lead us to the Father for, as he says, “No-one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Archbishop Costelloe’s coat of arms.