Past Programs
Government and Politics - 2008
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999
Faith in Politics
16/11/2008
As the Rudd government approaches its first anniversary, Encounter explores one of the trickiest, most sensitive and potentially controversial intersections in Australian public affairs - the relationship between religion and politics. Taking as a starting point Kevin Rudd's long essay declaring Dietrich Bonhoeffer his hero, the program tracks the influence of religion on Labor and Coalition policies. Father Frank Brennan, accused by some politicians as being "the meddlesome priest" describes how his first meeting with Kevin Rudd ended in furious argument and how their relationship later developed into friendship. Tom Frame, former bishop to the chaplains of the ADF talks of how he saw John Howard's religious beliefs evolving in office.
Improbable Hope
02/11/2008
In his Berlin address last July, Barack Obama talked about partnership and hope. He was enthusiastically received. As the US Presidential election arrives, how much do these themes define Obama's beliefs? Wendy Barnaby explores some of Obama's ideas and takes the conversation further to other examples where hope and partnership might be crucial in the lives of communities and individuals.
Caring for the Soul of the Country
26/10/2008
The sound of the digeridu, or Yidaki as it's known in North East Arnhem Land, has been adopted as a symbolic part of Australian culture.
But how well do non-Indigenous Australians understand the spirituality of traditional Aboriginal music and its centrality to wellbeing?
This Encounter travels from Darwin to North East Arnhem Land to attend the 10th Garma Festival of Traditional Culture. Held in Yolgnu country on the Gove Peninsula, it draws together over 1,000 people to watch, perform and celebrate traditional culture.
Caring for the Soul of the Country examines the idea of cultural practice as central to wellbeing -- spiritual, social and physical.
It looks in particular at ceremony -- a sacred crucible of the broader practice of 'caring for country' -- as vaccination against illness of the spirit and of the body.
And it asks if a clearer understanding of the centrality of 'caring for country' might affect government policy on social provisions for Aboriginal communities.
Note: The music in this program was performed by singers from the Gumatj, Maugn, Anindilyakwa and Kuninjku clans.
Special Audio Downloads
Download MP3 An extended interview with Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner.
The Cost of Food
03/08/2008
With food prices rising around the world, millions are threatened with deprivation and starvation. In a complex web of causes - fuel prices, climate change and commodity speculation - how to respond to the challenge of feeding those who have trouble feeding themselves?
