Addressing concerns for 39 years

Graham Downie CONSUMER Voice, among Australia's longest-running newspaper columns, has become so much a part of Canberra's landscape that it is often mistakenly believed to be some official body.

Graham Downie

Let's have a transparent prison drug program

Graham Downie THE COURAGE of ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher in working toward a needle exchange program in Canberra's prison is to be commended, though her proposal falls short of her party's policy of more...

Graham Downie

Opprobrium and pressure contribute to homosexual suffering

Graham Downie The Australian Christian Lobby might reflect on the part organisations such as this in the health of the gay community.

Graham Downie

People with disabilities often remain devalued

Graham Downie THE SOMETIMES patronising, frequently gushing praise of the inspiring paralympians is a timely reminder to consider the many people with disabilities who face daily challenges greater than those on...

Graham Downie

Support good work of Doctors Without Borders

Graham Downie IF EVER there was a time for a Road to Damascus conversion of heart for the Syrians, it is now.

Disability calling a journey of the spirit

Graham Downie Canberra woman Eileen Glass's journey to leading an international organisation for people with developmental disabilities began on the back of a truck travelling through Asia to England in the 1960s.

Graham Downie

The hidden costs of alcohol and junk food

Graham Downie AUSTRALIANS would rejoice if medical science could prevent 30 per cent of cancer deaths in this country, yet a solution is already available.

Graham Downie

Asylum seekers, homosexuality and the church

Graham Downie IT HAS taken Australia's government far too long to agree asylum seekers who jump the queue should derive no advantage over others without the opportunity or resources to cut a deal with people...

Graham Downie

Whining about Olympics coverage a bit rich

Graham Downie THE TEDIUM of the Olympic Games obviously got to some ABC Radio listeners who were then mightily rebuked for daring to provide their feedback to Aunty.

Graham Downie

Quality of overseas aid can make a difference

Graham Downie World Vision Australia head Tim Costello would be excused for losing hope and faith, yet he sees hope where most of us would despair.

Pioneer priest vows to die with his boots on

Graham Downie Neville Drinkwater won't discuss his age but concedes he is possibly the longest serving priest in Canberra and Goulburn.

Graham Downie

Narrow Nile should butt out of Guides' change

Graham Downie IT IS amazing how a relatively small youth organisation can attract national publicity with a change to the promise its members make.

Former priest judges his Church's sins

Graham Downie It was hard to imagine a wandering preacher in Palestine, with a few mates and no home, planning to establish an international enterprise with offices in every town and city in the known and the...

Graham Downie

Council should check community bona fides

Graham Downie THE GUNGAHLIN Community Council has done itself no favours with its tacit support of opponents of a mosque in Gungahlin.

SPEAKING TO POWER

Graham Downie Often seen as out of step with his church, Auxiliary Catholic Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn Pat Power retires today unrepentant, still willing to speak his mind across a range of issues and...

GRAHAM DOWNIE

Waiting for a rail network, hoping oversights aren't repeated

GRAHAM DOWNIE SINCE the 1970s there has been talk of a rail network within Canberra, as envisaged by the city's architect Walter Burley Griffin, and still all we have is talk.

Graham Downie

Drones, with adequate safeguards, should add to our safety

Graham Downie Even in Australia, whose citizens enjoy freedoms that the majority of the world's people must envy, retaining a reasonable balance between freedom and appropriate surveillance is a constant challenge.

GRAHAM DOWNIE

Present drug laws have failed to curb dealing, use and harm

GRAHAM DOWNIE THE USE of illicit drugs continues to ruin Australian lives but according to a recent Herald/Nielsen poll, a significant majority of Australians support maintaining the status quo.

Obama's same-sex backing won't necessarily be a poll winner

GRAHAM DOWNIE THE RECENT declaration by US President Barack Obama that he supported the right of same-sex couples to marry is what Yes Minister's Sir Humphrey Appleby would have described as a courageous decision.

A toasty tax for new white goods still has everyone in the dark

GRAHAM DOWNIE ANOTHER tax is being foisted on ACT residents but you won't find any reference to it in the ACT Government's budget.