Kindness Company

I know many of us are exhausted.
The news keeps coming. Each development more devastating than the last. And there is a very human temptation, when things feel this relentless, to look away. To protect ourselves by going quiet.

I want to gently name that, and ask us not to.
This week, the United Nations condemned Israel’s newly passed death penalty law as a discriminatory regime of capital punishment that violates international human rights law.

The law, passed by the Knesset on 30 March, applies almost exclusively to Palestinians, tried in military courts with a conviction rate of over 96%, where confessions extracted under torture are routinely used as evidence. Death by hanging, within 90 days of sentencing, with no right to pardon. UN experts have called it a war crime. A grave escalation. An entrenching of apartheid.

This is not a distant, abstract legal matter. This is state-sanctioned killing, designed along ethnic lines, condemned by the International Court of Justice, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and governments around the world.

And it is happening while we scroll.
I’m not here to add to the guilt many of us already carry. I know the overwhelm is real. I know that for many of us, especially those working in communities that have faced their own histories of state violence and dispossession, this kind of news lands in the body, not just the mind.

But silence, even exhausted silence, becomes complicity over time.
So here’s what I’d invite, wherever you are on the Gold Coast or beyond:

🫶🏾Stay informed from credible sources: OHCHR, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch. Share what you learn. Information shared by real people in real networks still matters.

🫶🏾Contact your federal MP and Senator. Tell them you expect Australia to use its voice at the UN, and in bilateral relationships, to call for the repeal of this law and accountability for what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank. You can find your rep at aph.gov.au

🫶🏾Support Australian organisations doing solidarity and advocacy work: the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, and others doing local policy work.

🫶🏾Join or follow your local Palestine solidarity group, there are people organising.

🫶🏾You don’t have to be an expert or an activist. You just have to show up.

🫶🏾And perhaps most importantly: talk about this with the people around you. At the dinner table. At your community group. In your workplace.

Normalising the conversation is itself a form of resistance to the numbness that atrocity relies on.

We are people who believe in dignity. In the right to life. In the equal worth of every human being. This is a moment to let those values be louder than our fatigue. 🙏🏾 https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/04/israels-death-penalty-law-constitutes-discriminatory-regime-capital

Israel’s death penalty law constitutes discriminatory regime of capital punishment: UN experts GENEVA – Israel’s new law effectively providing for the death penalty solely against Palestinians constitutes a discriminatory regime of capital punishment and manifestly violates Israel’s obligations under international human rights law, UN experts* said today.“We condemn the Knesset’s ad...

I was recently invited by CareSearch: Palliative Care to write a blog on Community Solutions to End of Life Care for their series.

The work Linda Kurti and I undertook with Conversations That Count brought me back to something I hold close, that community-led care at end of life is not an either/or story. It’s both.

Us, as community members, stepping up, having the conversations, showing up for each other, building the kind of death literacy that makes a real difference. And meaningful investment to scale what’s already working in our local communities.

Grassroots movements are doing extraordinary things. But community-driven work can only grow so far on goodwill and volunteer hours alone. When we combine the heart of community with the resources to sustain it, that’s when real, lasting change happens.

“Community solutions to end-of-life care don’t begin in hospitals, they begin with people. They begin with us.”

I’d love to know, where have you seen community step up around death and dying? And where do you think investment is most needed?

👉🏽 Read the full blog 🔗 https://www.caresearch.com.au/About-Us/Newsroom/Palliative-Perspectives/Palliative-Perspectives-Blog-Details/ArtMID/17907/ArticleID/6477/Community-solutions-to-end-of-life-care-Where-connection-culture-and-community-meet
Compassionate Communities Australia

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I’ve shared some personal reflections on my experience as a child migrant, four decades on. If you have a few minutes, I’d value you reading and sharing it. If it makes you a little uncomfortable, that’s ok. That’s part of creating space, growing the conversation and understanding.

And thank you to the allies, past and present who listen, advocate, make space, and stand alongside those of us telling these stories. We must stand together in fostering more kindness and compassion. Your support matters more than you know.

Reflections from a child migrant, more than 40 years later Introduction by Croakey: Racism is deeply embedded across Australian universities, and has profound impacts upon students and staff, according to

Ongoing and escalating conflicts around the world don’t just affect those overseas. They have real emotional impacts here in Australia. On individuals, families, communities, and people with lived experience of war and displacement.
Witness to War is a free, national support line for anyone impacted by war and conflict.

If global events are weighing on you or someone you care about, you don’t have to carry it alone. Reach out. Help is here.

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This afternoon, Lynn Berger, Gina Conolly and I held a Sunset Loss and Remembrance Circle, a space dedicated to honouring the many losses our communities have and continue to move through. As we retuned to our homes we were confronted with fresh, unimaginable grief, grief now carried by the Australian Jewish community, by families, and by our nation.

We stand in solidarity with the Australian Jewish community. The loss being carried right now, by families, by community, and by our nation is profound. There is no place for violence, hatred or harm in our communities.

In moments like this, unity and compassion matter. They are not abstract ideas, they are lived through how we show up for one another, how we listen, how we check in, and how we refuse to let fear or division take hold.

If you are feeling shaken, overwhelmed or grieving:
•Slow your breathing.
• Put your feet on the ground. Step outside if you can.
• Limit news exposure if it’s heightening distress.
• Reach out, to a friend, a neighbour, a community space, or a support service.

Hold your people a little closer. Let children know they are safe. Let elders know they are not alone.
If you or someone you love needs extra support:
• Griefline: 1300 845 745
• Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7)
• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

In this moment, may we choose care over cruelty, connection over fear, and solidarity over silence.

We stand with the Jewish community. We grieve together. And we hold one another, now and in the days ahead.

Gentle reminder for this afternoon …
As the sun sets over Burleigh, we’ll gather by the water to honour the many kinds of loss that shape our lives: loved ones, places, identity, connection, and the ways of being we’ve had to let go.

This simple community ceremony is a space to pause, breathe, remember, and renew. Through shared ritual, story, and quiet reflection, we acknowledge both our grief and the strength that comes from standing together.
🗓 Sunday 14 December
⏰ 4:45 pm – 6:15 pm
📍 Echo Beach, Burleigh Headland (southern walking path entrance)

Bring a picnic rug, a flower or small meaningful object, and your open heart. Together we’ll create a living artwork of gratitude, love, and resilience as the tide moves in and out, a reminder that endings and beginnings are always intertwined.

All are welcome: families, carers, kids, individuals, and community members from near and afar. Whether your loss is recent or long ago, visible or unseen, this space is for you.

Held on the lands of the Yugambeh peoples, with deep respect for Elders past and present.

A very critical conversation with the imminent aged care reforms coming in. The number of ageing Australians who simply won’t have the income to meet the increases in co-contributions for essential services and care is deeply concerning. Collectively finding solutions to this impending crisis must start now. Register to be part of the discussion.

Sweeping changes are coming to residential aged care with the introduction of the Aged Care Act 2024 on 1 November. At Compassionate Communities Australia, we welcome reforms that strengthen rights and transparency — but we also ask: will these changes translate into genuine relational care — where our older people are seen, valued, and cared ‘about’, not just cared ‘for’?

Join us for an engaging panel discussion exploring how policy reform meets human experience. Together, we’ll unpack what the new Aged Care Act could mean for everyday relationships between residents, their families, care staff, and communities — and how we can ensure compassion remains the foundation of the system.

This conversation builds on insights from our National Forum in Brisbane and the Residential Aged Care Advocacy Statement , which calls for a re-orientation from clinical models to community-connected care that restores dignity and belonging. It also builds on the 2025 Progress Report of Inspector General of Aged Care.

You can egsiter here - bit.ly/47mVnb8

In Western culture, we’re taught to fear, fight, or hide death. But what if we looked at it differently? What if, by facing mortality, we found life itself becoming deeper and more meaningful?

Join me and Rhee Duthie at the Festival of Death and Dying in Sydney, 22–23 November at Rushcutters Bay, a beautiful weekend of workshops, talks, and ceremonies exploring how we live, die, grieve, and care for one another.

We’ll be holding a participatory workshop on Compassionate Communities alongside, focused on what community development is and inviting reflection on how we can collectively reimagine care, connection, and community around death, dying, loss, and grief.

Get your tickets and explore the full program here: https://deathfest.sydney

Festival Director: Peter Banki, Ph.D
Curatorial Advisor and Festival Dramaturgy: Victoria Spence Festival of Death and Dying Life Rites Funerals Compassionate Communities Australia Dying to Know

Sydney Festival of Death and Dying A two day festival of workshops, performances and talks on different aspects of death and dying.

Thank you to Life Rites Funerals Zenith Virago- Doing Death Well Tender Funerals Mid North Coast for your ongoing support in Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation creating cultural safe, Survivor, descendant and community led end community & home death care program 🙏🏽

Join us on Thursday 30th and Friday 31st October for two days of hands on learning on how to care for our families and friends at end of life.

End of life is a difficult time for many of us, especially with ongoing Sorry Business. KBHAC has developed the Reclaiming Community and Home Death Care Program with Life Rites and the support of Zenith Virago and Tender Funerals. Join us for a special few days of learning and sharing how we can support each other in physical, spiritual, cultural and emotional ways as those we care for approach their journey into the dreaming.

More details below. Please rsvp below if you’d like to join