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Election: John Beckett of Micah Challenge -Why I miss Kevin already

1:00am Tuesday, 3rd August 2010

A couple of weeks ago at dinner I was talking to some good friends about poverty and Micah Challenge’s recent Voices for Justice conference in Canberra. The conversation turned to the downfall of Kevin Rudd and the rise of Julia Gillard, PM. And the question came, as it has a number of times in the last few weeks, ‘What does the leadership change mean for Micah Challenge? Does it mean you are back to square one?’
In many ways I was sad to watch the demise of Kevin Rudd. Whatever your political persuasion, we have lost a great advocate for the poor, and for Australia’s responsibility to the poor. But what about the square one question? We now face a short election campaign and the possibility of yet another change in leadership. Have the unpredictable seismic shifts of Australian politics thrown a spanner in the works of the anti-poverty movement?
Julia Gillard is an unknown quantity on most international issues. Her focus has been on domestic portfolios such as education and workplace relations. Tony Abbott has reaffirmed the Coalition’s commitment to existing foreign policy, but he rarely delves into international issues without being prompted to do so. It remains to be seen whether either of them will be a champion for the cause of poverty. It remains to be seen whether either will be as receptive to the advances and aims of Micah challenge as Kevin Rudd has been.
But are we back to square one? My answer is that I hope we never left it!
One of the things that I tend to harp on about is lifelong advocacy. In the world of campaigning, the aim of most people is to see who can make the loudest noise. In that world, I believe Micah Challenge is distinctive because we are trying to see whether we can make the longest noise.
We are trying to make the longest noise because we are a gathering of Christian voices. As a Christian campaign, we are necessarily committed to discipleship, because that is what Jesus was committed to. Disciples are people that follow Jesus and commit to the things Jesus was committed to. Disciples do that regardless of the pressures we face in a broken and sinful world.
For Micah Challenge, discipleship is square one. Disciples of Jesus understand that the call to work for justice for the world’s poor is a never changing part of their lives in this world. Never changing commitment in an ever changing world.
Over the last five years since Micah Challenge started we have seen some success in getting policies regarding global poverty changed in this country. We now have bi-partisan commitment to 0.5%GNI going to development assistance by 2015. We have seen increased funding to health, education and sanitation for the world’s poorest.
However, policies and politicians will come and go. The events of the past weeks only serve to highlight the importance of lifelong advocacy. Lifelong advocacy means always standing against injustice, and for justice. If you ask me what legacy I would like to see Micah Challenge leave, I would tell you I want our legacy to be a changed church in Australia. If we can help Christians in this country and around the world see advocacy for and with the poor as an integral part of their discipleship, then there is good reason to hope that we will continue to see the eradication of poverty.
We now find ourselves in an election campaign. Lifelong advocacy today means considering more than your own interests when you cast your vote. Your voice and your vote can make a difference for the world’s poor. Lifelong advocacy in a few weeks time will mean turning to the task of influencing the policies of a new government to help create a more just world for the poor. Lifelong advocacy means we continue to pray.
So whether it is a Gillard government or an Abbott government, for Christians in Australia and for Micah Challenge it simply means more of the same. We never left square one. We are simply reminded of the importance of staying there.
John Beckett is the National Coordinator of Micah Challenge.