August 2026 News Update

Loved, Not Locked Up - A Birthday, a Senate Inquiry, and a Ripple of Hope in the face of Australia's Youth Justice System.

Today my eldest son turned nine.

It's a terrific age, and he's old enough to have a pretty confident opinion on what is and isn't just. Calling lights out for bedtime when he only has 2 more chapters left of Dog-Man - unjust. Declaring the end of screentime when he's only halfway through his Mario Kart Grand prix - unjust. Appealing to a higher court - Mum - when Dad's clearly made the wrong decision - completely just.

As I helped him find his shoes this morning (literally right next to his feet), I couldn't help feeling the heaviness of one of the things I've been reflecting on a lot this month. In one year, he will be ten. And in New South Wales (across most of Australia, actually) ten is the age at which a child can be held criminally responsible.

I look at my son and see, unmistakably, a child. Still growing. Still learning to manage big emotions, make wise choices and understand consequences.

Yet children his age are being arrested, separated from their families, held in watch-houses and locked behind bars.

Parenting has only deepened a conviction most of us recognise instinctively: children need love, safety and care. And as the former Queensland Human Rights Commissioner, Scott McDougall, expressed in the face of Queensland's new ‘Adult Time for Adult Crime’ approach, treating children like adults is the sign of a society that has lost its way.

Australia now spends more than $1.1 billion a year incarcerating children and young people. It costs around $1.3 million to imprison one child for one year. Around 85 per cent of children released from detention return to sentenced supervision within 12 months.

To emphasise just how expensive and counterproductive the current approach is, it's worth looking at the decades of research by Emeritus Professor Ross Homel, a faithful Common Grace supporter and one of Australia’s leading criminologists - research which points to a better way: supporting children long before they reach crisis point.

In his Pathways to Prevention project, the research found that helping kids early in their education journey and providing families support had a huge impact on the likelihood they would go on to commit a crime. Preschool communication and oral-language support reduced serious youth offending by more than 50 per cent. Among children who received that support alongside comprehensive family support, none fell foul of the youth justice system. Every dollar invested returned $7.65 in avoided youth justice costs alone.

We can spend $1.3 million locking up a child after things have gone badly wrong. Or as Australia's former National Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds, says in her landmark report, we can Help Way Earlier. 

Yet frustratingly and cruelly, governments in most states, despite knowing what the evidence and expertise says, keep reaching for tougher bail laws, harsher sentences and more detention because “tough on crime” politics wins votes.

I find it hard not to be horrified in the face of a political system that is willing to sacrifice the well-being of children as young as 10 for electoral popularity.

Overwhelmingly, the children being harmed by this approach are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are 23 times more likely to be locked up, making up more than 60 per cent of children in detention.

No wonder reconciliation can feel so hard in our country.

I have been grateful this month to hear Aboriginal community leader Noel Pearson’s voice so powerfully re-enter our national life, after a period of retreat following the failed referendum. At Garma, he called for federal intervention: “What can you do if your state chooses to spend [funds] on detention over education?”

We need federal leadership when state systems are so profoundly failing First Nations children.

As I reflect on the Gospels, I’m reminded by the way Jesus elevated the dignity of children in a society where they were so often overlooked. In Mark 10:13–16, Jesus welcomed children when others tried to move them aside, saying, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them.” He centered their capacity for faith, calling on his followers to receive the Kingdom of God like a little child if they wished to enter it (Mark 10:15). And he warned against despising the “little ones” (Matthew 18:10). These teachings on the intrinsic, inalienable value of every child as image bearers of God, seem far less radical to our modern ears than they would have to their original audiences.

In the Roman world where Christianity first took root, many practiced infant exposure - abandoning unwanted babies to die. The Church resisted the practice, and took in and cared for children that others had left. As the Church grew in influence in the Roman empire, such practices became illegal. Today, we now universally recognise infanticide as horrific.

Centuries later, Christian reformer Mary Carpenter challenged the imprisonment of children alongside adults and argued for education, care and reform rather than degrading punishment. Her work influenced juvenile justice reform in Britain and Australia. She insisted that “love must be the ruling sentiment.”

This is part of our Christian legacy, and it feels crucial that the Church embrace this part of its identity and speak it boldly into a modern Australia, which feels like on this issue, it's losing its way.

On 31 August, the Senate inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system is due to report. Its remit includes First Nations over-incarceration, children’s human rights and enforceable national minimum standards.

We will be calling on the Federal Government to invest in prevention, diversion, wrap-around supports and First Nations community-controlled solutions, and to establish national minimum standards that uphold children’s rights to ensure the level of care a child receives is not dependent on the lottery of the postcode they live in.

In the face of such darkness, it's hard to express how grateful I am for you, and everyone who is part of our wonderful movement.

Two weeks ago our movement gathered at our annual Let Justice Flow Conference.

More than 140 of us, everyday Christians from different denominations, ages, backgrounds, and states - came together in Canberra. We were joined by more than a dozen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders and Emeritus Professor Ross Homel, whom I mentioned earlier in this piece. We prayed, wept, learnt and worshipped together. We were also trained to carry our message of urgent change for children into the halls of parliament. We collectively held 51 meetings with our federal parliamentarians. The conference felt to me like a signpost towards hope, and a reminder that change begins when ordinary people refuse to accept injustice as inevitable.

May we be a Church that refuses to accept the mistreatment of children as normal, and insists that every child bears the image of God and deserves dignity, care and the chance to flourish.

When I look at my nine-year-old, I see a child to be loved, guided and protected.

I want that for him.

And I want it for every child, everywhere.

_______________________________________

August 2026 Updates

'Healing Wings' Artwork In Safina Stewart's beautiful new "Healing Wings" artwork, a wedge-tail eagle carries the promise of Malachi 4:2 - "the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings." Painted by Safina Stewart, Common Grace’s Storyteller and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lead, this artwork's vibrant colours speak of God's joy, light, and generous grace, with no darkness in His promises. Order your A2 print for $300 (or two for $600) by 31 August, or bid on the original from $7,000 before 5pm AEST, 2 September. Every purchase helps amplify the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders. Watch Safina sharing the story behind this artwork and find out details of how to order your A2 print or enter your bid on the original artwork here.

We’re deeply thankful for all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders who so generously led, shaped and informed our time together at our Let Justice Flow Conference.

Thanks to the generosity of Common Grace supporters, we were able to bring together an incredible group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders: Aunty Sue Hodges, Aunty Mary Waites, Aunty Di Emery, Aunty Noelene Murphy, Aunty Donna Meehan, Aunty Edwina Lingwoodock, Uncle Darryl Lingwoodock, Uncle Darren Garlett, Uncle Laurie Besant, Nathan Tyson, Safina Stewart, Adam Gowen, Joshua Lane, Natasha Lane, Mikenzie Ling, Steph Evans and Arieta Fergie. 

We were incredibly blessed to listen deeply to their voices, and to learn from their experience, wisdom and leadership. Together, we heard a strong call for systems that protect and support First Nations children to be safe, loved and able to flourish - and we’re grateful to add our voices to theirs. At the conference, we had the opportunity to bring this call directly to our Federal Representatives, asking them to show national leadership on youth justice reform by investing in proven prevention and early-intervention programs and establishing minimum national standards so that every child’s human rights are protected within the justice system.

________________________________________________________________________________

Christian leaders from across Australia are writing to Immigration Minister Tony Burke, calling on the Government to honour our nation's proud 75-year legacy of welcoming refugees. The open letter, organised as part of the End the Waiting campaign, urges Government action on three fronts: expanding the Refugee and Humanitarian Program to the pledged 27,000 places, making complementary pathways like skilled refugee labour and student settlement a permanent part of our humanitarian intake, and ensuring people awaiting protection decisions can access work and Medicare.

If you're a church leader - national, state or local, clergy or church staff - please add your name. If not, please forward this to your church leader. You can sign or share here.

________________________________________________________________________________

Season of Creation is almost here - and we’d love you to join us! From 1 September to 4 October, we’ll be exploring what it looks like to faithfully follow Jesus in a changing climate, with a range of resources including a new four-part podcast series, a daily devotional, and an Effective Climate Conversations training workshop. And tomorrow night, Tuesday 1 September at 7:30pm, we’ll kick off the season with Pray, Praise and Participate - an online evening of worship, prayer, conversation and practical action. There’s still time to sign up. 

Fossil Fuel Treaty

Common Grace is joining a growing global movement calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty: an international agreement to phase out coal, oil and gas. This call, championed by Pacific nations, offers an important opportunity for Christians to stand with our Pacific neighbours and advocate for a just transition away from fossil fuels. Head to our website to find out how you can take action by attending a public gathering, signing a petition, and by sharing this campaign widely with the people around you. Find out more here. 

_______________________________________________________________

We're grateful for the Federal Government's $308 million investment in 448 new crisis and transitional homes for over 22,000 women and children escaping family and domestic violence, announced earlier this month. Safe housing is foundational to safety and healing. For many women fleeing violence, leaving home - whether temporarily or permanently - can mean facing housing insecurity or homelessness, simply because there aren't enough housing options or the barriers to accessing support are too high. We celebrate this step and call for continued, sustained investment to meet the full scale of need. Over the coming months, we'll be sharing Common Grace's policy recommendations on domestic and family violence, along with advocacy resources you can use to help push for change. Stay tuned.

________________________________________________________________________________

I shared this blessing as we finished up our time together at the 2026 Let Justice Flow conference. It is a prayer we continue to pray for our delegates and our movement of Common Grace.

...