Australian Briefs June

New defence force bishop

The Reverend Len Eacott is the Anglican Church’s new bishop to the defence forces.

A long-time soldier, Mr Eacott served as senior Chaplain to General Peter Cosgrove’s Interfet forces in East Timor. As Bishop to the Defence Force, Bishop Eacott’s responsibilities will include providing direct pastoral care for servicemen and women, and providing leadership for the 36 full-time and 60 part-time Defence Force Anglican chaplains.

He succeeds Bishop Tom Frame who served as Defence Force Bishop for five and a half years and is now director of St Mark’s National Theological Centre and head of the School of Theology at Charles Sturt University.

TEAR examines budget aid increase

TEAR Australia National Advocacy Coordinator Ben Thurley has welcomed the increase in the government’s aid budget to $3.15 billion this year, but says “much of the surface sheen looks less impressive on closer examination”.

“These recent increases have gone some way to restoring the capacity of the aid program to meaningfully assist with poverty reduction in the region. Yet for every $100 of our Gross National Income, we give just 30 cents in aid,” Mr Thurley says.

He says Christians must take up the Micah Challenge, the global campaign to work with people in poverty and call on governments to honour commitments they have made to the poor. 

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