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Director's Newsletter

Director's Newsletter
7 April, 2026

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Jesus Christ is Risen. He is risen indeed!
 
I begin this April newsletter with Easter greetings.
 
Over the last six weeks, the period referred to as Lent, Christians around the world have prepared for the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that this event, the resurrection of Jesus, finally made possible the reconciliation of God and mankind after the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
 
God in taking on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and dying on the cross, elevated the dignity of human nature, and allowed for the possibility of a true communion between God and man. This single event in human history, gives us the hope of eternal life in communion with the Holy Trinity.
 
Much has happened since the last newsletter. First, I would like to alert you to the new Christopher Dawson Centre website. This work has been under development over the last six months and will hopefully provide a more functional and attractive point of contact for the Centre. It will also allow the Centre to more easily publish articles and social media content.
 
Second, the dates, venue and keynote speaker for the 2026 Colloquium have now been confirmed. The theme of the colloquium will be:
‘Can we arrest the decline of Western civilisation? And if so, how?’
 
Senator Ralph Babet has graciously accepted an invitation to provide the keynote address on the opening night of the Colloquium, 7:00pm, Friday, 10 July, at St Peter’s Church Parish Centre, Toorak. (Senator Babet recently delivered a powerful speech on the importance of Christianity in the Senate Chamber which you can view at: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18HQ6tmDgV/  )
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The presentation of Colloquium papers will take place on Saturday, 11 July from 9:00am, again at St Peter’s Parish Centre, and the colloquium will conclude with a dinner, offsite, at 6:00pm. The keynote address and dinner will be ticketed and be separate from the colloquium registration.
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As is usual for the Dawson Centre Colloquium those interested in presenting a paper can send a short abstract along with a C.V. for consideration to director@dawsoncentre.com Papers should be able to be presented in no more than 30mins. Again, as usual the papers presented will be published as part of the volume of proceedings and eventually made available for sale.
We are keen to receive proposals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds and the theme has been intentionally broadly worded to allow for different perspectives to be discussed. The call for papers will remain open until the end of May or until places are filled. So please do not wait too long to send through your proposal.
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I am also pleased to announce that the former Director of the Centre, Dr David Daintree, will present his first paper at a Dawson colloquium! After his many years of organising and running the annual colloquium, he will finally step in to the spotlight and present a paper himself. I am sure that his talk will alone be worth the price of admission!
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Third, I want to thank you all for the very positive responses I received for the March newsletter on the issue of institutional childcare. I was particularly pleased to be contacted by a group called ‘Childcare Choice’ (https://childcarechoice.com.au/) who were founded to address the kind of concerns I raised in the newsletter. They are campaigning for change to government policy to better support parents seeking to care for their children at home before they are ready to commence school.
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They are currently conducting a survey to gather together the voices of parents, grandparents, and parents-to-be to give them a voice in the national conversation about childcare choice The survey can be found at https://childcarechoice.com.au/3-minute-survey
 
I was also pleased to discover that the Federal Opposition have appointed Senator Matt O’Sullivan as shadow minister for Choice in Childcare and Early Learning and that the senator is strongly supportive of changing current government policy to provide greater choice and support for parents. You can read more about his position on this issue at https://senatormattosullivan.com.au/parents-deserve-better-its-time-for-real-choice-in-childcare/
 
Fourth, I am pleased to announce that the 2024 colloquium proceedings are now available for purchase:
 
THE 2024 COLLOQUIUM BOOK
AUTHENTIC HUMANISM AND THE CRISIS OF CULTURE
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A collection of essays by Richard Brown, Bella D’Abrera, Natalie Kenndy, Anna Krohn, Lucas McLennan, Archbishop Porteous, Karl Schmude, Prof Steven Schwartz, Fr Matthew Solomon, Anna Walsh
 
Only $20 posted. To order your copy transfer $20 per copy to: B.S.B.  063-225, A/C  10639017, with your surname as the reference, and forward postal address to dccdain@gmail.com
 
Finally, with regard to upcoming events.
 

  • Dr Christopher Reynolds will speak on his new book ‘What a Capital Idea: Australia 1770-1901’, in both Melbourne and Hobart. Dr. Reynolds has an impressive C.V. He previously held positions with the U.S. Congress and Senate, working in the senior position of Senior Professional Stall for the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Children, Youth and Families. He has also worked as a senior public servant for the NSW government, as well as in public relations, as a political advisor on several state and commonwealth campaigns and as an academic both in Australia and overseas.

 

 

 
 
 
With best wishes to all,
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Alexander Sidhu
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Director of the Christopher Dawson Centre

 

 

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