The Rudd government is waiting on a report from the Productivity Commission due to be handed down next February – before deciding whether or not to introduce a national paid maternity leave scheme.

In the meantime, Myer, Coles and Aldi have in the last week or so announced paid parental leave schemes.

In the case of Myer, it will be offered to full and part time staff who’ve been at the company for a minimum of 18 months.

Paid maternity leave/parental leave is seen as a way of attracting and retaining staff in the middle of a skills and labour crisis.

Currently, only around a third of women have access to paid maternity leave, and most of them are working for the government, or big business.

How would a paid maternity leave scheme affect whether or not you stay in the workforce?

Apparently around a third of working mums don't return to the workforce after having children…what’s your story?

Would it have made a difference if paid maternity leave had been/or was an option for you?

This week’s dilemma is from Anna – who’s in a bit of a pickle at work.

She’s currently looking around for a new job as she’s working part time, but would like full time work.

She’s applied for a job in the advertising industry that she’d love to get…and was thrilled to find out a few days ago that she’s been successful in securing an interview.

But her dilemma is this – she doesn’t have any annual leave, yet she needs to take time off to attend the interview, which falls on one of the days she is required to work in her current job. She’s the only one who does her role, so she can’t ‘swap shifts’ with anyone else.

She’s tried to find another time with the advertising company, but they’re NOT flexible, due to the high level of interest in the job.

She doesn’t want to lie and call in sick - but she definitely wants to stay in the running for this new job, by showing up at the interview. She doesn’t want to tell her boss about the job she’s applying for…in case she doesn’t get it.

• What takes precedence when you’re looking for a new job? Your current job – or the one you want to get?
• Should Anna come clean and tell her boss what she’s up to? Or should she find a way to avoid doing that at all costs, in case she doesn’t end up getting the job?

Your thoughts for Anna most appreciated!

“Becoming all we can be”
Review of A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines, by Kara Martin

Ernest J. Gaines was born on a plantation in Louisiana, United States, and draws heavily on his own experiences of that community in this powerful novel about racism and transformation, about community and dignity.
In the novel, set in the 1940s, Jefferson, a plantation worker is guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when a white man is killed. As the only survivor on the scene, and black, he is arrested and convicted and sentenced to death; a situation that impacts his whole community.

In a final, desperate attempt to get Jefferson’s sentence commuted to life imprisonment rather than “death”, his lawyer mounts a defence which sounds ridiculous in the 21st Century, he argues that Jefferson is not worth killing because he is just an animal, a hog. It then becomes Jefferson’s godmother’s goal to ensure that her godson dies a man, not a hog; that her godson will be remembered as a human being, not an animal.
Jefferson’s godmother decides that her best friend’s son, Grant Wiggins, the most educated member of his community, is going to be the means of this transformation from hog to man. However, it is a long, slow, frustrating and humiliating process for Grant; as he is ridiculed by the whites and ignored by Jefferson, who becomes deeply depressed from the moment of his incarceration.

However, over time, through dialogue, respect and encouragement, Grant helps Jefferson to discover a new way of seeing himself. By the end, Jefferson realises that he can set an example for his community of maturity and dignity; that even though he has been separated from his community by prison walls, he still belongs to his community, and can still give hope to his community.

The theme of community is very strong; along with the concept that education is not just knowledge, it is about transformation; but really this book is SO rich in lessons for all of us.

Ernest J. Gaines manages to take us out of our comfortable lives and right into the prison cell with Jefferson; we feel his pain as the victimised member of an oppressed community. It is a deeply moving book because we experience all the emotions of those who are suffering. This is a sad and confronting book, but it is also uplifting, because in the end it celebrates all that is possible.

I was reading this book at the time of Kevin Rudd’s apology to the stolen generation, and it challenged me to wonder how different I am to the whites in this book. How do I react to the complex situation faced by those who are marked as different in this country; whether it is the way they look or behave?
Perhaps the most important message of A Lesson Before Dying is that each of us has been created by God with the potential to be whole, and to help others to become whole. This is a poetic book which deeply resonates with truth.

KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (www.mcsi.edu.au), an avid reader, book group attendee, and fiction reviewer for Open House (www.theopenhouse.net.au).

Imagine for a moment you’re an orthodox Jew. Your family is Jewish, your friends are Jewish, your culture and religion is Jewish. And then one day your daughter tells you she’s become a Christian. How do you feel? Stan Telchin felt betrayed. Little did he know how his daughter’s decision would change his own life. Hear the story this Sunday.

Plus, we'll take a look at global political trends with Chuck Missler, and get an entrepreneur’s guide to business success when we speak to Attitude Clothing founder Justin Herald.

What did you make of the protests surrounding the Olympic torch?

Controversy seemed to follow the flame wherever it went…from London and Paris and across the Atlantic to San Francisco.

Has it ruined a significant Olympic moment for you?

Or do you applaud the activists who are drawing attention to human rights abuses in Tibet – and elsewhere in China?

The International Olympic Committee has called the torch protests a “crisis”...do you agree?

Or are simply people exercising their right to freedom of speech?

Maybe it’s livened up the torch relay for you…perhaps you usually find it quite dull but this has made it a bit more interesting.

Overall the protests have been non violent – but some of the protests were violent. In Paris for example, one activist forcibly put the flame out, while in San Francisco, the path of the torch was changed to avoid protestors. 

Are the Olympics really separate from politics, as the IOC keeps insisting?

Or is that impossible in a year when they’re being held in China?

The flame arrives in Canberra on April 24th – will you be upset if there are protests?

If you’d been asked to attend the 2020 summit – what idea would you have taken along to present to the Prime Minister?

It can be something big, something small, something expensive, something that costs virtually nothing.

Maybe it's something in education, health - or another sector receiving much less attention.

Kevin Rudd presented his own idea at the summit. He wants to see child care centres that incorporate day care, pre school learning and health services for children up to the age of five, as well as support programs for parents.

But what idea do you have for Australia?

What do you think should have been discussed at the 2020 summit in Canberra?

Our dilemma this week is from Rebecca, who is tentatively wanting to put a profile up on an internet dating site, to see if she can meet that special someone.

She has a busy life and hardly has time to see her friends, let alone organise dates with different people.

She’s nervous about who she might meet online though – and wants to know whether it’s a good idea in the first place. That’s the first thing she wants advice on.

The second thing she wants advice on, is whether or not she should change her name if she does put her profile up.

She's afraid that she may be “discovered” by friends, colleagues or acquaintances if she uses her real name, as she most certainly does NOT want people to know that she’s looking for love online.

She’s thinking about changing her name for her profile, but is concerned that potential dates may feel deceived if she does so.

She’d tell them why she changed her name if they met for a date, but nonetheless she isn’t sure whether it’s the best way to kick off a potential new relationship.

• Is internet dating a good place to meet people?
• Is there a stigma attached to online dating? Or are Rebecca’s fears misplaced?
• Does it matter if you put a different name up to protect your identity until you actually meet up with a potential suitor?
• Have you had a good - or bad – experience dating via the internet?

Futurist and historian Tom Sine says there are some global challenges that just aren’t going to go away.

Things like:

• Climate change
• A one in four chance of recession
• Long working hours, less family time
• Increasing pressure to consume media online
• Endless – and growing material consumption
• Large numbers of 20-30 year olds who are dropping out of church, even though there’s a thirst for spiritual meaning in this age bracket
• Increasing multiculturalism

But how will the church of the future respond to these challenges?

Alternatively, what do you think the church of the future should look like?

(Rated PG for mild coarse language and sexual references)
 
 
'Sweden's not a verb, it's a country.'  Welcome to the wonderful world of Gondry, the film's screenwriter and director.
 
Michel Gondry, the Oscar-winning, different-minded rock video genie who gave us Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Block Party , has his own Disney-like attachment to fantasy and could be said to be fairly heavily influenced by the magic realism school of lit.
 
The scene is set around an condemned, old-fashioned video store named 'Be Kind Rewind', in an equally old-fashioned New Jersey suburb, Passaic. The shop's touted as the birthplace of jazz great and all-round jovial cat Fats Waller, but what we know for certs is that Fletcher (Danny Glover) lives there with his pseudo son Mike (hip hopper turned thesp Mos Def).

Business is bad, and not helped any when Fletch wanders off, leaving Mike to watch both the store and Mike's mate, neighbourhood weirdo Jerry (the excellently insufferable Jack Black).

Freakishly, the store's complete holdings are wiped through a magnetised Jerry, so the deluded duo have to 'Swede' (i.e. re-shoot) the movies in their own sweet if not twisted manner.  

This is fun, if frustrating; if you discount the existence and supremacy of DVDs you'll get closer to swallowing the premise.

Be Kind Rewind offers a partly-sentimental, partly-caustic, always self-conscious examination of pop culture through the Sweded remakes and the efforts of the community to help save the stores.

Don't go expecting a plausible plot or characters you can easily warm to: this is hilarious at times, and it is always worth keeping your eyes peeled for reverential references to films of yore. The low tech special effects and over-the-top ham acting (you'll never be able to watch Driving Miss Daisy again without smirking)are memorable without perhaps winning over filmgoers completely. 

Hats off to Melonie Diaz for a breakout role as the dry cleaning femme-fatale-next-door turnd leading lady (hence love interest), Alma, and those old burlesque boilers Mia Farrow and Sigourney Weaver for their classy supporting roles.

While this is a beautiful film, visually speaking, and heart-warming in an essentially heartless way, Gondry coulda done with Charlie Kaufman's help here (Gondry shared the Oscar with the quirky writer for Eternal Sunshine). That said, this is a sweet movie that will annoy you at the same time as it endears itself.

 
Catch it quickly before it hits the DVD shelves (I wouldn't be hanging out for a Sweded version on video).
 

In October 2006, the world was shocked when ten schoolgirls from Pennsylvania’s Amish community were gunned down in their classroom. Yet in the midst of that dark event, grace shone through. Though the popular images of buggies, beards and bonnets often stereotype the Amish as backward, this week we’ll hear how their Christian beliefs motivated radical forgiveness towards the shooter and his family.

An act of compassion in an age of violence—hear the full story this Sunday.

The government has increased the tax on alcopops – premixed alcoholic drinks popular with young people – by 70 per cent.

That means the price of pre mixed alcoholic drinks will go up by between $0.30 and $1.30 a bottle.

The aim is to reduce the incidence of teen binge drinking.

Apparently alco-pops are the drink of choice for young girls who try alcohol for the first time.

The Australian Drug Foundation says raising taxes is one of the best ways to stop people from over-drinking.

But opposition leader Brendan Nelson says he’s not convinced it will make a difference.

What do you think - will increasing the price of pre mixed alcoholic drinks make a difference to teen binge drinking?

It is only $1.30…will that really cause a young person to think twice – before buying another drink?

And what do you think should be done with the extra money raised from the increased tax?

The government’s going to use the money to fund a preventative health campaign, that will target alcohol, smoking, diet and exercise.

But the opposition says the money should be spent on alcohol rehabilitation as well.

Is an increased tax on alcopops a good idea – and what should the money raised be spent on?

Crystal wants to know whether or not it’s her place to say something to pregnant woman who either smoke or drink in public.

She says that whenever she sees a pregnant woman drink or smoke, it really upsets her, because she works in the health industry, and knows how damaging it can be on the young life still forming the womb.

She sometimes wonders whether the young women she sees with a cigarette or drink in hand realise the danger they are putting their young offspring in.

But she wants to know whether or not it’s appropriate to say something to the mother.

Should Crystal say something if she’s concerned? If so, what should she say?

Or would it be rude of her to do so? Is it undermining the mother's choices?

Crystal is genuinely concerned about the negative impact on these young lives – should she let go of her concerns or say something?

Have you ever had your beliefs about something or someone smashed by reality? When has a stereotype in your mind been smashed an encounter with the real thing?

This week we spoke to Donald Kraybill, author of Amish Grace. The Amish are often the subjects of ridicule, stereotyped as those 'funny people' who get around on horse and buggy, wear 17th-century clothing and isolate themselves from the world. Yet, as Donald described, the Amish do use technology, love humour, have friendships with the community, and extended radical grace to the killer who took ten of the children's lives back in October 2006 becasue of their Christian faith. 

I want to hear about a time when your mind has been changed about something or someone through a personal encounter.

• Maybe you used to think church was boring and daggy…until you actually decided to visit one day
• Maybe you’ve made judgements about cultural groups that you now realize were wrong
• Maybe an encounter with a public figure changed your mind about them
• Maybe you’ve always associated particular qualities with people who work in particular professions…for example the ‘boring accountant’ stereotype….maybe that changed the day you went skydiving with one..! hmm…

Tell us about a cliché that got challenged and a stereotype that got smashed after an encounter with the real thing.

It was once believed that you should never talk to friends about religion or politics. This week we’re going to explore both, asking the question ‘how would Jesus vote?’  Author, minister and sociologist Tony Campolo will join us to describe what he calls ‘Red Letter Christians’—people who look to the words of Christ as they’re moral, ethical and political starting point. Listen to Tony then tell me what you think.

Plus, why is it that folks in the developing world often have the strongest faith, while churches in affluent countries can struggle in attendance and enthusiasm? Could riches and material prosperity be the problem? This week we’ll start a five-part series on simple living with Ron Sider. By giving away to those who go without, we just may find new spiritual joy ourselves.