What Would I Change About Modern Society?

Not everything that matters can be measured.

Not generosity.
Not endurance.
Not the quiet resilience of a young man who studies through grief,
or the kindness of a woman who smiles even when she misses her mother’s funeral.

In my eight years as principal of a university college, I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside students who arrived here as asylum seekers — young people who fled brutal regimes, carried pain in their bodies and hearts, and still turned up to class, turned up to life, every single day.

They have been our hardest workers.
Our most grateful residents.
Our most humble contributors.

They’ve taught me more about integrity, hospitality, and hope than anything else ever could.

And yet — I watch modern society grow more indifferent to the suffering of others.
We retreat into wealth and distraction, shore up our own comfort while ignoring the cries of the vulnerable.
We forget the biblical call to welcome the stranger.
We forget that Jesus’ mission was good news for the poor — not just metaphorically, but materially.
And we forget that our enemies, too, bear the image of God.

Tim Costello reminded us of this recently.
He spoke of USAID being disbanded, a decision that will cost 14 million lives.
He spoke of Australia’s recent aid increase — barely a rounding error in our national budget.

This isn’t a guilt trip.
But it is a wake-up call.

That’s why we’re taking a group of our student leaders to participate in Refugee Camp in My Neighbourhood — a not-for-profit organisation that runs immersive tours to help schools and organisations better understand the refugee journey and how they can support new arrivals. The experience is guided by those with lived experience of seeking asylum, and offers a powerful opportunity to walk — briefly — in the shoes of those who have had to flee home, navigate impossible systems, and start again. We see this as an incredible opportunity worth investing in. We hope to produce leaders who understand and are responsive to this experience — leaders shaped by compassion, not complacency.

What would I change about modern society?
I would change what — and who — we pay attention to.
I would change the assumption that suffering is someone else’s problem.
And I would change the story we tell about success — so it includes compassion, hospitality, and the courage to open our lives to those we do not yet know.

If we’re willing to learn, our best teachers are already here.