This submission is made on behalf of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO). The CPLO is an office of the SACBC, tasked with liaising between the Church and Parliament/Government, commenting on issues of public policy, and making submissions on legislation.
The CPLO welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Bill, which has important implications for employees that do not often get the same treatment as those employed in other sectors.

The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Draft Regulations on the Registration of Births and Deaths. We confine our comment to the question of ‘confirmation of birth’ documents that the Department proposes to issue to ‘foreign’ children. Nothing in the draft regulations explains or justifies the proposal to provide such children with a different, and inferior, form of birth certification.

The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office welcomes this opportunity to comment on the proposed amendments to the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. The Draft Bill seeks to provide clarity on a number of issues which have concerned our Office. We feel that in general the amendments proposed contribute to a policy framework that improves the care and protection of children and promotes their well-being.

The Catholic Church, as a religious body, does not consider itself competent to pronounce on whether or not an amendment to s 25 of the Constitution is necessary in order to facilitate expropriation without compensation.

We welcome the climate change bill, and therefore would like to make a brief contribution towards the improvement of the bill.

The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office welcomes the draft amendments to the Immigration Act of 2002.

An independent police watchdog organisation is a vital factor in ensuring that a nation’s police service carries out its duties professionally, ethically and constitutionally. This not only helps to maintain public trust and confidence in the police, it also protects individual police officers, and the police service as a whole, from unwarranted and malicious attacks.

Although the Catholic Church, along with most mainstream Christian denominations, does not embrace the practice of polygamous marriage, we fully recognize that it is a common form of marriage in our country. Furthermore, we have long been aware that aspects of polygamous marriages discriminate unfairly against women. This has now been highlighted by the judgment of the Constitutional Court which has prompted the current amendments.

Throughout its history, the Catholic Church has upheld the ideal of the ‘just wage’: an amount sufficient for the worker’s own support and for that of his/her family, with proper provision made for old age and for emergencies.

The CPLO welcomes the opportunity to comment on the National Minimum Wage Bill. Throughout its history, the Catholic Church has upheld the ideal of the ‘just wage’: an amount sufficient for the worker’s own support and for that of his/her family, with proper provision made for old age and for emergencies.