Since 1901, Australian Parliamentary Standing Orders have required the House & Senate to open daily with a Christian prayer, to the exclusion of all other beliefs and disbeliefs.
The Vatican has attempted to redirect growing criticism over its handling of child sex abuse by claiming that such abuse occurs elsewhere too. (This is true, but is it relevant? This can hardly be a defence.)
Sex abuse rife in other religions, says Vatican [The Guardian, via RichardDawkins.net]
Teachers say private schools get too much [news.com.au]
Teenagers watch online porn ‘by accident’ - Government study [news.com.au]
Yes. An accident. <roll eyes>
Religious lobby groups (Jim Wallace and company, we’re looking at YOU) will no doubt use the study to further prop up their feeble, hysterical and outright dishonest push for Internet censorship. Oh, speaking of which…
More smoke, more mirrors [EFA]
Tame the Tube ["Make a Stand" campaign by the Australian Christian Lobby]
(For what it’s worth, there may be many - parents and others - who are unhappy with the standard of content on Australian television… but not necessarily for the same reasons as members of the ACL.)
At the next election, please seriously consider voting for minor parties. Put the major parties (Labor, Liberals, Nationals) last. Every vote counts no matter who you vote for, and if enough people demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the status quo by making themselves heard at the ballot box then eventually politicians of all persuasions will need to take notice - or find themselves unemployed. Minor parties are important. Minor parties and independents can be powerful! (Think Brian Harradine, Family First, Nick Xenophon…) You can send a message to politicians that their behaviour and attitudes are unacceptable and need to change; all you need to do is change your vote…
Below - in no particular order - are a couple of minor parties you may consider voting for. We do not necessarily endorse all of the policies of these parties, nor the comments of their representatives, but encourage you to learn as much about them as you can and make your own informed decisions. There are other parties too, and independent candidates run in most electorates at most elections. Do your homework. Google is your friend.
From the ABC:
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is warning that legislative changes in the Northern Territory could have a devastating impact on the health of many Indigenous children.
…and (emphasis added):
[Health Department staff] were told to report anyone under 16 who is sexually active, even if that person’s sexual partner is also under 16 or of the same age, and regardless of consent.
“Any person who has sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 16 is guilty of a crime and liable to imprisonment for 16 years,” Dr Bauert said.
“There’s no age defence, so if the person who was having sex with somebody under the age of 16 is 15, that is no defence.
“We are going to have young people not prepared to come seeking help in terms of contraception advice; they won’t be coming seeking advice in early pregnancy, if themselves or their partner are likely to be charged with a crime.”
Dr Bauert says patients will also think twice before seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Senator Steven Conroy today released a statement regarding the supposed leak of the ACMA blacklist:
Internet list publication grossly irresponsible
Selected extracts:
“I am aware of reports that a list of URLs has been placed on a web site. This is not the ACMA blacklist.”
and
“There are some common URLs to those on the ACMA blacklist. However, ACMA advises that there are URLs on the published list that have never been the subject of a complaint or ACMA investigation, and have never been included on the ACMA blacklist.”
Meanwhile the WikiLeaks web site, including it’s published list of URLs, appears to be currently unavailable…
We can only hope…
Senator Xenophon speaks out against Internet content filtering
South Australian independent senator raises concerns and says there are better ways to spend the money
Survey results - Internet filtering, Conroy’s performance
The federal Government’s communications policies have taken a battering in a survey that attracted about 20,000 respondents.
Is anyone else worried that the global economic situation is going to overshadow all other issues, allowing things like the Internet filter to slip in under the radar? (Perhaps Conroy can find a way to link the filter to workplace relations or economics, then he can update his catch-cry from the rather tired “If you oppose the filter you’re a paedophile” to something more current, like “If you oppose the filter you hate working families”.)
More recent articles regarding the Australian federal government’s proposal to introduce a mandatory Internet filter:
Grass roots activism group GetUp! are running a campaign against the proposed filter. As of writing more than 93,000 people have signed their online petition calling on Communications Minister Senator Conroy to abandon the proposal. (The widget below shows the current number of signings.)
Selected stories from the Port News web site: