Near home.
This is only one of several blogs I keep. One for cycling which turned into a free-for all, one for climbing, though that hasn’t been updated in a while… Now this one for all my political/religious/feminist observations. The homepages need to be moved now that my root account has changed… I’ll get to that.
So. Now to update links. This will be fun.
MPs seek safeguard on abortion story appeared in the online press today. Well, at least it’s in Victoria and not a football for the Federal election… She says waiting to see an expression of ‘famous last words’.
The changes are about decriminalising abortion, though it tends not to be prosecuted at present anyways. If it goes under the health act, as proposed, there will be limitations to the effect that a woman’s mental or physical health must be threatened before the procedure can be done. This would make it more difficult to obtain an abortion. That would increase the number of backyard abortions… Hard to see how that’s an improvement, but the Premier is a Catholic.
Do we really want to re-create the US system where a very few church goers dictate to the rest of the population what they can and cannot do, then restrict their education and employment based on “user pays”? Do we really want to create a class society in which the dollar is god and people excluded from the upper echelons of society are condemned to a life without adequate education, health care or other opportunities? Why would we want to create such a barbaric society? If people really believed that the law of the concrete jungle was the best way to do, they could take off their clothes and go live with apes. The measure of a civilised society used to be how the poor, widows and orphans were treated, back when society was civilised. Before we used ‘free market economies’ to effectively reintroduce slave labour.
Would be nice if in the 21st century Australian women could make up their own minds what happens to their own bodies. Particularly since there’s already 6 billion people on the planet.
That brings up another point. Why are politicians so keen for Australian women to have more babies? Aren’t there too many humans on earth as it is? Aren’t we having trouble feeding, clothing and housing everyone? Aren’t we producing way too much pollution and clearing way too much forest and ripping up established environments? What’s the go with wanting an increase to all that? I notice, however, that no white politician in a ‘good’ white country talks about women in Africa having more children… Curious that.
If such approach to growth is based on a misrepresentation of a 3,000 year old tribal tradition and stories of origin from the Ancient Near East, it only goes to show Nimrod is still alive and well. And illegitimately claiming God’s authority for his bastard imperial agendas.
Following their invasion of aboriginal communities the very caring Howard Government has announced plans to change welfare laws so that a proportion of the money can only be spent on food and housing. This came as a surprise to pensioners and the unemployed, who already live week to week and also many with jobs who are still unable to make ends meet. Broke householders going hungry.
Lest cynics among us think that this is simply pre-election noise made by a Government with a notorious lack of concern for any child who doesn’t happen to have a father who writes large cheques for the Liberal Party, voters have been stunned by new moves in other key areas:
To put their money where their mouth is, the Government is increasing rent assistance and spending billions on an overhaul of the public housing system. A ministerial spokesman said “Because no pensioner or low-income earner can get ahead while the money that should be putting a roof over their head is being spent on luxury plane refurbishments.”
Similar plans have been unveiled for public health. A departmental representitive from the Health Minister’s office told us, “Because no child in a low-income family can get ahead while the money that should be providing health care, education and community services is being consumed by a Government spending billions of dollars on advertising to blow their own trumpet.”
Many in the private sector praised the new agenda and announced their own plans to begin contributing to Australia’s future. Multinationals and key chain retailers are putting a boycott on takeovers and market maneuvering that puts Australian owned small business out of work and limits minimum wages and other employee benefits. In addition, 1% of every transaction normally hidden in inter-departmental or overseas tansfer “clever accounting” will now be set aside to pay taxes and support infrastructure in the communities these large companies use as markets. “Because no Australian can get ahead in life while utilities are being run for profit and unfair business dealings rob communities of funds to support basic human necessities or put greater tax burdens on individuals.”
Politicians and citizens groups alike recieved the welcome news with much celebration. After more than a decade of using people who are down on their luck as scapegoats and turning them into veritable punching bags for the politics of resentment, those who have benefitted most from business and politics in Australia are beginning to five something back. Voters everywhere are more than happy to hear that as a nation we are no longer treading on the poor and the mentally ill. A spokesman for the Department of Finance said, “It is about time that all people in Australia were treated like human beings, regardless of their socio-economic status. We recognise that we need to govern not only for the economy, but for the community, for the people of Australia.”
Aboriginal communities are likewise very happy at the announcement that instead of invasion by Army and Federal Police, they will now be given the funding and assistance for development programs, housing, education and health care that have been denied for more than a decade.
The Howard Liberal Government seems at last to have learnt a lesson from history, perhaps from Bastille day. Having confessed to years of misrepresentation, lies, greed and exploitation of the Australian people many politicians have begun to make restitution for their misdeeds and to repair some of the damage that’s been done to our society. Apart from various statements of new plans and a new politics of fairness and honesty in our nation, the Government are being appropriately humble.
Just kidding. They’re full of shit. But it was nice to dream for a moment.
crowlie
Crowlie 