Action Australia

Everyone’s Doing It!

 Grand Prix organizers have admitted it, and it’s time for the Sydney mardi gras organizers to admit it too!

27/2 Saltshakers |

 “If Grand Prix organizers, who sell tickets, don’t know their actual attendance figures, how easy is it for Mardi gras parade organisers to exaggerate non ticket attendance figures?” asks Peter Stokes CEO of Christian ethics group Salt Shakers.

Relationships Bill in Victorian Parliament THIS WEEK

25/2 Saltshakers | The Victorian Legislative Assembly is expected to debate the Relationships Bill this week. This Bill would establish a Relationships Register for homosexual and heterosexual couples to register their relationship with the government.

Please ACT NOW!

Contact your Legislative Assembly Member by PHONE. (Email is OK but time could be short!)

Please be VERY polite - Ask them NOT to support the Relationships Bill.
Contact Details for MPs

Click here to find out the name of your MP/s and their contact details (just type in your address and your SIX MPs are shown).

Write to your Members in the Legislative Council

Please contact your FIVE Members in the Legislative Council (contact details above).
If the Bill is passed in the Legislative Assembly it will then go to the Legislative Council. However, ALL MPs will be discussing this at party meetings this week!

Artist hanged herself after aborting her twins

Katie Gibbs, Miss Beck's GP, told the hearing: "She was extremely distressed by the abortion procedure, and I didn't think she ever came to terms with it. ... Her boss at the clinic, said: "The time that can be given to a woman by a counsellor is limited in a busy hospital... Recording a verdict of suicide, Dr Carlyon said: "It is clear that a termination can have a profound effect on a woman's life.

24/2 LifeNews.com | News of the suicide comes weeks after a new study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry which found that women who have abortions typically experience high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder. The study appeared in the July 2007 issue of the professional psychological publication but it only received publicity recently. The research involved 155 women from South Africa who had abortions and were evaluated one month and three months afterwards. Approximately 20 percent of the women had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms just one month later. The results led the authors to note that "high rates of PTSD characterize women who have undergone voluntary pregnancy termination. Looking at the women three months after the abortion, the number of women experiencing the PTSD symptoms increased 61 percent

Relationships Bill 2007

Archbishop Denis Hart has written to Victorian Attorney General, Rod Hulls MP expressing his unequivocal opposition to the Relationships Bill 2007 :

I am grateful to have been provided with an opportunity to comment on the Relationships Bill 2007. I should add that I was disappointed not to be given an opportunity to consult about this important piece of legislation before it was given a second reading in the Parliament.

The Bill, if enacted, would introduce the status of a “registrable relationship”; it would establish a Relationship Register on which registrable relationships could be registered; it would provide for the issue of certificates certifying entries on the register and the use of these certificates in legal proceedings; and it would authorize the making of legally enforceable relationship agreements between persons who are not married but who are (living together as) a couple.

Open Archbishop Hart's Letter (PDF) to Rod Hull 22 February 2008 ...

Legal loophole allows some gay marriages to go ahead

20/02 Lateline Transcript |TONY JONES: Two years ago the Howard Government stomped on the ACT's attempt to introduce what essentially is gay marriage. Now, with the new Rudd Government in power, the ACT Assembly plans to renew its push for gay civil unions within a few weeks. So, will the Rudd Government intervene to prevent gay weddings too?

While that's being decided, more than 200 same sex couples have been busy holding weddings around Australia anyway. They're taking advantage of a legal loophole that currently leaves some gay partnerships more equal than others.

... PHILIPPA MCDONALD: Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland declined Lateline's request for an interview and instead his spokesman emailed a statement declaring the Government supports a scheme that: "Would provide recognition for same-sex relationships. We do not support any legislation that mimics marriage or undermines existing laws that define marriage as being between a man and a woman." ... Before the election the Australian Christian Lobby reached out to Kevin Rudd, now it has a clear message for him

JIM WALLACE, AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LOBBY: It corrupts the whole model, and the whole idea of marriage. The idea of marriage is that it is about commitment between a man and a woman for life. This is about people trying to invade that concept with their ideas and dilute it.

PHILIPPA MCDONALD: The Australian Christian Rights Lobby is right behind the Federal Government's stated opposition to gay marriage and it's encouraging the Rudd Government to overturn the ACT's law just as the Howard Government did.

JIM WALLACE: And our experience is, that where homosexuals are given marriage, for instance as in Holland, that the average length or duration of those relationships has been eighteen months between two gay men. Now that's not marriage.

'Sexual and Reproductive Health' in the Asia-Pacific.

19/02 Saltshakers Media Release | Brian Harradine fought very hard to stop Australia financing abortion in the name of 'overseas AID'. The previous federal government maintained the ban.

The Rudd government has just announced a grant to help with 'Sexual and Reproductive Health' in the Asia-Pacific.
These words 'Sexual and Reproductive Health' are often seen to be 'code' for giving funding to contraception and the provision of abortion service.

Mr McMullan's media release specifies that the money is to be used in the 'SPRINT' program for crisis and post-crisis situations. He says "The initiative aims to reduce the incidence of preventable maternal and neonatal deaths in the Asia-Pacific region. Globally more than 500,000 women die each year as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. High maternal mortality and child mortality persist in our region."

Link to the brochure for the SPRINT program ...

Now that sounds OK - helping mums and babies.
One question: Is abortion one of the possible 'solutions' to help prevent maternal deaths?

Another real concern is that they are planning to work "in 'partnership' with the International Planned Parenthood Federation and their partners from the University of New South Wales and and the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance".

The Australian Reproductive Health Alliance includes as 'partners' the International Planned Parenthood Federation,  Marie Stopes International Australia, Reproductive Choice Australia and Children by Choice )

ALL of these organisations are prominent promoters of abortion and some of them actually PERFORM abortions around the world.

The question is - Will these organisations use the federal government money for helping 'mums and babies' - thus freeing up money they are currently using for helping babies to provide ABORTIONS in the same region?

Exorcisms in big demand

16/02 Excerpted from Courier Mail article | THE Catholic Church has revealed how growing interest in satanism and the occult has led to a rise in exorcisms across Queensland. One priest, who asked not to be named for fear of "reprisals", said he was carrying out at least one exorcism a fortnight. More requests for exorcisms came from the Gold Coast than anywhere else.

.... The priest source, who is based in Brisbane, is the only one permitted to do exorcisms in the state. He said he had travelled to Rockhampton, Cairns, Townsville and Toowoomba to save people. "We are not very plentiful and certainly need more of us to cope with the big occult following that is emerging today," he said. "It's frightening what can happen when you invite entities into your life which are not meant to be part of God's world." He said one woman he had met had been plagued by demonic manifestations since taking part in a playground witch game as a child.

PRAYER: For the Unborn

Abortion debate hots up in Qld

15/02 Excerpted from the Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | The debate about decriminalising abortion moved to Queensland this week with Police intervention needed as pro-abortion activists tried to disrupt a pro-life rally in Brisbane.

A little known State Labor MP, Bonny Barry, has proposed but not yet lodged a private members bill that would grant abortion on demand. ... As previously reported in E-news, the Victorian Government has signalled its intention to decriminalise, commissioning a report by the Victorian Law Reform Commission to be handed down next month.

Technically, abortion is illegal unless a doctor deems the life of the mother to be at risk. However, this has not stopped around 90,000 abortions from being performed in Australia each year – the vast majority funded through Medicare. Despite this, ACL believes abortion should remain an offence in our criminal codes because it is important that the law does not sanction the taking of innocent life.

ACL recognises that the battle to better support women with unexpected pregnancies and to create a culture of life could be long, but like the battle to end slavery, will be won.

Answered Prayer

A win for women as WA brothel laws shelved

15/02 Australian Christian Lobby Media Release | Laws to legalise brothels in Western Australia have been shelved, possibly until after the 2009 election, following a concerted campaign to protect young women from the exploitation that decriminalisation has caused in other places.

WA Attorney General Jim McGinty refused to answer questions about why the brothel legislation did not appear on the list of Bills for the up-coming Autumn session of Parliament, according to a report in today’s West Australian.
ACL’s WA State Director Michelle Pearse chaired the Prostitution Law Amendment Working Committee which lobbied effectively against the bill last year.

The Committee flew Swedish expert Gunilla Ekberg to Perth to tell Parliamentarians about Sweden’s failed experiment with legal brothels. Brothels are now illegal in Sweden and men are penalised under law for buying sex, removing the heavy hand of the law from women who are inevitably the victims of the sex trade.

Former Labor MP, now independent, Shelly Archer, has refused to support the prostitution bill. Mr McGinty has also shelved the Living Wills Bill which was contentious because it could have opened the door to euthanasia. ACL is delighted with these developments and thanks supporters for responding to our calls to e-mail politicians.

Major International Symposium on Islam at Griffith University

11/02 Saltshakers news | Griffith University was one of three Australian universities given funding to establish a Centre for Islamic Studies... They are holding this symposium in March - 3-5 ...

Keynote speaker - Tariq Ramadan who has been refused admittance to the USA because of his connections

Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance - Griffith Islamic Research Unit

International Symposium - The Challenges and Opportunities of Islam in the West: The Case of Australia
3 – 5 March 2008, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre - Queensland, Australia

Answered Prayer

'Qld water restrictions may soon be eased

11/02 The Australian | Water restrictions will be eased once the region's dams reach a combined level of 40 per cent, the Queensland Water Commission has announced. Commission chair Elizabeth Nosworthy said the trigger point was carefully chosen as the result of detailed analysis, taking into consideration dam inflows, climate change risks, consumption trends and population growth.

Article Follow up

'Jihad Sheilas' weren't duped, says ABC

11/02 The Australian | Alan Sunderland rejects the accusation they were tricked into telling their story by a promise it would be on Australian Story, a subject-led format that has no narrator and allows subjects to tell their story at length. .

PRAYER: CHILD CARE & ABUSE

DOCS insiders blow whistle on tragedy

11/02 SMH.com.au | ... On the eve of the State Government's special commission of inquiry into child protection services, prompted by the death of seven-year-old Shellay Ward, frustrated staff have spoken to the Herald about reports of abuse that are never investigated and children in care who never see a case worker.... The workers who told their stories did so on condition of anonymity, fearful for their jobs and mindful of the impact their actions may have on clients. ... "many children in the department's care … very rarely get to see their case worker - it is not unusual to hear that they only see them once a year, sometimes less," ... "Many of those unallocated cases are serious allegations of children being physically, mentally or sexually harmed."

PRAYER: MARRIAGE/WOMEN

UK: Multiple wives will mean multiple benefits

PRAYER: AGAINST HATRED & FOR AUTHORITIES

ABC show worries AFP

07/02 The Age | A CONTROVERSIAL ABC program on two Australian women who converted to a hardline form of Islam has raised the attention of the Australian Federal Police. In Jihad Sheilas, ... Raisah bint Alan Douglas, a convert from Dubbo, expressed support for Osama bin Laden and backed jihad against Australian troops. "If I'm on the other side of the world and Australian soldiers come upon our shore there, be assured my children will be in front to give you the hard time you gave us," she told the program. Ms Douglas, married to a Somali Muslim who has been accused of links to international terrorism, also said bin Laden followed the "correct" form of Islam.

FOR PRAYER: THOSE IN NEED ...

Cultures unite to claim Sydney for God

05/02 Holy City Movement | In an unprecedented multicultural event, thousands of Christians will join together next month to claim Sydney for God and make the city ‘holy’. For the first time ever in such a massive way, the Korean churches are reaching out to the streets of Sydney, the homeless and the society in general to create harmony and unity in an exciting festival of entertainment.

PRAYER: INTEGRATION ...

UK: A deafening silence that betrays our values

05/02 Telegraph.co.uk | Four weeks ago, the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, expressed on these pages his concern at the lack of integration into British society of some Muslim communities living here. He has since received an enormous amount of support from private individuals for his remarks - as well as death threats from fanatics who said they would kill him unless he stopped criticising the religion of Islam (something which he insisted he was not doing).

The most striking aspect of the response to his article, however, has not been that bigoted and offensive reaction from a small number: it has been the almost complete silence from the Government on the issues he raised.

PRAYER: RELATIONSHIPS REGISTER & MARRIAGE

Relationships Register Bill in Victorian Parliament THIS WEEK!

05/02 Saltshakers News | ... The Bill to establish a Relationships Register in Victoria - for homosexual and heterosexual couples - has been listed for debate and a vote for the opening week of the Victorian Parliament's Legislative Assembly.

The Parliament resumes TODAY!

This means that your MP in the Legislative Assembly will have to VOTE on this Bill this week (or possibly next week if it doesn't make it onto the schedule this week). The Bill had its second reading in December so it will immediately go to a debate and vote.

ACTION:

It is VITAL that you contact your MP in the Legislative Assembly TODAY - ask them not to support the 'Relationships Bill 2007'

PRAYER: CHILD CARE & ABUSE

Uncaring system passes buck on kids

05/02 Padraic Murphy for The Australian | ... With emergency accommodation at crisis point, 132 Queensland children, some as young as eight, are now housed for months on end in caravan parks and motels. Some have little contact with anybody other than welfare workers contracted by private companies. And all are children whose domestic circumstances place them at physical risk.

There are 40 of them in the Cairns region alone, mostly from Cape York. Their numbers included, at one point, the 10-year-old rape victim from Aurukun whose case sparked outrage around the world late last year after The Australian revealed her attackers had escaped jail terms.

PRAYER: GOVERNMENT INGRITY ON MORAL ISSUES & PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN

Rally Bias: ACT Government Courts Same Sex Activists but Ignores Thousands Supporting Traditional Family

02/02 Australian Christian Lobby Media Release | The ACT Government’s decision to support a small rally today in favour of same sex civil unions while previously ignoring far bigger rallies against same sex adoption is
further proof that they are working to a biased agenda, irrespective of public opinion.

That’s the message from the Australian Christian Lobby, which today said that the Stanhope Government’s civil partnerships legislation is not in the best interests of the community and defies Federal Labor’s commitments in this area.

PRAYER: AGAINST DECEPTIONS & FOR OUR DEFENCE FORCES

Taliban post Australian deaths online

31/01 News.Com.au article | THE Taliban is using the deaths of Australian troops in Afghanistan to spread propaganda in the hours after their attacks and before information is officially released by the West.

Details of incidents involving the loss of SAS Private Luke Worsley, SAS Sergeant Matthew Locke and Trooper David Pearce have formed part of “daily operations” briefings from the Taliban posted on extremist internet forums.

Experts say the speed with which terrorists and insurgents report their victories gives them an advantage in the propaganda war.

... Former head of Scotland Yard’s International Terrorism Operations, Nick O’Brien, said descriptions of “successful” attacks on Western troops were highly regarded by the Taliban.

“It is more important (for the Taliban) to have a camera and a satellite phone than just a Kalashnikov,” Mr O’Brien said. “Part of that is because the internet is the new front for terrorism… it’s instantaneous and anyone can have access to it.”

Mr O’Brien said coalition nations should be doing more to win the propaganda war.

PRAYER: GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY ON MORAL ISSUES

Vic Parliament to debate Euthanasia

29/01 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | Already saddled with an ambitious program of socially contentious legislation, media reports today indicate the Victorian Parliament will have a conscience vote on euthanasia within the next six months.

In the first half of 2008, it is likely Victoria's politicians will be debating the decriminalisation of abortion, the availability of IVF for single women and lesbians, relationship registers for couples in interdependent relationships (a measure ACL supports because it helps to preserve marriage between a man and a woman) and, now, doctor assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

In a famous conscience vote in 1996 led by former Howard Government Minister Kevin Andrews, the Australian Parliament blocked the Northern Territory’s world first euthanasia legislation. However, the Federal Parlaiment would not have this authority over a State such as Victoria.

Irish minister slams gay rugby team

20/02 AP Article | A Northern Ireland government minister has denounced the province's first gay rugby team as guilty of discrimination - a charge that the team denied. The Ulster Titans Rugby Football Club, founded last year, specifically welcomes gay rugby players. Sports Minister Edwin Poots, an evangelical Protestant in the Northern Ireland government, accused the team of being bigoted against heterosexuals.

"I just cannot fathom why people see the necessity to develop an apartheid in sport," Poots told the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast on Tuesday. "It would be unacceptable to produce an all-black rugby team or an all-white team or an all-Chinese team. To me it's equally unacceptable to produce an all-homosexual rugby team," Poots said. "I find it remarkable that people who talk so much about inclusivity and about having an equal role in society would then go down the route of exclusion."

... The Titans are the first gay rugby team in Northern Ireland, the most religiously conservative corner of the United Kingdom. Gay rugby teams are well established in Britain, while the Republic of Ireland in 2003 got its first primarily gay rugby team, the Emerald Warriors.

Poots' political party, the Democratic Unionists, was founded by Protestant evangelist Ian Paisley, who today leads the Northern Ireland government.

In 1977, Paisley led a campaign called Save Ulster From Sodomy that sought to keep homosexual acts outlawed in Northern Ireland. However, a European Court of Human Rights ruling forced Britain to decriminalise homosexuality in Northern Ireland in 1982.

http://news.smh.com.au/irish-minister-slams-gay-rugby-team/20080220-1t6z.html

NATIONAL DAY OF THANKSGIVING - SATURDAY 10th MAY 2008

THOSE BEING HONOURED AND THANKED IN 2008

This year the National Day of Thanksgiving coincides with Mothers Day weekend, Saturday 10th May 2008. 

We wish therefore to honour all Mothers and thank those people throughout our respective communities who nurture, train, teach, mentor or care for babies, children and youth.

This would include but not be limited to: Full and part time workers and volunteers in Babies and Children's homes, Foster Carers, staff in Child Care and Pre-School facilities , staff and volunteers working in Youth Shelters, School Teachers and Chaplains, Youth Workers, Sporting team coaches and administrators.

Churches that have not previously been involved with the National Day of Thanksgiving will find our Church Kit helpful in understanding how they can become involved and the resources that are available to assist them in celebrating the day in their community. To order a kit simply write to info@thanksgiving.org.au advising us of the postal address to which you want it sent.  The Kit which includes an information booklet and DVD is free, and is posted to you at our expense.

This year we are providing Schools with their own kit as a way of encouraging them to understand how they can use the day in promoting thanksgiving to their students, but also, by undertaking acts of kindness in the community, showcase their values to the community at large.  Whether you are a Principal, Teacher, Chaplain, or a Parent wanting to encourage your child's school to become involved, we encourage you to email us at info@thanksgiving.org.au and ask for a School Kit to be electronically transmitted to you free of charge.  

Training tomorrow's leaders

There is a great need in this nation to assist those students and recent graduates who demonstrate a high potential to become influential leaders for Christ across strategic areas of our nation including politics, law, media, science, education, arts and philosophy.
The Compass program, an eight-day course in Christian worldview, aims to address this need.

The inaugural program kicks off this Sunday with 40 students at the University of Queensland. For more information and to register interest for 2009, please go to www.compass.org.au .

Lyle Shelton
National Chief of Staff , Australian Christian Lobby

Endeavour Forum Inc. Public Meeting

Celebrating our 29th Birthday

7.30 pm, Friday, 1st February 2008 at St. Michael's Hall, 2 Victory Blvde, Ashburton, Vic. 3147.

Guest speaker: The Hon. Senator Guy Barnett (Lib, Tasmania)

Topic: "Where to from here?"

The meeting will be chaired by Mr. David Perrin, National President, Australian Family Association.

The Opening Prayer will be said by Mrs. Kirsten Jack, spokeswoman for the Coalition Against the Decriminalisation of Abortion.

The vote of thanks will be given by Mrs. Jenny Stokes, Research Officer, Salt Shakers. The meeting will be followed by supper.

All welcome, $10 donation appreciated. RSVP essential:

Mrs. Prue Oldham, (03) 9583 6835 or Mrs. Margaret Butts, (03) 9589 5039.

SUNSHINE COAST REGIONAL PRAYER AND INTERCESSORS SUMMIT AND NATIONAL BRIEFING

Commencing 2.00PM Friday 15th February 2008 with 3 sessions concluding at 9.30PM then

Continuing from 9.00AM Saturday 16th February 2008 concluding at 4.00PM

Caloundra Powerboat Club
The Esplanade
GOLDEN BEACH  QUEENSLAND 

SPEAKERS: 
Brian Pickering  -  National Coordinator Australian Prayer Network
Pastor Ben Gray - Apostolic Oversight APN and Senior Pastor CityHarvest International Brisbane

Phyllis Lines    -  Australian Prayer Network Coordinator for Regional South Australia

* Come and receive revelatory teaching on the subjects of prayer and intercession. 

* Receive an up to date understanding of God's prophetic agenda for Australia.

* Hear reports on the spiritual state of the nation and updates on issues affecting our future.

Summit is open to all however members of the Australian Prayer Network are especially invited so that our National Leadership Team can meet as many of our members as possible during their visit to the Sunshine Coast.

Morning and afternoon tea provided.  Meals on Friday and Saturday can be purchased at the venue at club prices, or bring your own.

Registration requested for catering purposes however no registration fee is asked.  Instead a love offering towards the ongoing ministry of the Australian Prayer Network will be taken at the Summit. 

Please indicate your intention to attend to Val Matthes by phone on 07 5492.1461 or by email to kykilah@bigpond.com by Monday 11th February 2008. 

A special morning tea session for Intercessors will be held commencing at 10.00AM on the Friday morning also at the Power Boat Club. Cost will be $6.00 per person for morning tea.

If wishing to attend please advise when registering.  
For further information contact APN Regional Coordinators Kenn and Yvonne Kilah on 07 5492.5387 or 0412 793 701