February 2008 Articles, Thoughts & Resources

Faith based Schools / R-Rated Games / Relationships Bill / Backbencher's day / Iraqi Troom Withdrawal / Scott Morrison Maiden Speech / Labor MP's refuse to swear in on Bibles / AWAs / Sorry Day / One last kick at Howard / Apology addresses / Aborigines Open Parliament / US Style Security Chief / Public Gay Unions / NSW schools able to hire teachers / Citizenship test / ACT gov * Same Sex activists

FEDERAL LABOR

Faith school boom 'creates division'

25/2 Michael Bachelard for The Age | TheTHE rapid growth of faith-based schools under the previous federal government has threatened the social cohesion of the nation, according to Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard's most senior education adviser. The frank comments of Professor Barry McGaw, appointed this month to be the new head of the National Curriculum Board, contrast with the Howard government's celebration of the proliferation of small independent schools, encouraged by generous public funding.

"These people often form a narrowly focused school that is aimed at cementing the faith it's based on … If we continue as we are, I think we'll just become more and more isolated sub-groups in our community," Professor McGaw's remarks reflect a profound shift in education in the past two decades, with more than 200,000 children — almost 40% of non-government school students — now attending a religious school outside the main Catholic, Anglican and Uniting systems. And despite mainstream health experts arguing for a "harm minimisation" approach to sex education, many emphasise abstinence until marriage, asking students to sign "pledges" to remain virgins.

Critics such as psychologist and educationist Louise Samway say faith-based schools are balkanising the community..

FEDERAL LABOR

R-rated games may be on shelves soon

25/2 Asher Moses for SMH.com.au | The most violent video games around could soon be sold in Australia after the Federal Government said it was considering updating the classification system for games to include an R18+ rating. Unlike films, magazines and other publications, there is no adult classification for games in Australia, so any titles that do not meet the MA15+ standard - such as those with excessive violence or sexual content - are simply banned from sale by the Classification Board.

.... The games industry has long argued that the censorship regime is unnecessarily draconian and prevents adults from making their own decisions as to the type of content they consume. It has called for the classification system to be harmonised across all types of media... Research conducted by Bond University in Queensland for the industry body, the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA), found that the average age of Australian gamers is 28 and over 50 per cent of gamers are over 18. Another survey of 1601 Australian households, conducted by the university in 2005, found 88 per cent of Australians supported an R18+ classification for games.

Angela Conway, spokeswoman for the Australian Family Association, said even M-rated games currently on the market had "concerning" levels of violent and sexual content. "We would be opposed to the adoption of an R-rated category because we believe that research is pointing to the fact that these games actually do impact behaviour and psychology more easily than a film," she said. "Our big concern is that there is a continual [positive] reinforcement for players actually acting out violent and sexual impulses ... this sort of technology has actually been used to desensitise soldiers ... and retrain them and break down their defences against killing."

VICTORIAN LABOR

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).

VICTORIAN LABOR

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 ...

FEDERAL COALITION

Angry MPs kicked out of Friday session

22/2 AAP | THE first scheduled Friday sitting of the new Federal Parliament was briefly suspended today amid rowdy scenes and the forced removal of one MP. House of Representatives proceedings were suspended 33 minutes into its sitting as opposition MPs demanded the right to ask questions of the Prime Minister and ministers. The new Rudd government has set aside Fridays as a backbenchers' day, which ministers are not required to attend. But coalition MPs say Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other ministers should be available for questioning.

... "Friday is Australia's national RDO - Rudd day off," said Tony Abbott. Opposition leader Brendan Nelson added: "A million dollars is going to be spent by hard working Australian taxpayers, yet we get no Question Time and I think there's a few questions to be answered." ... Steven Ciobo said "Under this new Government's part-time, parliament we have a situation arise where democracy is being gagged."

Read also: RDO "Rudd's Day Off" - 22/2 AAP | Labor's first taxpayer-funded Friday sitting of Federal Parliament descended into farce today, as Kevin Rudd and several Ministers refused to attend and chaos reigned over parliamentary procedure. Labor's new Friday sittings do not include Question Time and do not allow votes to be taken on important issues before the Parliament.
As a result, Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan and the Labor Government have avoided questions on issues of concern to Australian families such as rising grocery prices, petrol prices and interest rates.

Iraqi troop withdrawal driven by operational requirements

21/2 Senator Mathias Cormann | Australia's troop withdrawal from Southern Iraq has nothing to do with any Labor Party pre-election commitment on Iraq but is entirely driven by changed operational requirements and significant improvements in the situation on the ground in Iraq Senator Mathias Cormann said.

Pointing to evidence to the Senate Estimates Committee by defence chief Angus Houston, Senator Cormann said that the Overwatch Battle Group of about 515 personnel is leaving Southern Iraq because their job is done. "That is certainly the judgement of defence chief Angus Houston when giving evidence at Senate Estimates yesterday", Senator Cormann said. "Air Chief Marshal Houston went even further when he made the point that even if there had been a different government in Australia at the moment, we would be having the same sort of conversation about troop withdrawals from Southern Iraq.

Air Chief Marshal Houston told the Committee that on the ground in Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar the Iraqis were now taking care of business. "By the time of the withdrawal we will have had provincial Iraqi control in both Al Muthanna and in Dhi Qar for about 18 months to two years," Senator Cormann said. "This is a great credit to the work done by our defence forces in training Iraqi personnel over the past number of years in those two provinces.

"The reality is that we will continue to have a significant Australian defence presence in Iraq. "We will continue to have the security detachment, we will continue to have Australian defence personnel embedded in the coalition headquarters, we will continue to fulfil a range of training and logistical functions, and we will continue to have HMAS Arunta deployed to the northern Persian Gulf for some time yet. "Clearly this is not a major withdrawal from our commitment in Iraq, but more appropriately an adjustment to our commitment in light of changed circumstances on the ground and changed operational requirements. "No doubt, moving forward Australia will continue to make similar adjustments as local requirements evolve.

FEDERAL COALITION

Scott Morrison MP - Maiden Speech

14/2 Federal Member for Cook Website | .. . Growing up in a Christian home, I made a commitment to my faith at an early age ... . My personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda. As Lincoln said, our task is not to claim whether God is on our side but to pray earnestly that we are on His. For me, faith is personal, but the implications are social—as personal and social responsibility are at the heart of the Christian message.

In recent times it has become fashionable to negatively stereotype those who profess their Christian faith in public life as ‘extreme’ and to suggest that such faith has no place in the political debate of this country. This presents a significant challenge for those of us, like my colleagues, who seek to follow the example of William Wilberforce or Desmond Tutu, to name just two. These leaders stood for the immutable truths and principles of the Christian faith. They transformed their nations and, indeed, the world in the process. More importantly, by following the convictions of their faith, they established and reinforced the principles of our liberal democracy upon which our own nation is built.

Australia is not a secular country—it is a free country. This is a nation where you have the freedom to follow any belief system you choose. Secularism is just one. It has no greater claim than any other on our society. As US Senator Joe Lieberman said, the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not from religion. I believe the same is true in this country.

So what values do I derive from my faith? My answer comes from Jeremiah, chapter 10:24: ... I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord.

From my faith I derive the values of loving-kindness, justice and righteousness; to act with compassion and kindness, acknowledging our common humanity and to consider the welfare of others; to fight for a fair go for everyone to fulfil their human potential and to remove whatever unjust obstacles stand in their way, including diminishing their personal responsibility for their own wellbeing; and to do what is right, to respect the rule of law, the sanctity of human life and the moral integrity of marriage and the family. We must recognise an unchanging and absolute standard of what is good and what is evil.

Labor MPs refuse to be sworn in holding Bibles

Matthew Franklin for The Australian | ... the winds of change were freshening as a majority of Labor MPs refused to be sworn in holding Bibles, instead exercising their option to offer an affirmation of allegiance. Of the Labor frontbench, only Mr Rudd, Simon Crean, Martin Ferguson and Peter Garrett took the Bible in hand as they declared their allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and her heirs and successors.

In marked contrast, all members of the God-fearing Coalition front bench swore on the Bible, many supplying their own for the occasion.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23205381-5013871,00.html

Coalition ends bid to save AWAs

20/02 Sid Marris and Patricia Karvelas for The Australian | ... THE Coalition has capitulated to the Rudd Government's workplace agenda, junking a decade of reforms and giving up the fight to save Australian Workplace Agreements. The Opposition yesterday ended two days of tumultuous internal debate by signalling itwould not oppose the Government's plan to wind back Work Choices. The result is a significant win for Labor and the union movement, which has fought against statutory individual contracts since John Howard and Peter Reith introduced AWAs in 1996. The Coalition will develop new policies for the long term to encourage individual employment arrangements using common law contracts.

... Several Coalition MPs, including former workplace relations minister and Work Choices defender Joe Hockey, argued the election result showed Labor had a mandate to dump the Howard government's workplace laws. However, others in the party, including deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop, argued that AWAs predated Work Choices, had been backed by voters at three elections and should not be abandoned.

Ms Bishop, who is also workplace relations spokeswoman, was forced yesterday to explain why the Coalition was now prepared to allow statutory individual contracts to disappear after she had previously defended AWAs. ...

FEDERAL LABOR

Rudd's remarkable beginning

16/2 Laurie Oakes for the Daily Telegraph | ... The surprising thing is that, in his years as a bureaucrat and then an MP, Rudd had never really been part of the bleeding heart brigade on Aboriginal affairs. Until nine months ago he had difficulty seeing any real practical value in the push for an apology.

..... Rudd committed himself to the gesture that released such a flood of emotion on Wednesday and left most Australians feeling pretty good about themselves and their country. In the execution of it he showed what a clever political operator he really is.

To say he played Brendan Nelson as a fisherman plays a trout would be unfair - but he certainly manipulated events to ensure images of unity and bipartisanship overshadowed divisions in Coalition ranks and any equivocation in the Opposition Leader's words. During the Aboriginal "welcome to country" ceremony at the opening of Parliament, for example, Rudd involved Nelson by giving him just a few minutes' notice that he would be invited to speak. After the sorry vote, Rudd - again with no warning - invited Nelson to join him in parading around the chamber waving to the galleries before presenting to the Speaker a gift from Stolen Generation representatives. And the PM deliberately ambushed Nelson with his public invitation to co-chair a kind of "war cabinet" on indigenous housing and other issues, giving the Opposition Leader no chance to confer with colleagues or lay down conditions before accepting.

FEDERAL LABOR

One last sorry kick at Howard

16/2 Tim Blair for the Daily Telegraph | ... The mood overall was one of celebration, which is an odd response to being implicated in the systematic racist theft of children... As the Prime Minister said the words "I am sorry", the crowd erupted in applause and cheers ... Oh, there was anger, too, but not over any guilty involvement in toddler snatching. According to the Herald Sun: "When a clip of former prime minister John Howard from 1997 was shown on the big screen the crowd erupted into booing.

"That's why we didn't vote for you," yelled one man. And that is the hidden story of Apology 2008. For many, it was the last chance to take a righteous kick at Howard, pursued by the Left over the Stolen Generation ever since the Bringing Them Home report was released 10 years ago.

It didn't matter to Howard's opponents that he wasn't elected to Parliament until after the alleged offences detailed in Bringing Them Home occurred. By making an apology from Howard their central demand, those who postured as champions of the Stolen Generation betrayed their political motives. Some of them, such was their piety, actually hardened attitudes against an apology.

A few years ago I was the token right-winger at a Brisbane writers festival when the young audience got a little worked up over the whole Howard non-apology issue. I said I'd take them seriously when they made similar demands of Gough Whitlam, who'd been Labor party leader in opposition and then prime minister at a time when a generation of Aboriginal children was actually said to have been stolen. That took some heat out of the room. Perhaps they'd never quite thought of things that way. Or maybe they just didn't know who on earth I was talking about.

Well, old Gough was there in Parliament on Wednesday, still unmolested by apology requests. But Howard stayed away, which left miscast Brendan Nelson to stand in as the Official Figure of Evil. ...

Apology to the Stolen Generations a Significant Move Towards Restoration

13/2 Australian Christian Lobby Media Release | The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) today welcomed the parliamentary apology to the Stolen Generations and expressed the hope that it would facilitate a process of genuine healing for Australia’s indigenous people.

“This has been an historic day for Australia. The Federal Government and Opposition should be congratulated for joining on a bi-partisan basis to make an apology of such significance and meaning,” ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said today.

FEDERAL COALITION

We are sorry - Address to Parliament

13/2 Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson's SPEECH | "In rising to speak in support of this motion, I recognise the Ngunnawal, first peoples of this Canberra land.
Today our nation crosses a threshold.

We formally offer an apology to those Aboriginal people forcibly removed from their families through the first seven decades of the twentieth century.

In doing so, we reach from within ourselves to our past, those whose lives connect us to it and in deep understanding of its importance to our future.

We will be at our best today - and every day - if we pause to place ourselves in the shoes of others, imbued with the imaginative capacity to see this issue through their eyes with decency and respect.

FEDERAL LABOR

Apology to the Stolen Generations

13/2 Prime Ministerial SPEECH | "Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

Kevin Rudd says sorry - 13/02 SMH Article | Australia has formally apologised to the stolen generations with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd reading a speech in Federal Parliament this morning. The apology was read at 9am to the minute, as the first action of the second sitting day of the 42nd Parliament of Australia. Both Mr Rudd and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin received a standing ovation as they entered the Great Hall before the Prime Minister delivered the speech.

Day for healing: Aboriginal leaders - 13/02 SMH Article | Aboriginal leaders who gathered in Canberra to hear today's apology have reacted with joy and relief at the long-overdue event. ... The co-chairwoman of the Stolen Generation Alliance, Christine King, said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology had marked an important first step in what would be a long journey towards healing for Aboriginal people. "This has been a journey of all our people, so all voices have to be heard, all pain has to be acknowledged, all grief has to be shared and this is the way forward."

Backs turned on Nelson's response - 13/02 SMH Article | "We come a long way to be here today and it's great and then the next part of it spoilt the whole day ... it was terrible," a woman named only as Fay told the Nine Network. "I don't think he's got his facts straight, I think ... he's coming from John Howard and I think that's just not right."

Rudd staffers turned back on Nelson - 13/02 AAP Article | TWO of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's staff will apologise to Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson after they turned their backs while listening to his speech today on the stolen generations. Mr Rudd said in question time he had been informed that his media advisers Lachlan Harris and Tim Gleason had watched Dr Nelson's speech in the Great Hall of Parliament House. "I'm further informed that at a time when a large part of the rest of the gathered throng in the Great Hall turned their back ... that the two members of my staff in question did so as well," Mr Rudd said.

Boycotting MPs say apology token - 13/02 The Australian | LIBERAL Wilson Tuckey has joined several other Coalition MPs in boycotting the Stolen Generations apology, describing the historic day as tokenism. Mr Tuckey, who loudly recited the Lord’s prayer before walking out of parliament before the apology commenced, confirmed today he was among up to five Liberal MPs who boycotted the event. “I am not in this house for tokenism. I went down there and prayed for those people. I put in my mind a prayer for those who seriously need help but I heard nothing today that is going to do that,’’ he told The Australian Online. ... Earlier, while supporting the apology, Coalition Senate leader Nick Minchin admitted it "hasn't been an easy issue for many of us'' and said former prime minister John Howard was not to blame. "John Howard was not the barrier to an apology,'' Senator Minchin said. "If there was any failure on our part it was in relation to the significance of symbolism in helping our indigenous communities to move forward."We were unashamedly focused on practical outcomes but we can now acknowledge that that was at the expense of important symbolic acts.''

PM's words do not admit liability - 13/02 The Australian | KEVIN Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations is far more effusive than its state government equivalents - but it can afford to be: it will have no legal impact on the ability of Aborigines to claim damages in court. It does not admit to any act of illegality nor negligence and will therefore not expose the commonwealth to any potential liability, senior lawyers say.

After the apology, Aborigines will still face an impossible task in suing for damages so long as their removal was lawful at the time. An apology will have the same impact on claims for compensation as if it rains in Melbourne tomorrow - no impact, whatsoever," said Greg Craven, vice-chancellor of Australian Catholic University National.

FEDERAL LABOR

Rudd's great leap forward

13/02 Andrew Bolt for the Herald Sun | ONE election, and we're already back to group-think. Baa baa is the chorus of Chairman Rudd's Australia. Already commissars are rounding up our children for re-education, so they can chant like little Red Guards the authorised opinions of these new days. Note, for instance, this email to all schools from Victoria's Education Minister, Bronwyn Pike, a former board member of Greenpeace:

Sorry Day, Wednesday 13 February 2008, will be an historic day and I would strongly encourage all Victorian Schools to recognise and celebrate this significant event in Australia's history ... At a school level I strongly encourage you to consider the following suggestions: - Hold a school assembly at 8.55am ... to acknowledge the Apology and listen or watch the Apology live. - Hold a flag-raising ceremony with the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags as a sign of acknowledgment of the Apology ...

.... You see it is not enough that students simply know of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's sorry to these "generations" of "stolen" children no one can actually find. To children we actually saved. They must also "celebrate" it and "acknowledge" it. For extra measure, they must also "affirm" Aboriginal customs and fly the Aboriginal flag - a flag that divides us by race. This is not teaching. This is indoctrinating. This is not passing on knowledge, but ramming home opinions of the must dubious kind.

... Were the children dutifully watching this made-up hocus-pocus, with its white feminist touches, told that even the local Aborigines couldn't agree who the rightful "traditional owner" truly was? Were they allowed to notice that the woman who finally did the welcoming, Matilda House-Williams, obviously had as much European ancestry as Aboriginal, making her as much invader as victim? Don't notice, children! Don't question, or even ask. And especially don't laugh at this farce - or not in front of your teacher, at least.

But what next? Must children march around the school oval waving Labor manifestos and chanting other famous Rudd slogans, such as "New Leadership!", "The buck stops with me!", "Climate change is real!" and "In answer to your question, let me say this, that in terms of what we do from 2009 on, I've got an open mind"?

... No doubt some of HREOC's more censorious thought police, having already made criticism of the Koran all but illegal under our vilification laws, are now dreaming of ways to make questioning of the "stolen generations" a crime, too. .

Aborigines open Australian parliament

13/02 Telegraph.co.uk Article | A century of Westminster-style pageantry and pomp took a backseat in Australia's capital Canberra as Aborigines smeared with white body paint and playing didgeridoos opened parliament for the first time.

...British parliamentary traditions made way for Aborigines of the local Ngunnawal tribe, who called on their ancestor spirits to welcome new MPs to the new parliamentary term.

By holding the ceremony, the government acknowledged for the first time that the land on which Canberra was built was once owned by Aborigines, and was taken away without compensation by white settlers.

Aboriginal elder Matilda House, standing barefoot and wearing a coat of kangaroo pelts, delivered a traditional message stick to Mr Rudd to mark the first sitting of parliament since the centre-left Labor Party won November's elections.

..... The more militant Aboriginal leaders, on the other hand, want the apology to be much more general, encompassing all the injustices done to indigenous people since Britain began settling Australia in 1788 with its first penal colony in what became Sydney. They have also demanded that the government set up a generous fund with which to pay reparations to Aborigines who were snatched from their families.

"The fact that these words [sorry] were used in the text does indicate that the door is open for negotiations," said Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell of the National Aboriginal Alliance. "We think there is a real possibility that compensation could come after negotiations, during the passage of this year."

Aboriginal welcome Ceremony during opening of Australian parliament

FEDERAL LABOR

US-style Security Chief to Fight Terror

The AGE | TOUGH counter-terrorism laws, introduced under the Howard government, are set to be kept by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. But a new focus on social policy to build bridges with the Islamic community will form part of a radical shake-up to broaden national security strategy... A National Security Adviser will be appointed for the first time as part of the shake-up, although there is uncertainty over the seniority of the role. The adviser is expected to co-ordinate advice on domestic and international security and report directly to the Prime Minister.

...In an indication that the Rudd Government was unlikely to soften anti-terror laws, and might even tighten them, he said terrorism-related cases that had collapsed, including the Haneef case, indicated the need to closely monitor court decisions.



http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/usstyle-security-chief-to-fight-terror/2008/01/27/1201368944869.html

"We think a civil unions register along the lines of Tasmania is appropriate," Mr McClelland told The Australian newspaper.

"The ceremonial aspects of the ACT model were inappropriate." ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell said this week the territory would not back from its plans to allow gay couples some form of ceremony. "We will stand by our commitment to our community for the legal option for a ceremony - that is our position," Mr Corbell told The Australian.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23173366-5007133,00.html

NSW Christian Democrats

NSW Local Government Election – Saturday 27th September 2008

06/02 Christian Democratic Party Newsletter | Please pray and seek God’s Will as to whether you should stand as our CDP Candidate for your Local Council. You require a team of four or five candidates to have at least one elected to your Local Council. 

Why stand? We urgently need to lift the profile of the Christian Democratic Party by having CDP Local Government Councillors. Some candidates wish to stand as Independents, but this will not help CDP build a strong foundation for the next Federal Election in 2010, or the next NSW State Election in 2011. 

We also need to neutralise the permissive, anti Christian policies and actions of the Green Councillors who are on most Councils. Our CDP Local Councillors would be in a strong position to stand for the next Federal and State Elections.


Christian Democratic Party, GPO Box 141, Sydney NSW 2001.  Tel: (02) 9144 4568  Fax: (02) 91444290 Email: admin@cdp.org.au Web: www.cdp.org.au  Tel: 1300 667 975

ACT Christian Democrats

ACT Legislative Assembly Elections

06/02 Christian Democratic Party Newsletter | We need a strong CDP team to stand for the ACT Legislative Assembly Elections on 18th October, 2008. We went close to winning Seats at previous ACT Elections, so it is important we try again and succeed in 2008. 

The permissive policies of the ALP ACT Government need to be counteracted, policies including abortion, euthanasia, same sex homosexual partnerships, X Rated videos, brothels, soft drug policies.

Christian Democratic Party, GPO Box 141, Sydney NSW 2001.  Tel: (02) 9144 4568  Fax: (02) 91444290 Email: admin@cdp.org.au Web: www.cdp.org.au  Tel: 1300 667 975

NSW LABOR

Union anger over plan to hire teachers

05/02 AAP article | NSW schools will now be able to appoint teachers under a State Government shake-up of staffing arrangements, a move which has angered the teachers union. School principals will be able to advertise positions and select their own teachers from the second term in 2010, under changes announced by NSW education minister John Della Bosca.

The Department of Education will have to sign off on appointments, but schools need no longer accept the teacher at the top of the department's transfer list. School principals say the move will give them greater freedom, but the union has threatened industrial action

FEDERAL LABOR

Testing time ahead for Labor P-platers

04/02 Andrew Bolt for the Herald Sun | HOW odd. The Rudd Government claims it will keep the test that we make migrants sit to qualify as citizens. But there's a catch. Because the test fails exactly the people you'd expect, Immigration Minister Chris Evans now wants to change the questions.

Yes, it's that simple and that stupid. Evans wants to make sure the kind of people who now rightly fail the test will pass it more easily, especially if they have no English.

ACT LABOR

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.