AL-QAEDA mock troops for "fleeing from Iraq" & take credit for embarrassing collapse” of the Howard government / Nuttall case / Nationals look for generational change / Victoria debates Euthenasia / John Howard joins Washington Speakers Bureau / Beazley back to Uni / Gillard to make Chaplaincy programme secular / Bill Muehlenberg on Chaplaincy / National Charter of Rights / Politicians find religion a cross to bear
'We shot down crusader Howard', says al-Qaeda
31/01 Mark Schliebs, News.Com.au |AL-QAEDA-linked insurgency groups are cheering Australian troop casualties and mocking the Federal Government for “fleeing like a cornered mouse” from Iraq ... A special investigation by NEWS.com.au infiltrating these global networks has identified jihadi references to the “embarrassing collapse” of the Howard government and cites Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Iraq withdrawal as a “victory”.
... “Today we see the withdrawal of another Christian ally leaving the Americans drowning alone in this swamp,” the statement says in Arabic. “This ally is Australia, and despite the few numbers of soldiers that this country has in the Christian Alliance its withdrawal will be considered an achievement and victory to be added to the numerous victories of the Muslim fighters, praise Allah.” ... The statement posted on December 5 last year – 11 days after the federal election – is filled with quotations from the Koran. It frames the conflict in religious terms rather than geo-political with emphasis placed on the crumbling Christian armies:
29/01/ Sydney Morning Herald |Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has been called as a witness for the prosecution in the corruption case of former minister Gordon Nuttall. Nuttall, 54, has been charged with receiving $300,000 in corrupt payments from former Macarthur Coal chief executive Ken Talbot between 2002 and 2005.
... Former premier Peter Beattie gave evidence at the hearing on Tuesday morning. He defended his government's honesty, saying there were no "mates' rates" in its dealings with business while he was in power. ... Speaking outside court after giving evidence, Mr Beattie told reporters his Labor government was honest. "One of the hallmarks of my administration is that it was honest and I stand by that," Mr Beattie said. He declined to comment on his evidence.
QUEENSLAND NATIONALS
Older Qld MPs 'not ready to retire'
29/01/ Sydney Morning Herald |Queensland Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg is facing resistance to his bid to encourage older MPs to make way for younger faces. Mr Springborg has called on his older MPs to consider their futures to allow "generational change" within the coalition.
The 39-year-old leader on Monday announced his reshuffled frontbench, a week after seizing the leadership from Jeff Seeney.
... Emergency services spokesman Ted Malone, 64, said the emphasis on age was too great. He blamed the media and the Bligh government, which last year installed Andrew Fraser, 30, as the state's second youngest treasurer.... "You now see politicians who have gone through university, have no life skills, have gone to work in a senator's office or politician's office, have been given a safe seat ... and move straight into parliament without ever having to start a company or build a company or work hard with their hands."
VICTORIAN LIBERAL
Mercy kill debate to go ahead
25/01/2008 Ellen Whinnett for the Herald Sun | VICTORIA is set for an explosive parliamentary debate on euthanasia after the Government agreed not to block the introduction of a Private Member's Bill.
Liberal MP Ken Smith has agreed to introduce a Bill to let doctors help terminally ill patients commit suicide.
Greens MP Colleen Hartland will co-sponsor the Medical Treatment (Physician Assisted Dying) Act 2008, some time in the next six months.
Premier John Brumby's office has written to the pro-euthanasia group Dying with Dignity and assured them it will not stand in the way of the Bill if it is introduced.
VICTORIAN LABOR:
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.
John Howard has joined with other "Great Speakers" at the Washington Speakers Bureau
29/01 Washington Speakers Bureau website | His main topics include:
Leadership in the New Century
Steering the ship of what is the most prominent Western stronghold in the Asian-Pacific Rim requires visionary and forward-thinking leadership. Australian Prime Minister John Howard approached his responsibilities to his country from a uniquely global viewpoint, providing economic vision and security strategies that raised Australia's profile and impact around the world. Howard discusses the role of world leaders in a new century, detailing steps for handling the growing concerns of globalization and global economics, the environment, and threats to international security.
The Global Economic Future
Providing economic leadership in today's world means re-envisioning old economic models to discover new ones. Prime Minister John Howard did precisely that, and so much more, for Australia: in the face of criticism from many, Howard initiated efforts to broker a free-trade agreement with China, a strategic move that was completely unprecedented and, when ratified, will add further credibility to China's willingness to participate in a free market. Howard candidly discusses his vision for the global economic future, and in what ways, and to what degrees, China, India and the Pacific Rim will participate.
24/01 Excerpted from Crikey.Com | Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will not be giving out overseas ambassadors' postings to former ALP notables ... .
Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie reveals that he has accepted a six-month appointment at the University of South Carolina lecturing on politics, tourism, trade and investment.
Former Labor Leader Kim Beazley will confirm his appointment as a senior academic at the Australian National University in Canberra. Beazley holds a masters degree in arts and philosophy and is a former Murdoch University lecturer in social and political history.
14/01 Ben Packham for the Herald Sun |JOHN Howard's controversial school chaplains program will be expanded to include any suitably qualified counsellor under an overhaul by the Rudd Government.
Education Minister Julia Gillard's office has confirmed the $90 million program will be changed into a secular scheme when current contracts expire.
"Any funds allocated, we will deliver," her spokeswoman said.
...Labor's plans for the program did not feature in its election campaign. But former education spokesman Stephen Smith had criticised the funding criteria, saying individual schools should be able to select any "appropriate individual" to provide pastoral care.
The current program is funded for another two years. The Government will draw up plans to expand the scheme in co-operation with education groups. Opposition education spokesman Tony Smith said the chaplains scheme was so popular it was over-subscribed by schools. He said its expansion was an indictment on state Labor governments, whose responsibility it was to provide school counsellors.
FEDERAL & STATE LIBERALS:
Council of Australian State and Territory Liberal and Country Liberal Leaders
22/01) Liberal Party Australia Media Release |State and Territory Liberal and Country Liberal Leaders today agreed to establish a Council of
Australian State and Territory Liberal and Country Liberal Leaders as a permanent body that regularly convenes to discuss and co-ordinate matters of State and Territory importance.
The Leaders, in considering recent strategies for the election of Liberal and Country Liberal
governments, have committed themselves to working together to end wall-to-wall Labor governments across the nation.
The Leaders strongly support Australia’s Federal system of government. The Liberal Party
Platform highlights that a federation of States provides the Australian people with the means to protect their liberties and that federalism best reflects the people’s wishes and regional needs.
While acknowledging that State and Federal governments must work together to deliver better outcomes for individuals and communities, the Leaders oppose unnecessary Federal government interference in State and Territory responsibilities.
The Leaders condemned the failures of State and Territory Labor governments, and committed to work together to address common issues of state significance including health, transport, water resources, education, law and order and community services. The Leaders committed to continuing to hold State and Territory governments accountable for their decisions and responsibilities.
The Leaders are determined to ensure a revival of the fortunes of the Liberal and Country Liberal parties at State and Territory level which will lay the foundations of future national success.
22/01) Bill Muehlenberg |Some of us warned that a Labor government would make many changes which would impact on the Christian faith. Consider one such recent change. Under the former Howard government, schools were given funding to have religious chaplains, to help bring some spiritual dimension to the life of the students.
New Education Minister Julia Gillard wants to change all that, and allow secular counselors. She wants the scheme to be secular in nature:
This change was not announced during the election campaign. You can share your concerns to her by this address: Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au
FEDERAL LABOR:
Bill of rights on the cards, says Hulls - The Australian, Rick Wallace, 5 January 2008
AUSTRALIA will soon have a national charter of rights based on the model introduced in Victoria this week, predicts Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls. Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has held talks with constitutional experts on creating a national charter.
... Mr Hulls, the nation's longest-serving attorney-general, said he expected his federal counterpart to push ahead without delay. "I know he's been having discussions with George Williams, who headed our panel here," he said. "I expect that the federal government will now follow Victoria's lead and embark on exactly the same process we embarked upon here in Victoria."
Following the Victorian model, the Rudd Government is expected to convene a panel to travel the country conducting hearings on a proposed charter. It would probably cover rights such as free speech, freedom from torture, freedom of association and the right to exercise political and religious beliefs. Mr McClelland declined to comment on the proposed federal charter except to say, through a spokesman, that Labor was committed to an inquiry into it.
... Federal and state oppositions have spoken out against the charter, which forces government to explain any breaches of the charter in its legislation and empowers the courts to give opinions on charter breaches, but not strike down laws.
GENERAL NEWS:
Politicians find religion a cross to bear, The Age, John Roskam, 2 January 2008
01/01 John Roskam, executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs - The Age | Tony Blair was right when a few weeks ago, on the eve of his conversion to Catholicism, he said that any British politician who talked about religion ran the risk of being regarded as a "nutter." He drew a comparison with the United States where politicians were not afraid to discuss their faith.. .. In this country, a politician speaking about religion also faces the risk of something worse than being thought a nutter. It's just as possible that anyone who admits that their religion influences the way they vote in parliament will be accused of being a dangerous theocrat intent on introducing the moral majority into Australia.
.... There are a number of contradictions in the way that religion and politics is treated in Australia. The first is the inability of much of the media to appreciate that a secular viewpoint carries as many moral assumptions as does one determined on religious grounds.
The debate about stem cell research, for instance, is often presented as though one side is arguing a moral position and the other side isn't. This is not true. In fact, the arguments from both sides of the debate are founded in ethical and moral considerations.
It is impossible for anyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, not to approach policy questions without some moral framework. Morality simply cannot be taken out of politics.
To be fair, one of the reasons why the media handles these issues the way it does is because of a misunderstanding of the meaning of the separation of the church and state. The original intention of this ideal was to ensure that the government did not interfere in the affairs of the church (or churches). It means, for example, that the government could not institute an official state religion and that political office holders were not required to pass religious tests.
Separation of church and state does not mean, and was never intended to mean, that anyone with religious convictions was disqualified from participating in politics.
... The former government's positions on illicit drugs or same-sex relationships were certainly the same as those of some church organisations, but many non-religious groups held similar positions. If indeed the religious right did have the influence claimed for it, then seldom has so much influence been used to so little effect.
... So far Kevin Rudd has defied Tony Blair's pronouncement. The new Prime Minister has proved to be no less religious than his predecessor — if anything, Rudd has been more willing to talk about religion than was Howard, most notably in his description of himself as a Christian socialist.
Having made much of his Christianity during 2007, it will be interesting to see what effect, if any, religion has on the Prime Minister's policies during 2008.
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John Howard has joined with other "Great Speakers" at the Washington Speakers Bureau
14/01 Ben Packham for the Herald Sun |
Enforcing Secularism 