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ABORIGINAL MEN SAY SORRY FOR ABUSE AND VIOLENCE

30/07 Australian Prayer Network Newsletter - compiled from various sources | Hundreds of Aboriginal men from across Australia have issued an historic apology to their women for the "pain, hurt and suffering" indigenous men have caused them. In the icy desert of Central Australia, men of all age groups from Cape York, the Top End, Central Australia, NSW and WA recently met to discuss ways to be better fathers, husbands and sons. They also sought to repair the damage caused in the 12 months since their communities were denounced as hotbeds of violence and abuse.

Since the federal intervention to combat child sex abuse was launched in June last year, John Liddle - from the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress - said Aboriginal men had been painted as brutal and uncaring. Mr Liddle told the gathering at Ross River outside of Alice Springs. "We need to acknowledge the hurt and pain that has been caused by violence which has shamed many indigenous males who are not violent." But he conceded good men had sat in silence, and now felt they needed to issue a collective apology.

"We the Aboriginal males from Central Australia and our brothers from around Australia ... acknowledge and say sorry for the hurt, pain and suffering caused by Aboriginal males," the statement said. "We also acknowledge that we need the love and support of our Aboriginal women to help us move forward."

One of the authors of the report which sparked the Howard Government's emergency response, Rex Wild QC, said the apology was "very powerful and very moving". He said child abuse was not just an Aboriginal problem and it had been unfair of governments to single them out. "They are not acknowledging there is a higher rate, they are  acknowledging there is a rate, that there is a level of domestic violence that they have now said sorry for," he said.

Joe Hayes, a father who lives on an outstation 25km from Alice Springs, said he walked away from the gathering "a  proud Aborigine". "We have got to try and be responsible parents and our attitudes have got to change ... saying sorry is the best part of healing," he said.
Source: Compiled by APN from media reports

Please pray against Euthanasia in Victoria

30/07 Saltshakers Media release | The Vic. Upper House could start to debate this inapropriatly named 'dying with dignity" Bill today.

NON VICTORIANS BEWARE - If this passes in Victoria it could do so in YOUR state NEXT!!

Lonely voice of dissent declared valid - global warming

30/07 Saltshakers Media release | Some time ago there was a lot of fuss created by the documentary 'The Great Global Warming Swindle' because it challenged Al Gore's 'film' called 'An Inconvenient Truth'.

Even though ABC Four Corners showed the 'Swindle" doco, they did all they could to discredit it and its maker, Martin Durkin. They even sent that stalwart of ABC left wing bias, Tony Jones, to England to interview (perhaps interrogate would be more appropriate) Martin Durkin.

FamilyVoice is heard in Macquarie Street – “for family, faith and freedom”

30/07 Family Voice Australia | On Wednesday, July 30th, 2008, a group of 15 Christians supporting FamilyVoice Australia (formerly Festival of Light Australia) gathered at NSW Parliament House in Macquarie Street, Sydney.  They were there to present copies of an open letter to Premier Iemma, expressing deep concern about his government's move to extend parenting rights to a mother’s lesbian partner – including the false designation as “parent” on the child’s birth certificate.

FamilyVoice Australia’s motto is: “A Christian voice for family, faith and freedom” – and that voice was heard in Macquarie Street on 30 July.

FamilyVoice circulated an open letter opposing this move in May, and people were invited to sign and return it to the FamilyVoice office.  FamilyVoice received over 3500 signed letters from people in NSW.

PRAYER POINT: New Senate

Lesbian IVF case sounds alarm on commodification of children

25/07 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | The case of a lesbian couple seeking damages for the cost of raising one of their twins born through an IVF procedure should sound alarm bells for governments about the increasing commodification of children in Australian society.

Lesbians lose negligence case

25/07 Saltshakers Media release | A lesbian couple in the ACT sued their IVF doctor for nearly $400,000 because they got twin girls, but wanted only one child. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and the decision was announced yesterday.

The Judge ruled against the lesbian couple, and in favour of the doctor, Dr Armellin, a specialist obstetrician gynaecologist.
Bill Muehlenberg wrote up the case 10 months ago.

Today he writes "Hours ago the ACT Supreme Court ruled against the pair, and in favour of the doctor. The lesbians have to pay the legal costs, but can still appeal. Finally a bit of sanity!" We agree! 

Twins' lesbian mums lose compo case against IVF doctor

25/07 The AGE.com.au | The lesbian mothers of IVF twin girls have lost a legal bid to sue their doctor for the cost of raising one of the toddlers. The women, whose names have been suppressed, sued prominent Canberra obstetrician Sydney Robert Armellin for more than $400,000 for implanting two embryos instead of the requested one.

The ACT Supreme Court today ruled in favour of Dr Armellin, and ordered the couple pay his legal costs.

The IVF procedure, which used sperm from a Danish donor, resulted in the birth of twin girls, now aged four.The couple, whose combined income is more than $100,000, sought $398,000 from Dr Armellin to cover the costs of raising one of the girls, including fees for a private Steiner school in Melbourne. The court was told the twins' birth mother had lost her capacity to love and the couple's relationship suffered as they became mired in everyday tasks associated with raising two children. But Dr Armellin's lawyer said loss of freedom was experienced commonly by parents across Australia.

PRAYER POINT: Northern Territory Election

AUSTRALIAN MUSLIMS SUPPORT IDEA OF HAVING POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGES RECOGNISED IN LAW

23/07 Australian Prayer Network Newsletter - compiled from various sources | Members of Sydney's Islamic community have expressed support for the recent call of Sheikh Khalil Chami of the Islamic Welfare Centre that polygamous marriages should be recognised to protect the rights of women. Sheikh Charni recently said that polygamous marriages, although illegal, existed in Australia and should be recognised.

Supporters within the Islamic community have said that it is common knowledge within their community that a number of Muslim men have more than one wife recognised under Islamic law but who have not been married under Australian law. Others have said that recognising polygamous unions would help protect the rights of women in these relationships.

Islamic spokesman Keysar Trad said he had once proposed to another woman with the consent of his wife, Hanefa, but the second marriage did not proceed. "I certainly would not have entertained the thought of having a relationship without a religious marriage and I thought the relationship with that person was developing to the stage where we had become too friendly with each other.  Rather than entertain any thoughts of an affair I thought the only decent thing to do was to consider a proper commitment to that person.

"This idea of plural sexual relationships, is not widely frowned upon by society as long as these people don't say we want a polygamous relationship."  Mr Trad's mother was a third wife in a polygamous relationship overseas and he said the women had admiration and respect for each other and supported each other. "In a sense, it's a compliment to the original partner that if he didn't find marriage to be so good why would he go into it again," he said. He claimed that Muslim women were choosing to enter into such marriages.

Mrs Trad said many people in polygamous marriages kept it a secret - not only because it was illegal, but because society did not accept it. "Tell you the truth, the hardest part of it is the way the others perceive it not what's happened between me and him," she said. Asked if it was just about wanting sex with more women, she said: "Yeah it can be, but having it in the right way instead of having it like going to a prostitute or as a one night affair''.

Victoria - Decriminalisation of abortion - Update and action

15/07 Saltshakers Media release | Victoria's MPs are currently on a winter break - Parliament resumes on 29-31 July and after that sits on 19-21 August.
Some MPs may be travelling but others will be working in their electorates.

NOW is a great time to contact your MPs - especially to VISIT them along with a couple of friends - and ask them to oppose ALL three Models for the decriminalisation of abortion as proposed by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.

More details of the proposals on our campaign page

How do I find out WHO my SIX MPs are?

(1 Legislative Assembly, 5 Legislative Council)
Click this link - type in your address in the GREY 'Search by your home address' box and press Search - your six MPs will be displayed!

Alternatively you can phone the Australian Electoral Commission on 13 2326 and ask for the names!

Big Brother will be no more after next week

14/07 Saltshakers Media release | Channel 10 announced last night that after 8 years Big Brother ratings had slumped and they would not be presenting the program next year. We are sure many parents will say Hallelujah to that.  We certainly do.

Vote now: ‘Will television be better off without Big Brother?’     Go to OR phone the Yes line - 1900956 434

Clearly the general public have had enough – the YES vote is well ahead – let us make sure it stays that way. The vote will probably end tonight. Full story at:h

Teachers in bid to boost religious tolerance

12/07 The AGE.com.au | TEACHERS from Muslim and Christian high schools are working on a shared curriculum to combat religious stereotypes and promote tolerance among students.

In what is believed to be the first such initiative in Victoria, 10 religion teachers — backed by the Catholic Education Office, Australian Catholic University and the Muslim-run Australian Intercultural Society — are producing a set of guidelines including a list of "balanced and useable" texts for teaching about the history and values of Islam and Christianity.

"We already have a level of religious intolerance in Australian society and we need to take steps to ensure that is challenged among young people — and I see this project as contributing to that in the long run," Kath Engebretson, of the Australian Catholic University, said.
"But there's so many other things that will come out of it, too," Dr Engebretson added. Friendships between students and teachers of different faiths were also expected to develop, she said.

Threat to marriage thwarted

04/07 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | Traditional marriage came under attack from the Australian Greens on two fronts this week, with the Tasmanian Greens tabling a same-sex marriage bill in that parliament on Tuesday, and the ACT Greens tabling a bill in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Wednesday aimed at providing legal marriage-like ceremonies for same-sex couples.

The Tasmanian move was a repeat of action taken by the Greens in that State three years ago, with the then Government deciding not to debate the motion. Thankfully, the bill again seems unlikely to be successful.

AUSSIE ADULT STEM CELL FINDINGS OFFER NEW HOPE FOR PARKINSON SUFFERERS

04/07 Australian Prayer Network Newsletter | Researchers have released evidence that a cure for Parkinson's disease could lie just inside the nose of patients themselves. Queensland's Griffith University study published in the journal Stem Cells found that adult stem cells harvested from the noses of Parkinson's patients gave rise to dopamine-producing brain cells when transplanted into the brain of a rat.

The debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's such as loss of muscle control are caused by degeneration of cells that produce the essential chemical dopamine in the brain. Current drug therapies replace dopamine in the brain, but these often become less effective after prolonged use. The discovery is the work of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research, part of Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies.

The advantage of using a patient's own cells is that, unlike stem cells from a foreign embryo, they are not rejected by the patient's immune system, so patients are free from a lifetime of potentially dangerous immuno-suppressant drug therapy. This development follows Professor Mackay-Sim's 2006 development of a world-first technique that demonstrated that olfactory adult stem cells can give rise to heart, nerve, liver and brain cells. Source: Medical News Today

Fence at the top of the cliff needed for better child protection

04/07 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) today congratulated Federal and State Governments for creating a national child sprotection framework but called for a “fence at the top of the cliff” to help stop child neglect and harm in the first place.

Surrogacy under the political spotlight

04/07 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | Surrogacy remains under the political spotlight, with the West Australian Parliament passing its surrogacy bill last Thursday and ACL’s Tasmanian Director Nick Overton invited to appear at a public hearing on surrogacy in that State last Tuesday.

(To read the media release ACL WA put out on the issue before it was voted on last Thursday.)

AUSTRALIANS TEST POTENTIAL OF ARTIFICIAL STEM CELLS

04/07 Australian Prayer Network Newsletter | Researchers in Melbourne will be the first in Australia to test the power of  egg-free human embryonic stem cells, which could provide the cure for a range of life-threatening conditions without exciting any of the moral opposition that surrounds therapeutic cloning. Andrew Laslett of the Australian Stem Cell Centre will today announce that a shipment of the cells - induced pluripotent (iPS) cells - arrived at the centre in May and that he and colleague Naoki Nakayama began working with them.
This is the first time scientists outside the US and Japan have gained access to iPS cells, artificially created without donated human eggs or embryos. Dr Laslett and Dr Nakayama will compare the capabilities of iPS cells with human embryonic stem (ES) cells, which are able to develop into any tissue in the human body, from brain to heart. 

Last November, Japanese and US teams hit international headlines when they announced in separate journals that they had transformed, or  "reprogrammed", ordinary human cells such as skin cells into ES cells. The ability to turn back the biological clock on cells makes them a potential source of replacement cells for people whose immune system would reject cells from another person. Until the announcements by Shinya Yamanaka from Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin's James Thomson, the only way to reprogram human donor cells was through theraputic cloning". That technique is controversial because it requires donated excess IVF embryos or human eggs that are destroyed in the process.

Australian Stem Cell Centre chief executive Stephen Livesey cautioned that it was still early days for iPS cells. He said that, to date, researchers had been able to reprogram only between one in 5000 and one in 10,000 donor cells. As well, little was known about what occurred during the process. .... Source: Compiled by APN from media reports

Radio’s lesbian lyrics further evidence of cultural slide

04/07 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | ACL’s Western Australian State Director Michelle Pearse joined our team just over 12 months ago and has already made her mark in political, media and church circles.

At just 24, she brings energy, fresh perspective and a high degree of intelligence to our work. Her passion is evidence that Generation Y is engaged and concerned about the dramatic cultural slide we’ve witnessed in recent years.
She has contributed the following piece to today’s E-news:

“A new song has hit our popular radio stations encouraging young people to engage in homosexual experimentation. It’s called ‘I Kissed a Girl’ and is performed by new artist, Katy Perry. This song goes to show how much our culture has fallen in regards to acceptance of these kinds of songs.

“I’m sure you are shocked by some of the content of the lyrics on our radio stations that sometimes incites rape and violence against women, and now added to the barrage of this material enters songs encouraging youth to be more experimental with their sexuality.”
ACL is encouraged by the recent media and political attention on the sexualisation of children with 60 Minutes and the Sunday Program recently featuring the issue.

Katy Perry’s work encourages young girls to experiment with lesbian sex, something that may appeal to young women in reaction to a culture that encourages girls to be objects of sexual gratification. ACL, along with other like-minded groups, will continue working to see the tide turned where marriage, family and healthy sexuality are again valued in popular culture.

Greens renew push to legalise civil ceremonies

02/07 ABC News | ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has tabled a bill in the Legislative Assembly to allow same-sex couples to recognise their relationship with a legal ceremony. The provision was included in the ACT Government's original Civil Partnerships Bill but the Federal Government objected, forcing the ACT to water down the legislation.

The laws, which came into effect in May, allow same-sex couples to take part in a civil ceremony and register their relationship but any ceremony is not legally binding

McDonald's sponsors gay pride parade

28/07 American Family Association | McDonald’s says they "stand by and support our people to live and work in a society free of discrimination and harassment," here is what they won’t tell you. McDonald’s helped sponsor the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. Want to see what McDonald’s considers worthy of support?

WARNING: The images on this link contain male full-frontal nudity. Please be aware and exercise caution before viewing these images.

AFA asked McDonald’s to remain neutral in the culture war. The company refused, stating they will continue to support the gay agenda including same-sex marriage. AFA has called for a boycott of McDonald’s restaurants.

McDonald’s spokesman Bill Whitman told the Washington Post that those (even Christians) who oppose homosexual marriage are motivated by hate, saying that "... hatred has no place in our culture."

This boycott is not about hiring homosexuals or how homosexual employees are treated. It is about McDonald’s choosing to put the full resources of their corporation behind promoting the homosexual agenda.

To help promote the gay agenda, McDonald’s paid $20,000 to become an official "organizational ally and corporate partner" of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and secure a seat on the group’s board of directors. The NGLCC lobbies against laws protecting marriage as between a man and a woman.

School Funded by Will Smith to Use Scientology Methods

29/07Joshua Kimball, Christian Post | A new private school founded by popular actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith has set off a Hollywood media frenzy over its alleged ties to the controversial “Chur ch” of Scientology. The New Village Academy in Calabasas, Calif., which the Smiths have poured nearly $1 million into building, will open Sept. 3 and use teaching methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Although both Smiths have claimed not to be Scientologists and the academy’s director school insists the facility has no religious affiliation, news of the school’s controversial curriculum has raised flags. "There is no reputable educator anywhere who endorses [study technology]," said David S. Touretzky, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and a critic of Scientology, according to the Los Angeles Times. "What happens is that children are inculcated with Scientology jargon and are led to regard L.R. Hubbard as an authority figure. They are laying the groundwork for later bringing people into Scientology."

... Aside from the school, Will Smith has also come under the microscope for his own possible ties to Scientology, which his close friend, actor Tom Cruise, is an active advocate of. When production on his latest movie, "Hancock," finished around Christmastime last year, Smith reportedly passed out "wrap presents" to the film's crew members: vouchers good for a personality test at a local Scientology center. And in a story in Men's Vogue in December, Smith favorably compared Hubbard's teachings to tenets of other major religions. "I've studied Buddhism and Hinduism and I've studied Scientology through Tom," Smith said. "And nobody's saying anything different!

New Zealand smacking law heralded as a test case

01/07 Maxim Institute - New Zealand | Interestingly, New Zealand has been referred to by proponents of law change in Canada as a good test case, highlighting how well similar legislation works. Yet early indicators suggest otherwise; we still have a problem with child abuse and parental behaviours have not changed substantially since the law was introduced.

One of the main aims of the law change in New Zealand was to do something about our shameful rates of child abuse. With horrific stories of children suffering continuing to surface in our newspapers, it is curious that Canadian advocates have claimed that the New Zealand model is a success, especially as the law change did little to target the causes of child abuse. Instead, the law's only effect has been to criminalise parents who use reasonable physical discipline.

Even despite this ban on reasonable discipline, parents appear to be prepared to ignore the law and risk police investigation and prosecution. The latest police report on the effect of the law change indicates that numbers of "smacking" events and "other child assaults" have not changed substantially when compared to statistics prior to the law change. Yet the number of reported "minor acts of physical discipline" has nearly trebled. The number of convictions has not changed substantially, however, which suggests a lot of police time is being tied up unnecessarily investigating these incidents.

Similarly, a poll commissioned by Family First and released in May this year indicated that 49 percent of parents were continuing to use a light smack for the purpose of parental correction, meaning that they were effectively ignoring the law. This figure is very similar to the findings of a Ministry of Social Development survey conducted before the law change, in 2005. Canadian proponents for law change, who think that New Zealand has found a way to fix the problem of abuse or to change parental behaviours, are ignoring the evidence.

Read the Six Month Review of Police Activity Following the Enactment of the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007

St. Stephen’s Uniting Church

197 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Telephone: (02) 9221 1688
Facsimile: (02) 9230 0316
E-mail: office@ssms.org.au

MEDIA RELEASE

“All People That on Earth do Dwell"

A PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION/EXHIBITION

25th September-5th October, 2008
To be held at:
St Stephen's Uniting Church

$300 prize for winner
In each of the following sections:
Senior Amateur
Junior Amateur
People’s Choice

For
Entry forms and competition rules
Phone: (02) 9221 1688
Email: office@ssms.org.au

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:  18th August, 2008

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