Plagiarised Senate submission verbals MPs into supporting eugenics

Australian Parliament Speaker Wants Lord's Prayer Dropped

...But senators from several of Australia's political parties largely squelched the idea, and a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he considers the prayer an important tradition that must not be changed. "The Lord's Prayer is a long standing tradition of the Australian parliament and the Prime Minister believes it should continue,'' she said.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull and Nationals leader Warren Truss issued a joint statement agreeing with Rudd that such a change would be unacceptable."The Lord's Prayer has a very important place in the conduct of the parliamentary program, and ahead of the day's debate and deliberations it provides a non-partisan reaffirmation of our commitment to the common good for the people of Australia,'' Turnbull and Truss said.

'Henson loophole' should be discussed at SCAG

Should the Christian parliamentary prayer be dumped?

25/10 Saltshakers | The speaker of the Federal Parliament, Harry Jenkins, has called for a debate on removing the Christian prayer and replacing it with something aboriginal. We must enter this debate.

... This has arisen because in his maiden speech last week, Independent MP Rob Oakeshott, the new independent Member for Lyle, said he was surprised and disappointed federal Parliament had not adopted the practice of a daily acknowledgement about the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land.

Senate abortion hearings next week

24/10 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter |Senate hearings into the Medicare funding of second trimester abortions will be held in Canberra next Wednesday and Thursday.

Medicare makes a taxpayer contribution to the overwhelming majority of Australia’s 90,000 abortions each year but this Inquiry will focus on public funding of late abortions from 13-26 weeks gestation, when the baby is more fully formed in the womb. (ACL believes a baby’s life is worth saving at all stages).
The Inquiry was established in response to Tasmanian Liberal Senator Guy Barnett’s Notice of Motion to disallow Medicare funding for second trimester abortion.

ACL established its online ‘Medicare, not Medikill’ campaign in support and more than 8,100 emails were sent to Senators urging them to support the winding back of public money for abortion. This is a terrific response and we know it has impacted Senators on both sides of the debate. Thanks to all of you who took the time to email Senators.

Next week’s hearings represent a new phase in the fight for life and will provide a rare opportunity to present Senators with evidence of the horrors of abortion on unborn babies and women.

Submission

24/10 Dr David Van Gend |Senate hearings into the Medicare funding of second trimester abortions will be held in Canberra next Wednesday and Thursday.

Medicare makes a taxpayer contribution to the overwhelming majority of Australia’s 90,000 abortions each year but

Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Amendment Bill 2008

23/10 Gordon Moyes - Discussing Legislation | Australia’s responsibilities under Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1990 place paramount importance on the best interests of the child being considered when actions and decisions concerning children are taken. In the agreement in principle speech, the Parliamentary Secretary, on behalf of the Minister for Police, stated that the free exchange of information between certain agencies is essential for the effective functioning of the child protection watch team and management of high-risk offenders.

...For many years at Wesley Mission I have been responsible for the care of children who suffer from intense childhood trauma. I was responsible, as guardian ad litem, for 3,600 children, most of whom had suffered great trauma in their life. I can remember discovering a child sex offender on the childhood care staff at one of our centres in Burwood. I immediately terminated that man, and then rang up similar agencies to warn them

Rudd Goes Soft On Binge Drinking

23/10 Senator Steve Fielding, Family First | Family First has a plan to tackle binge drinking but the Rudd government is too soft on the big alcohol industry and won't take tough action to cut back alcohol ads. New research that 8.4 million Australians want less alcohol advertising backs up Family First's plan to address Australia's binge drinking culture, Family First Leader Senator Steve Fielding said today.

A new approach to the abortion debate

23/10 Rev. Gordon Moyes, MLC | The Victorian Parliament recently passed the most liberal abortion laws in Australia, rejecting all of the proposed amendments. I was there speaking with the Parliamentarians at the time and encouraging a pro-life vote. It was obvious that the old arguments no longer carry weight in the political realm. For fifty years we have argued on the same premise.

Those of us who are"pro-life" continue to think and pray that our arguments will win one day. Those who are �Pro-choice� make sure those potential women members of Parliament on the Government side always belong to �Emily�s List�. Everyone does, and they are all committed to a pro-choice position. The pro-life faction, therefore, can never win.

You would think by now, we would be able to do better than that, but the old guard, pro-life advocates attack anybody trying to think of a better way as being non-Christian betrayers, pro-abortion, and deniers of the faith. It is about time they stopped talking like that and thought a lot harder.

Christian lobby defends families

22/10 Australian Christian Lobby Media Release | The Australian Christian Lobby today defended the importance of the natural family structure, saying that it is in the best interests of a child to have both a mother and a father.

“Family break-up and death mean that some children will not enjoy the benefit of having both a mother and a father, and people who are left to raise children on their own deserve our support and admiration,” ACL West Australian Director Michelle Pearse said today.“However this situation has been brought about by often tragic events, not by design. It is far different from intentionally creating a situation where a child will be in a motherless or fatherless family – as is the case for ‘gay families’.

“Research has repeatedly shown the benefits to children of being raised by their own mother and father.

“The issue should not be whether same-sex couples want children, it should be about what is best for the child. “This is not about bigotry, as Professor Nicholson asserts in his criticisms of the Catholic Church and other groups. It is about refusing to commoditise children and ignore their best interests.” Mrs Pearse said marriage also provides clear benefits to society and it is appropriate for people to seek to preserve its special status.

“This is about wanting to safeguard important institutions that are central to the fabric of our society, it is not about hypocrisy or a lack of humanity,” Mrs Pearse said. “ACL and many others who oppose same-sex marriages and their equivalent are not opposed to the removal of unreasonable discrimination for same-sex couples, such as in the allocation of an individual’s own finance and property. “However in a society already suffering from the effects of family breakdown, we are opposed to further undermining marriage and the family.”

NSW: Bi-Election results

22/10 Saltshakers | In NSW the sitting Labor government had swings of more than 20% recorded against them in two of four by-elections held on Saturday. While they held on to win to existing Labor seats Cabramatta and Lakemba, they lost the seat of Ryde to the Liberals. In the forth seat Labor did not stand a candidate and a new independent held the seat previously held By ex National turned independent MP Rob Oakshot, but with a reduced majority. This was a blow to the Nationals who had hoped to win back the seat.
After resigning from the state seat, Rob Oakshot went on to win the Federal Seat of Lyne from the Nationals. This does not ere good for the Nationals who keep talking about a new direction and have swung left.
Hopefully this grubbing in both State and National bi-elections will send the Nationals a message that they need to return to their conservative roots before they disappear in the same way the Democrats did at the last federal Election because nobody knew what they stood for anymore.

A swing against Labor at the next NSW election, which unfortunately is not due for at least 2 years, would see the Party decimated. Will the opposition be any better? Who knows?

RBA warns on bank guarantee as Reserve and Treasury at loggerheads

21/10 The Australian - Business | RESERVE Bank governor Glenn Stevens is warning the Rudd Government its blanket guarantee of deposits is creating serious dislocation in the entire financial system and must be changed. The Government ignored the RBA's strongly voiced concerns about the impact of an unlimited guarantee scheme in its rush to announce a guarantee of all deposits in Australian deposit-taking institutions on October 12. The Government faces severe embarrassment that its emergency measures are now creating new problems, given that it refused to heed RBA advice at the time.

Rev Nile Flags Fatigued Doctors

22/10 Rev. Fred Nile, CDP | My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Health.

• Is it the fact that doctors in our public hospitals, especially young new doctors, are working exceptionally long hours, even 60 hours a week and double shifts?
  
  
• Is it a fact that overtired and exhausted doctors are vulnerable to making medical errors?

Questions to Ministers: Abduction & Kidnapping

21/10 Gordon Moyes MLC | My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Police. Is the Minister aware of recent recorded crime statistics that 380 cases of abduction and kidnapping have occurred in New South Wales in the past 12 months ending 30 June 2008? In particular, is the Minister aware of 15 abduction attempts of children aged between 8 to 16 since August this year? Given that New South Wales has the highest recorded rate of abduction and kidnapping in the country since 2005, can the Minister inform the House about measures the New South Wales Police Force will implement to reduce the development of this particular type of crime? What progress has been made to arrest the offenders involved? What programs have been established to educate not only our schoolchildren but also our local communities to prevent further abduction and kidnapping attempts?

NSW / ACT : Labor Party punished in NSW, ACT elections

19/10 News.com.au | NEW South Wales Labor's worst by-election fears have been realised, with massive swings against the state government in three Sydney seats yesterday including a rout by the Liberal Party in the seat of Ryde.Labor is set to suffer swings of at least 20 per cent against it in Ryde and Cabramatta and a double-digit swing in Lakemba.

... Premier Nathan Rees had expected his government would receive a "kick in the pants'' for its poor performance in the 18 months since the 2007 election. A spokesman for the premier tonight said that was exactly what the government had received.

...Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said the strong showing from the Liberal Party in all three by-elections showed that people want change in NSW. "It's a verdict on the future and it demonstrated that people have voted to start the change - change to open, honest and accountable government,'' Mr O'Farrell said."One that finally focuses on people's needs, not on the needs of politicians.''

ACT: Minority government not known for weeks

QLD: Former MP admits blackmail was 'really stupid'

18/10 Sunday Mail | FORMER Queensland Labor Minister Merri Rose will tomorrow talk publicly for the first time since she was jailed for trying to blackmail former then premier Peter Beattie in 2006.  But don't expect any new revelations about the content of the extortion attempt. .... Ms Rose would be charged with contempt if she broke a court ban on discussing the secret at the heart of the case and says she is scared of going back behind bars, where she spent three months last year.

FATHERS, MOTHERS AND ‘FOTHERS’

“A fother is a person who is not the mother or father in any physical or biological way or a person who replicates that role in a heterosexual relationship – but a person in a same sex relationship. This bill will establish a legal structure that creates a second parent of the same sex for a child while denying that child a parent of the other sex.”

Two mummies, two daddies ok for Victorian kids

17/10 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | A Victorian Government bill removes the idea that kids should have a right to both a mother and a father.

Victoria's Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill 2008 seeks to expand access to fertility services, such as IVF and surrogacy, to almost anyone who wants to have a child, irrespective of their circumstances. The bill will allow single men, single women, homosexual couples and heterosexual couples access to assisted reproductive treatment to help them have a child.

Infertility treatment used to be just that - a treatment for couples who were medically infertile. However, under the new bill, eligibility for treatment is not dependent on medical need. Instead, anyone who is unlikely to conceive a child in their current circumstances can access treatment, meaning that people who simply lack a partner of the opposite sex with whom to start a family can now use IVF and surrogacy in order to have a child.

Obviously, if a same-sex couple uses such services, only one of them will be related to the child; nonetheless, the bill will allow both partners to be legally recognised as equal 'parents', endorsing the fiction that a child has two fathers or two mothers.

The focus is on defeating this bill in Victoria's Upper House, where it is likely to be debated from October 28. ACL has launched a new Make a Stand campaign to help you voice your concerns about this bill.

Please visit the Who's my mum? Who's my dad? page to send a letter to Victorian Upper House members asking them to oppose this bill, which deliberately denies a child's right to start life with a mother and father. 

Queenslanders are also encouraged to contact their Attorney-General Kerry Shine and Shadow Attorney-General Mike Horan regarding the recommendations of a Qld parliamentary committee to legalise surrogacy for same-sex couples, which also denies a child's right to a mother and father.

Senate vote presumes family can be ‘dad and dad’ or ‘mum and mum’

17/10 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | A Victorian Government bill removes the idea that kids should have a right to both a mother and a father.

Victoria's Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill 2008 seeks to expand access to fertility services, such as IVF and surrogacy, to almost anyone who wants to have a child, irrespective of their circumstances. The bill will allow sing

ACT: Triumphant Greens toast new role

17/10 Canberra Times | The Greens were toasting their new role as the ACT's kingmakers last night after tripling their representation in the Assembly and gaining the power to choose the next chief minister. Labor and the Liberals have already begun courting their support in a bid to form government.

The Greens benefited from a swing against both major parties and a 6.6percentage point swing to them, which should be enough to give them a seat in each electorate. Labor's vote plummeted by 9.3 points, meaning they will lose two seats, to the Greens. The Liberals have also suffered a swing against them, of 3.7percentage points, but will increase their representation by one by regaining the seat lost when they dumped former deputy leader Richard Mulcahy. The latest indications suggest the two major parties will get seven seats each. ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope accepted his Government had taken a ''belting'' but claimed a mandate to keep his job.

Call for REAL support for women following ‘Black Friday’ abortion decision

13/10 Australian Christian Lobby Media Release | The passing of Victoria’s Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 last Friday, a ‘Black Friday’ indeed, is a matter for deep regret, but now the challenge before our politicians is to act to provide REAL support for women, the Australian Christian Lobby said today.

Rob Ward, State Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, today called on the Victorian Government to follow through on support services for women facing an unplanned pregnancy. 

“They have declared themselves to be ‘pro-choice’ and supposedly aimed at helping women,” Mr Ward said. “Now let us see them prove that ‘pro-choice’ does not just translate as ‘pro-abortion’ and actually provide women with the support they need to be able to make genuine choices.” Mr Ward said that, in the turbulent passage of this bill though both houses, calls were made for truly independent counselling to be made available. “Will the Government now work to ensure these services are widely available and are genuinely independent of the abortion provider? Anything less is a fraud,” he said.

ACT: No surprises and little comfort for either side

17/10 Canberra Times | Hardly any observer can pretend to be much surprised by the result of the ACT election. Hardly any interested observer is in much of a position to make much political capital from it ... The prediction, which turned out right, was that the dissatisfaction of those who had voted Labor last time would add to an existing Greens vote base, or that it would flow to a host of new independent groupings, none of whom, however, would get enough votes (protest or otherwise) in their own right.

Counted as Labor and anti-Labor votes, in short, the electorate would more or less decide for a status quo, if with a few extra hobbles on the ALP horses by way of putting in some Green representatives. That's pretty much what we got.

Reproductive Technology Battle

Francis Schaeffer used to say that the enemy never allows us the luxury of fighting on only one front. There are always a number of battles which we must be engaged in. And the Victorian Labor Party is quite sneaky in this regard. While we have all been battling the abortion bill, Labor has tried to sneak in an equally reprehensible bill, this one allowing lesbians and singles to have access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies .

The bill was passed in the Lower House and will soon be voted on in the Upper House. Once again we must contact our MPs and tell them to vote no on this. The good news here is that all the Liberal and National MPs in the Lower House voted against the bill. We need to ensure that the bill does not go ahead in the Upper House.

So once again we must roll up our sleeves and get involved.

Senate vote redefines parenting

17/10 Australian Christian Lobby Media Release | The right of children to a mother and a father suffered a further blow following a Senate vote yesterday amending the Family Law Act.

Lesbian partners of mothers of children will now be presumed to be “parents” in law, something they clearly are not by natural law. Also, homosexual men who have acquired children under State surrogacy laws will also be presumed to be “parents”.

A Coalition amendment to make it clear that parenting is not gender neutral failed in a tied vote in the Senate yesterday after the Greens, Labor and South Australian independent Nick Xenophon joined to defeat the Coalition and Family First’s Steve Fielding.

ACL has not opposed removing discrimination from same-sex couples and children who find themselves in these artificial family constructs, but not at the expense of ignoring the natural law and historical understanding of marriage, parenting and children.
ACL opposes the deliberate creation of motherless or fatherless families through Artificial Reproductive Technology and surrogacy, something which is being fiercely fought out in State law reforms, particularly in Victoria and Queensland ... A raft of other same-sex laws are due to be debated when the Senate resumes on November 10.

.... ACL and other family minded groups and academics have worked hard through recent Senate inquiries into the same-sex law reform to achieve greater protection of marriage. The battle for ‘mum and dad’ parenting now moves to the States where surrogacy and ART law reform is threatening to open up a new class of family where kids are deliberately denied a mother or a father.

REPRODUCTIVE TREATMENT BILL PASSES VICTORIAN LOWER HOUSE

11/10 Australian Prayer Network | There was further bad news from Victoria last week, with the Lower House voting 47 to 34 in favour of the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill 2008 – a bill which threatens to radically alter the natural family structure. The bill has been snuck in under the “cover” of the abortion debate and would allow single people and same-sex couples to use technology and surrogacy to create “families” where children are purposefully denied the most basic human right, that to a mother AND a father.

Valiant efforts to defeat the bill were made by MPs Christine Campbell and Bob Stensholt, and another very strong attack on the bill by Murray Thompson saw him ejected from the house, unfortunately to no avail. The bill will now go to the Upper House.

Friends and foes of life

Dear friends
.
This is how the Upper House MPs voted:

VICTORIA: THOSE WHO VOTED FOR THE ABORTION BILL:

VICTORIA: THOSE WHO VOTED AGAINST THE ABORTION BILL:

It is scandalous that 5 Liberals and one National voted for the bill. Please, this whole affair is not over yet. We must now write to our local members, and either lavishly praise them for voting against this bill, or firmly yet politely and respectfully critique them for voting for the bill. You can find all the email details of these MPs here: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/mlcs.html

Please contact your local Upper House members. Please show them how grateful you are if they voted for life. Please express your very deep concern if they voted for death. If you do not live in Victoria, you can still contact these MPs and share your views. Thanks for keeping on in this most important of struggles.

Blessings

Victorian Upper House makes tragic abortion vote

11/10 Australian Christian Lobby | In a tragic day for Victoria and for unborn children, the State’s Upper House today voted to pass the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 by 23 votes to 17. ...

...Attention now turns to up to 70 amendments which are to be debated in the Upper House and, if passed, could lessen some of the damage inherent in the bill. The amendments are understood to include a ban on partial birth abortions, changes to the conscientious objection clause, and a reduction in the period abortion on demand would be freely available from 24 weeks gestation to 20 weeks (along with the requirement for a panel review after that period rather than just the agreement of two doctors).

VICTORIAN UPPER HOUSE PASSES ABHORRENT ABORTION BILL

11/10 Australian Prayer Network | In a tragic day for Victoria and for unborn children, the State’s Upper House voted last week to pass the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 by 23 votes to 17. ... One last avenue of hope is the call made by the ‘Doctors in Conscience Against Abortion Bill’ group for the Prime Minister to intervene to prevent the passage of the abortion bill so that Australia avoids breaching its treaty obligations and upholds the human rights contained in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights 1996. This call focuses on the way the bill forces doctors to act in violation of their conscientious beliefs by actively assisting patients to obtain an abortion. Therefore the fight continues despite the blow from the Bill being passed.

SA: Children of lesbians 'at risk' due to prolific sperm donors

10/10 UK: Pink News.com, UK | A health official in South Australia has warned that the state's rules on sperm donation could put the children of some lesbians at risk.At present only heterosexual couples and those at risk of transmitting a serious defect can access fertility treatments.

This has led some women to use unofficial means.

There have been reports of one man impregnating 30 lesbian women, whose children now socialise together.Unless they are aware of their shared parentage, there is concern some of them could commit incest. Associate Professor Dutney, a former chair of the Council on Reproductive Technology in South Australia, said the state's regulations need to be reformed.

When Darkness Covers the Land

10/10 Bill Muehlenberg - 11.50am | Today is a sad day for Victoria, for Australia, and for the world. This morning Victorian Upper House politicians have covered their hands in blood by passing one of the most vile pieces of legislation yet seen in this land. The Victorian abortion bill which decriminalises abortion and allows open slather on abortion, even late-term abortion, was passed by a vote of 23-17.

EMILY'S LIST: ABORTION LAW REFORM A MOMENTOUS OCCASION FOR VICTORIAN WOMEN

October 2008 | EMILY's List congratulates the Victorian Parliament on the passage of the Abortion Law Reform Bill. We commend the Parliament for harmonising current medical practice, community attitudes and the law. We thank Premier John Brumby, Health Minister Daniel Andrews, and Minister for Women's Affairs Maxine Morand for their strong leadership and integrity through out the contentious debate.

“EMILY's List thanks all of the women, and men, from across the political spectrum, who have worked tirelessly in the community and in the Parliament to make the decriminalisation of abortion a reality. This is an historic moment for the recognition of women's rights in Victoria” said Victorian Co-Convenor Moira Rayner.

“We would especially like to thank our pro-choice MPs for their principled stand; their commitment to just and equitable outcomes for all Victorian women, their determination to see the Bill through, their dedication in defeating numerous regressive amendments, and their courage in the face of contemptible tactics from some quarters. We are grateful for their diligence; their thoughtful, measured and articulate contributions to the debate; and their unswerving respect for women and women's rights” said Ms Rayner.

“EMILY's List believes that this landmark legislation represents a vital shift in the way that our society respects women's ability to make sound decisions about their bodies and their lives. This legislation will mean that women in all areas of Victoria will be able to access safe, legal terminations free from persecution; and medical practitioners provide vital reproductive health services to women free from harassment” said Ms Rayner.

“It is our firm belief that the strong and increasing representation of women in the Parliament has made reform to Victoria's abortion laws possible. Women MPs advocating for the women's reproductive rights put decriminalisation on the agenda and were instrumental at every stage of Abortion Law Reform Bills development. We are especially grateful to Candy Broad MLC for her bravery in putting forward the Private Member's Bill last year, which set the scene for referral to the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and galvanised the Parliamentary process” said Ms Rayner. .


NOTE : EMILY's List is a national organisation that aims to make ensure "Progressive" Labor Women are elected to parliament ... Apparently progressive means "pro-abortion and pro-institutional child care" because the Emily's List website clearly states that to join this political & personal support network, women need to be : Pro-Choice / Pro Equity / Pro-Childcare / Pro-Equal Pay & Pro-Diversity

At February 1996 there were 4 women ALP members of the House of Representatives. Today, there are 152 Labor women in parliaments of which 113 are EMILY's List members.. - VISIT THEIR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO

SOME OF THE EMILY'S LIST CANDIDATES:

VICTORIA: Abortion Bill passes second reading by 23 to 17

10/10 Saltshakers - 11.45am | The Abortion Law Reform Bill has just passed the Second Reading vote in the Legislative Council by a vote of 23 to 17. The vote was taken this morning around 11 am.

QLD: Blow to Anna Bligh as Ronan Lee quits Labor for Greens

07/10 Courier Mail | ANNA Bligh has suffered a credibility blow after being left clueless about a surprise decision by one of her own MPs to quit Labor and join the Greens. Premier Bligh only discovered rogue Indooroopilly MP Ronan Lee was defecting after news broke on couriermail.com.au.

The move, which comes after Labor's recent slide in opinion polls, forced the Queensland Premier to defend her leadership amid increasing concern about the Government's direction. Ms Bligh said Mr Lee would be viewed as a traitor and insisted her Government would not be distracted by his decision.

Govt 'should not be spokesman for banks'

06/10 SMH.com.au | The federal government is gutless and should not be apologising for banks if they do not pass on the entire interest rate cut expected on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says .... "Why is Kevin Rudd not speaking up for everybody," Mr Turnbull told Macquarie Radio on Tuesday.

"He's not out there saying retailers should be looked after; he's not out there saying builders should be looked after; he's not out there worrying about whether the bricklayer is going to have a job next week. "It's as though he's been captured by one section of the business world and has become their spokesman."

ARE YOU AWARE that abortion up to 9 months  is almost a legal reality for Victoria?

The 'Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008' was voted on in the Lower House. It passed - 49 for and 32 against. All 41 amendments were rejected. The Bill will now move to the Upper House for debate and voting. This will begin on Tuesday 7th of October. If passed, it would make abortion legal for any reason and at any time up to 24 weeks. It also makes abortion legal up to birth, provided 2 doctors agree it is appropriate on medical grounds and with regard to "the woman's current and future physical, psychological and social circumstances." In effect, this means abortion on demand.

06/10 Peter Stokes, Saltshakers | An estimated 3,000 people gathered today outside the Victorian Parliament to Pray and Protest against the decriminalisation of abortion in Victoria. Some came from as far away as Mildura & Adelaide. The message was clear - say no to the legal killing of unborn children. The prayers were that Christians would speak out and that our Upper House MPs would vote against the abortion Bill that will come before the Upper House this week. Other prayer meetings were held in other states and towns to coincide with this meeting.

Thank you to all those who gave of their time to show Victorian MPs how much they oppose this Bill.

“Doctors in Conscience Against Abortion Bill”

The AntiConscience Clause.

Clause 8 of the Bill is unconscionable and unprecedented in this country.

We believe it to be an attack on the basic human rights of health professionals which undermines their moral integrity and professional autonomy. The state should not coerce its health professionals to participate in the taking of human life. Many doctors, nurses and pharmacists, with strong ethical, religious and cultural beliefs against abortion will have to consider whether to continue to practice in breach of the law or to discontinue working as healthcare professionals in this state.

Excerpted from the new "Doctors in Conscience Against Abortion" website

VICTORIA: 80 Hour Week Ongoing Protest on Steps of Parliament

Every week day from 6.30am to 6.30pm (+ weekends), Matthew Prince has been protesting on the steps of Parliament. He is a successful businessman, MBA graduate and father of 2. Today is day 10!

Matt cancelled his New York business trip because he felt compelled to make a stand against the Abortion Law Reform Bill.

He writes: “I just don’t get why unborn kids don't have rights. I can't sit by and keep quiet anymore. Enough is enough.”

The driveby insults are commonplace and the intense discussions with prochoicers are draining, but Matt remains respectful and compassionate.

His blog at www.mattsprotest.com records some of these daily interactions.

Since he has taken his stand, he has been contacted by several MPs, many ProLife and Church leaders, not to mention countless people on both sides of the debate, in Victoria and interstate.

Matt’s stand is becoming an inspiration for many who have felt they had no voice. And he hopes the MPs are listening – this bill has gone way too far.

Media contacts:  Information: Kirsten Jack 0421-047-864
Email: matt@mattsprotest.com 

Denying people right to conscience akin to fascism

27/09 Professor Greg Craven, Vice Chancellor Australian Catholic University | ONE of the great truths of life is that everyone loves rights. We love them when we have them. But we particularly love them when we can loftily confer them on somebody else. So satisfying. The problem is that being a rights-giver carries its own challenges. Anyone will defend a right they like or a minority of which they approve. But the real test is whether you are prepared to stick up for the uncongenial rights of groups you just do not care for.

This is the test set by proposed abortion legislation for various members of the Victorian Parliament and assorted civil liberties glee clubs such as Liberty Victoria. So far, they are failing it like a fencepost sitting VCE physics.

VICTORIA: Abortion Bill Update - conscience, meetings & prayer

As the Victorian Legislative Council prepares to debate the Abortion Law Reform Bill next week (7-9 Oct), we encourage you to keep praying.

* If you are able, please come to the prayer meeting/rally on the steps of parliament on Sunday 5 October 1.45 – 2.45 pm.

* On Monday night, 6 October, Endeavour Forum is holding a meeting in Melbourne with an MP and a pro-life barrister discussing the Abortion Bill –

NSW: [government] floats the Mardi Gras with financial aid

02/10 By Byron Kaye and Justin Vallejo for The Daily Telegraph | PREMIER Nathan Rees' decision to help fund Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras with taxpayer dollars shows he has his priorities wrong, Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell claimed today.

"He's confusing the hell out of people across the state,'' Mr O'Farrell said.

"If Mr Rees wants to prioritise funding, some of the announcements he's made in recent days would be further down the list for most people of this city and this state, behind infrastructure and services.'' Taxpayers will for the first time be forced to fund the event after the State Government last night came to the financial aid of the debt-plagued event.

Mardi Gras organisers and new government body Events NSW confirmed the deal last night after it was leaked to the gay media yesterday.

NSW funds pink event - goes further into red

02/10 Piers Akerman, The Daily Telegraph |NSW has secretly agreed to fund the homosexual Mardi Gras as schools, hospitals, roads and rail projects are dumped. What is going on?

Where is the justification for this bail-out of a private body? Just like the V8 motor sports scheme, the Rees Labor Government has opted for a bread-and-circuses approach to the State’s sick economy, and to hell with its suffering taxpayers.
Last week, a study showed that Sydney’s Western suburbs house the majority of the nation’s worst performing mortgage holders. As they scrabble to keep their homes, they will be cheered by the notion that their local Labor MPs believe they need to be diverted by the sight of semi-naked men and women jumping about on floats.

NSW: Funds Mardi Gras

02/10 Excerpted from Saltshakers News | How sad that the NSW government have swallowed the grossly exaggerated hype of Mardi Gras organisers. Following are some FACT about the charade Sydney mardi gras organisers have been playing for years.

Some comments for letter writing - see addresses below

• Mardi gras actually made a profit last year of $500,000 due to 'homosexual' corporate sponsors!!!
• The "500,000 spectators" quoted in the article cannot be substantiated.
• The $30 million the parade is said to inject into the state each year is based on the organisers' inflated figure of 700,000 spectators – Both are therefore total exaggerations of the truth.
• Homosexual journalist, Adam Carr, said in 2002 that it was time mardi gras came clean when he estimated ONLY 60-70,000 people actually attend. 
• We know, having been to MD twice, that Carr’s  60,000 – 70,000 estimate is about right.
• The same year the, 2002, NSW Police stopped verifying the mardi gras organisers 'guestimates' because they knew they were false. (They told us so!)
• In 2006, the parade organisers reduced an estimate of half a million bystanders made on Saturday night to 300,000 on Sunday morning! Reported in the SMH newspaper
• Given that 300,000 is about a five-fold exaggeration of the real figure, the $30 million, which was based on 700,000 spectators, is at least ten times bigger than reality!
• Non-homosexual corpor