The Future doesn't just happen it is Created by Visionary Leaders.

Sentinels Prayer Update - 2009- #2 | George Barna says, "People of distinctive foresight and unflappable conviction, literally create the future." In this update we draw attention to the need to be praying for our visionaries, those already positioned and those being prepared.

Green ideas must take blame for deaths

Miranda Devine, SMH.com.au | It wasn't climate change which killed as many as 300 people in Victoria last weekend. It wasn't arsonists. It was the unstoppable intensity of a bushfire, turbo-charged by huge quantities of ground fuel which had been allowed to accumulate over years of drought. It was the power of green ideology over government to oppose attempts to reduce fuel hazards before a megafire erupts, and which prevents landholders from clearing vegetation to protect themselves

So many people need not have died so horribly. The warnings have been there for a decade. If politicians are intent on whipping up a lynch mob to divert attention from their own culpability, it is not arsonists who should be hanging from lamp-posts but greenies.

Governments appeasing the green beast have ignored numerous state and federal bushfire inquiries over the past decade, almost all of which have recommended increasing the practice of "prescribed burning". Also known as "hazard reduction", it is a methodical regime of burning off flammable ground cover in cooler months, in a controlled fashion, so it does not fuel the inevitable summer bushfires.

... There is an opening now in Victoria for a predatory legal firm with a taste for David v Goliath class actions.

QUEENSLAND: Anna Bligh feels heat as LNP closes in

27/02 The Australian | QUEENSLAND voters have turned against Anna Bligh and the Labor Party, according to the latest poll, which puts the Liberal National Party in a strong position at the start of the campaign.

The Galaxy poll of about 800 voters, taken on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and made public last night, shows the major parties locked 50-50 on a two-party-preferred basis.

The LNP recorded a primary vote of 43 per cent, up two points since the last Galaxy poll in November, with Labor on 42 per cent. While the results will give the LNP a timely boost, Labor's primary vote is also up 1 per cent since November, indicating the major parties are benefiting from a redistribution of minor party and other votes.

The LNP still needs to increase its primary vote, and preferably see the Greens take votes back from Labor, to win government. But the results reflect Labor's poor start to the campaign, which may have deteriorated yesterday with the release of two damning health reports.

VICTORIA: Burn-offs too little, too late from DSE

Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun Columnist | THE Brumby Government is now taking credit for saving houses from Black Saturday's fire, instead of accepting blame for dooming them. Its Department of Sustainability and the Environment this week boasted of doing the fuel reduction burns around Bendigo that it had failed to do in the very places where most people died. DSE's fire and training investigation co-ordinator said his burns had saved 50 houses in Bendigo, and spared Malmsbury. Which I applaud.

So we know DSE agrees such burns save lives and must be done. But check the table. Why, then, did the DSE do so few of them in the public lands of Port Phillip, containing the towns of ruined Kinglake and threatened Healesville?

Let's go through those figures, which, though terrible, still flatter the DSE. They show what the department had planned to burn off, and how, every year for the past four at least, it had failed.

... If you doubt this influence of green politics, consider this. Victoria and NSW in 2002 and 2003 suffered terrible fires, and parts of Canberra burned. Then, too, came claims that green policies left forest fuel unburned and firetracks closed.

PRAYER POINT: Queensland Elections: Saturday 21st March 2009

NSW: Parliamentary Inquiries

25/02 Gordon Moyes | This week, New South Wales Parliament held public hearings on the adoption by same sex couples, the privatisation of prisons and prison-related services, and the governance of New South Wales universities.  These inquiries are critical in implementing and shaping sound public policy for the people of New South Wales.  Please click on the links to provide you with more information on the outcomes of the inquiries. 

The Adoption by Same Sex Couples Inquiry was a result of a request from the Minister for Community Services, The Hon. Linda Burney MP, to look at altering the New South Wales Adoption Act to allow same-sex couples to adopt. 

The Privatisation of Prisons and Prison-related Services Inquiry was a result by the New South Wales Government's Mini-Budget decision to announce wide-ranging reforms to privatise correctional facilities which will have serious implications for prisoners, correctional officers but also the community at large. 

NATIONAL: Deadline extended for Religion and Belief Project

27/02 The Australian | The Australian Human Rights Commission has extended the deadline for submissions to its Freedom of religion and belief in the 21st century Discussion Paper until 28 February 2009.

Released in September, the discussion paper sets out to examine and report on the extent to which the right of freedom of religion and belief can be enjoyed in Australia today by drawing from practical everyday experiences and observations. The Race Discrimination Commissioner, Tom Calma, said the discussion paper had already generated a lot of initial interest from individuals and organisations. We have been open to receiving submissions for some time but given the Christmas and New Year period, we want to give more organisations and individuals including secular and religious minorities - further opportunities to contribute, Commissioner Calma said.

In particular, we encourage responses that represent a diversity of views in order to ensure a comprehensive foundation from which the research team can develop the final report.

Commissioner Calma said the Discussion Paper asked a series of thought provoking questions but pointed out that it was not necessary for submissions to address all the questions. The fundamental human right of freedom of religion and belief is protected by a number of international treaties and declarations, Mr Calma said. It encompasses freedom of thought on all matters and the freedom to demonstrate and express our religion and belief individually, with others, in private or in public, including the right not to believe.

Commissioner Calma emphasised that gaining a comprehensive understanding of these issues could not be achieved merely by consultation with academics, religious institutions or government. We need to hear from as many people as possible, from all walks of life and I encourage everyone with an interest in this issue to take advantage of this extension and make a submission, Mr Calma said. Submissions can be informal and include letters or emails. Electronic submissions are encouraged by visiting

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/frb/

or emailing frb@humanrights.gov.au

NATIONAL: Web censorship plan heads towards a dead end

27/02 SMH.com.au | The Government's plan to introduce mandatory internet censorship has effectively been scuttled, following an independent senator's decision to join the Greens and Opposition in blocking any legislation required to get the scheme started.

The Opposition's communications spokesman Nick Minchin has this week obtained independent legal advice saying that if the Government is to pursue a mandatory filtering regime "legislation of some sort will almost certainly be required".

Senator Nick Xenophon previously indicated he may support a filter that blocks online gambling websites but in a phone interview today he withdrew all support, saying "the more evidence that's come out, the more questions there are on this". The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, has consistently ignored advice from a host of technical experts saying the filters would slow the internet, block legitimate sites, be easily bypassed and fall short of capturing all of the nasty content available online.

QUEENSLAND: Christians expecting to be heard in Queensland election

24/02 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | After playing an active role in the most recent Federal, State and Territory elections, Christians are looking to have their concerns addressed in the Queensland election campaign, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said today.

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said that Christians gained reach as an important constituency in the 2007 Federal election, as well as in last year’s Northern Territory, West Australian and ACT elections, and would also impact the upcoming Queensland election.

TRANSCRIPT OF ADDRESS ON THE NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE VICTORIA BUSH FIRES

22/02 Prime Ministers Speech | Fellow members of the great Australian family. When the histories of nations are written, there are times which sorely test each nation's soul. Whether through the carnage of human conflict or through the terrifying forces of nature unleashed. This nation Australia has just been put to such a test.

And you the people of Australia, you the people of Victoria, and most especially you the people of these fire-ravaged communities – you have faced the test – and you have not been found wanting.

NSW: Christian Lobby to address NSW same-sex adoption hearings

22/02 Australian Christian Lobby Newsletter | Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) representatives will argue the case against allowing same-sex couples to adopt children during NSW Legislative Council public hearings tomorrow.

ACL National Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton and Research Officer Ben Williams will appear before the Standing Committee of Law and Justice’s adoption by same sex couples inquiry hearings at 11.45 am.

They will urge the inquiry not to place the perceived rights of adults above the best interests of children, who should not be deliberately denied the love and role models of both a mother and a father.

They will also point out that heterosexual couples who can provide a more complete family environment are already spending years on NSW waiting lists in the hope of adopting a child, with many missing out.

TIME:       11.45 am – 12.30 pm, Wednesday February 25, 2009

 PLACE:     Meeting Room 814-815, NSW Parliament, Macquarie Street, Sydney

CONTACT:Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979

WA: Children in foster care of prostitute

21/02 The Australian | CHILD protection authorities in Western Australia were warned last May that a foster carer of four children was working as a prostitute, gambling heavily and using her taxpayer-supplied vehicle to drive to work at a suburban brothel.

But nine months later, the Department for Child Protection has not removed the four children, who still live in the woman's house with a male lodger, who sleeps in a queen-size bed in the living room.

The woman's brother, who has convictions for serious criminal offences, also stayed at her house until a departmental officer told the woman he had to leave, The Weekend Australian has confirmed. The case has emerged as a glaring example of flaws in Western Australia's Aboriginal child placement principle, which gives priority to placing indigenous children in state care with family or people from within the child's indigenous community.

ACT: What price for a child?

20/02 Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun Columnist | A YOUNG woman, call her Ms G, was rolled into the Canberra operating theatre on November 12, 2003, hoping to be made pregnant at last.

"Are we going to implant two?" asked her obstetrician gynaecologist, Sydney Robert Armellin.

It was at that moment of her IVF treatment that Ms G, unknown to anyone else, changed her mind.

And from her hesitation came not just a twin girl she didn't want, but an extraordinary court case that must surely now force our politicians to act.

Can we really have courts deciding that a child is such a curse that a parent like Ms G. should be paid $317,000 for the distress and the cost of raising it?

NATIONAL: Matthew Mitcham new men's health ambassador

ACT: Lesbian mums win $317,000 compo over IVF twins

13/02 AdelaideNow | A LESBIAN couple who said having two IVF babies instead of one damaged their relationship have won $317,000 in compensation against their doctor. In the first Australian case of its kind, the Melbourne parents of the twin girls sued Canberra obstetrician Sydney Robert Armellin for implanting two embryos instead of the requested one.

During the initial proceedings, the ACT Supreme Court heard that following the twins' birth, the mother had lost her capacity to love. The couple's relationship had also suffered as they became mired in everyday tasks associated with raising two children. 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 July last year, Justice Annabelle Bennett rejected the couple's claim and ordered them to pay Dr Armellin's legal costs. The doctor had not breached his duty of care to the twin girls' birth mother and was therefore not negligent, Justice Bennett said. But yesterday, the ACT Court of Appeal overturned that decision..

QUEENSLAND: Brothels approved in secret through legal loophole

11/02 Lyle Shelton, ACL | CONCERNED Toowoomba residents are angry and bewildered hat their elected council is powerless to stop a brothel development from going ahead.

It was left to the media to tell the community it was about to get Queensland's 24th legal brothel after council officers assessed the application in secret.

Usually the public finds out about any contentious development applications through the council's public notification whiteboards, newspaper advertisements or when the application is discussed in the council chamber.

Not so with brothels. In the Smart State, pimps have privileges other developers would kill for.

Anna Bligh jumping the gun to avoid mutiny

There will be many excuses given by the Government for the early election but none will stack up. The ALP Government has a large majority in the one-house Parliament and there are no Queensland-specific reasons for a poll. Indeed, the latest Newspoll suggests that the Government would be easily re-elected.

... Many Queenslanders may well conclude that Bligh and her Government may be going to an early poll to try to prevent a mutiny from Queensland electors and are hiding behind Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's latest rescue package to salvage lost support. Clearly the PM will be used extensively in the state election campaign.

The Government's re-election theme will no doubt be that it isn't smart to change government in such difficult times; better the devil you know. If that is the Government's argument then it should go full term and clearly demonstrate over the next six months that it is the best party to govern Queensland at a time of economic crisis. Indeed, that the Government may be planning to go to an election six months early at such a fraught time suggests it has little faith in itself to deal with downturns in the Queensland economy or the long-term impact of the floods and climate change.

.... Ironically, it seems crystal clear that Bligh does not want Beattie back in Queensland prior to the state election, especially as he may be critical of her Government's performance. Inside sources suggest the Bligh line is that the populist ex-premier should not be invited to any party events, particularly the campaign opening.

There is even speculation that Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations Minister John Mickel may take over the premiership within 12 months of the election if Bligh loses more than 10 seats. So Queenslanders may get a change of premier even if Labor wins.

Why Hasn't Anyone Tried This Before?

Information Link: Women's Justice Centre | In a centuries deep sea of clichés despairing that 'prostitution will always be with us', one country's success stands out as a solitary beacon lighting the way. In just five years Sweden has dramatically reduced the number of its women in prostitution. In the capital city of Stockholm the number of women in street prostitution has been reduced by two thirds, and the number of johns has been reduced by 80%. There are other major Swedish cities where street prostitution has all but disappeared. Gone too, for the most part, are the renowned Swedish brothels and massage parlors which proliferated during the last three decades of the twentieth century when prostitution in Sweden was legal.

In addition, the number of foreign women now being trafficked into Sweden for sex is nil. The Swedish government estimates that in the last few years only 200 to 400 women and girls have been annually sex trafficked into Sweden, a figure that's negligible compared to the 15,000 to 17,000 females yearly sex trafficked into neighboring Finland. No other country, nor any other social experiment, has come anywhere near Sweden's promising results.

VICTORIA: Archbishop Jensen Launches Bushfire Appeal

Dr Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of NSW has asked churches to be in urgent prayer and to offer practical help for bushfire victims in Victoria.

“The scale of the tragedy is horrifying. When part of our community suffers, all suffer with them. We need to be generous in care, gifts and prayer in order to express our oneness with those in grief.”

Dr Jensen has launched an appeal for Sydney Anglicans to donate through the Archbishop’s appeals unit. The appeal will support the ministry that will be needed in the bushfire-devastated areas in the months ahead. Donations for the ‘Bushfire Crisis Appeal’ can be given on the toll-free number 1800 653 903 or www.archbishopsappeals.asn.au

QUEEN’S MESSAGE TO VICTIMS OF AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRES

09/02 | The Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce AC, has received the following message from Her Majesty The Queen:

I was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend.  I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and my deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster.

On so dreadful an occasion as this for Australia, the firefighters and other emergency services have been making extraordinary efforts to contain the situation and tend to those who have been injured.  Please also convey to them my renewed admiration for all that they are doing. - Elizabeth R.

VICTORIA: Royal commission on bushfires as special squad chases firebugs

09/02 Herald Sun | VICTORIA will have a royal commission into the devastating bushfires while a special new police taskforce will probe arson attacks. A spokesman for Premier John Brumby, George Svigos, said the size and scale of the tragedy warranted a royal commission.
"It will look at everything,'' he said... Within hours of Saturday’s fatalities, police said they were suspicious about their cause.

Country Fire Authority senior officials say some arsonists were lighting blazes even as volunteers battled blazes in the worst of the zones.

VICTORIA: 131 people dead, 750 homes destroyed in worst bushfires in Australia's history

09/02 News.com.au | PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd said arsonists in Victoria had committed mass murder as the death toll in Australia's worst ever bushfires rose to 131 this afternoon, with the final toll expected to be much more.

... Amid speculation some of the fires were deliberately lit - and with reports yesterday that people were returning to relight blazes after fire crews had left an area - Mr Rudd said: "There are no words to describe it other than mass murder."

At least 750 homes have been destroyed and 3733 people have registered with the Red Cross after evacuating their properties.  The number left homeless is expected to be far higher, the Red Cross said.

NATIONAL: Ruddslide: debt, distortion, denial

09/02 Paul Sheehan, | Kevin Rudd's credibility as an honest politician, as a man who does not engage in evasions and distortions on a grand scale, finally began to seriously erode last Tuesday, when he rose in the House of Representatives at 2.34pm to elaborate on his latest proposal to save the nation. His opening words painted an epic portrait of danger, with himself as the man for such an hour: "The Government today announces, with an unfolding national and international economic emergency, a $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan to support jobs in the near term and invest in the future generators of economic growth in the long term."

Note the use of the term "emergency". Despite the scale, complexity and thrown-together nature of the stimulus package, everything was of the utmost urgency. To delay was to invite danger.

... Rudd's office has received advice about the triggers required for an early poll. Not next year, but this year. An ambush election. This provides logic to the otherwise pointless and stage-managed urgency to rush this enormous, slapped-together set of six spending bills through the Parliament without even a semblance of due consideration by the Parliament.

An ambush election in 2009 has several advantages. The worst of the recession has yet to hit Australia, and it could get much worse (which is why the Opposition wants the Government to give itself more room to respond by restraining its response).

Rudd is way ahead of Turnbull in the polls, but his numbers could be dragged down along with the economy. An ambush would also pre-empt the Opposition from turning to Peter Costello, whose presence casts a long shadow over the House. It would keep Julia Gillard quiet for another three years.

Above all, an early election would buy Rudd time to deal with the disconnect between his rhetoric and his performance, such as this lightning bolt delivered last Tuesday: "Australia is in a stronger position than these countries because the Government built a strong surplus last year as a buffer for tough times."

This is blandly recorded in Hansard without a hint of what was going on in the chamber. It was noisy. Not from interjections, but from laughter. The opposition was laughing at the Prime Minister's gall.

NATIONAL: Smith urged to overturn foreign aid abortion advice ban

05/02 Cassie White, ABC News | The Greens are pushing ahead with efforts to overturn Australia's ban on foreign aid being used for abortion and family planning advice, despite a snag in the Senate. Greens senators had put forward a motion calling on the Senate to overturn the ban, but the Government blocked it.

US President Barack Obama this week scrapped similar laws for the United States, leaving Australia the only country yet to abolish such restrictions on aid programs. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says 34,000 women in our region die every year due to lack of maternal support and the Government is procrastinating on overturning the ban.

"I think they're embarrassed because they feel uncomfortable about their position," she said.

"They know that at the moment their position is to stick with the ban and they know it's not something that's popular in the eyes of the rest of the world.

"Australia has signed up to participate in helping reduce global poverty through the Millennium Development Goals and one of them is specifically about reducing maternal death numbers. We know that this would lead directly to doing that and they're embarrassed it's their policy to keep those bans in place."

FEDERAL: PM derides but revives Costello

05/02 Piers Akerman | THE Rudd Labor Government has made two major mistakes with its approach to the current financial meltdown.

It has recklessly chosen to plunge the nation into levels of debt not seen since the nation was on its knees under Labor Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating, and it has stirred former Coalition Treasurer Peter Costello from his somnolence on the Opposition back bench.

No matter how much Prime Minister Kevin Rudd furrows his brow and adopts a serious mien, memories of Labor governments past will bedevil his efforts to sink the nation under a red tide of debt that will take generations to clear.

More seriously, in the immediate term, he will find that it was unwise to provoke Costello by attempting to deride the Coalition government's universally acclaimed economic successes.

The former Treasurer has taken strong exception to a wordy essay Rudd has published in this month's edition of the Left-wing Melbourne magazine The Monthly - and with good reason.

The article exposes huge contradictions in Rudd's economic views but, worse, makes extraordinary claims that ignore the prosperity the nation enjoyed under the Howard-Costello team after it took the steps necessary to eliminate the $96 billion debt left by their Labor predecessors.

Rudd and his Treasurer Wayne Swan have attempted to white-out Costello's greatest achievements.

They have picked an unnecessary fight with the man who was acknowledged to be the best parliamentary performer since Keating walked away after losing office in 1996.

Rudd and Swan are just not in Costello's league - whether he is angry or not.

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull Address to the Nation "

Excerpt from Transcript

04/02 | The Prime Minister has unveiled a plan to borrow $70 billion over the next four years. More than that, he is asking Parliament to allow him to increase our national debt to $200 billion - a level never seen before.

That is a $9,500 debt for every Australian, a debt our children will have to pay off years into the future.

In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister has given the Parliament only 48 hours to consider and approve the expenditure of $42 billion.

That isn’t sensible or prudent. It is an insult to Australian taxpayers. We in the Opposition will vote against this package. We know this will not be popular with many people. But we are determined to do the right thing for Australia and its future.

Somebody has to stand up for strong financial management. Somebody has to stand up for taxpayers. Somebody has to stand up for future generations. We do not reject the need for a stimulus at this time. But our judgement is that $42 billion is too much right now and $200 billion is too much debt.

This is not a time for panic. It is the time for sound calm judgement.

The Rudd you voted for is not the one you got

04/02 Peter Costello, The Age.com.au | EVERY now and then you see a change in the political spin-cycle that is so audacious, so contradictory that you have to go back and check the facts — just to make sure you haven't imagined the whole thing. That's what happened on the weekend.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd briefed the newspapers that "the great neo-liberal experiment of the past 30 years has failed" and "social democrats (will have) to save capitalism from itself". That's what he's saying now.

Go to the record. Twelve months ago, on January 21, 2008, Kevin Rudd laid out the path for his Government as follows: "Prior to the election, we ran as fiscal conservatives. With the election behind us, we now intend to govern as fiscal conservatives … Today I announce a fiscal target that will guide our decision making … a budget surplus of at least 1.5 per cent of GDP … This will require a determined, disciplined approach to spending."

Better to say nothing PM

04/02 Michael Costa, Daily Telegraph | IT wouldn't have mattered what the Prime Minister announced in his fiscal stimulus package - it won't be sufficient to counter the impacts of the current global economic difficulties. Kevin Rudd should stop talking down the economy. Yes, we do have problems but we are well-positioned to see our way through.

Constant exaggerated and negative commentary creates uncertainty among investors and consumers. What is the point of providing a $10 billion fiscal stimulus and then scaring the recipients? Is it any wonder many people chose to save their portion of the stimulus.

From July 2007 - Kevin Rudd: Economic Conservative

QUEENSLAND: Rally for Life! 09

There is a push for the complete decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland as evidenced by the abortionists and Queensland state politicians who spoke at the Abortion Forum held in Brisbane in October last year.

Complete decriminalisation means:-

1. Abortion would be allowed up until birth for any or no reason
2. Abortion would be available throughout public hospitals thus implicating and pressuring more medical personal to be involved
3. Pro-life doctors would be compelled to refer women to others who are proabortion (as in Victoria)
4. Catholic/Christian hospitals would be under pressure to refer for or provide abortions.

Is this the kind of Queensland you wish to live in?

Visit the Cherish Life website for more information