Victoria is Now a Police State
A guest post by a reader. This was first published in Kiwiblog.
The city of Melbourne has already endured one of the longest and harshest lockdowns anywhere in the world. And the lockdown has just been extended, with little hope that this will be over anytime soon.
The Victorian Police is behaving like a hostile occupying force, with the gentle bedside manner of Imperial Stormtroopers and the sense of humour of the Stasi. Peaceful protest is illegal. The Police recently arrested a pregnant woman in her home and charged her with incitement. She now faces up to 15 years in jail for the heinous crime of promoting a peaceful protest on Facebook. Others have been forcibly masked before being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed for the crime of being out of their homes for a non-permitted reason.
The Police has unlimited power. They can enter your home without a warrant, and they will do so without any hesitation. If you’re not quick enough opening the door, they will break it down for you.
How could this happen in a civilised country? Why is there nobody stopping the madness? Here are some hints.
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Friday, 11 September 2020
Saturday, 6 June 2020
Aussie PM Light Years Ahead of New Zealand PM In Some Critical Matters
A Man of Faith
Aussie PM Scott Morrison Backs ‘Straight Up’ Donald Trump:
Simon Kent
Breitbart News
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday outlined the dynamics behind his warm relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he is a straight talker and a good friend who is open about his Christian faith.
Asked in a TV interview what he thinks of Trump, Morrison was quick to point out the positives of their relationship as a partnership between equals. As News.com reports, Morrison said:
Aussie PM Scott Morrison Backs ‘Straight Up’ Donald Trump:
Simon Kent
Breitbart News
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday outlined the dynamics behind his warm relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he is a straight talker and a good friend who is open about his Christian faith.
Asked in a TV interview what he thinks of Trump, Morrison was quick to point out the positives of their relationship as a partnership between equals. As News.com reports, Morrison said:
It is my job to have very good relationships with all our key partners and allies. I have done that as have my predecessors. That is important, that is in Australia’s national interest. That is what matters and keeps Australia safe, it protects Australia’s interests, particularly in this part of the world.Pushed as to what he liked about Trump, Morrison said the United States had been a good friend to Australia for over a century and that was not about to change.
Tuesday, 19 May 2020
Bilateral Bullying Called Out
Australian Union Wants Global Push Back Against Chinese Communist Party
Simon Kent
Breitbart London
The traditionally left-wing Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has put partisan politics to one side and joined calls for China’s efforts at global supremacy to be defeated. It wants a “trade NATO” bloc powerful enough to take on “China’s preferred approach of bilateral bullying” as a preferred means of keeping free trade a reality.
AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton has sent a letter to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging him to not capitulate to the Communist state’s threats of trade retaliation over the coronavirus pandemic, telling the conservative coalition leader the union is backing him.
“The integrity of Australia’s trading regime is paramount to sovereignty,” Walton wrote. “We note with concern the pressure being placed upon the Australian government with respect to the integrity of its trade regime.”
The letter comes after after China targeted Australia’s beef and barley producers this week before threatening to cut off Australia’s $63 billion iron ore export pipeline to Beijing following the Morrison Government’s calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the deadly coronavirus.
The AWU, which was founded in the 1880s and has over 100,000 members, says Australia must stand firm against the Chinese government. “Australia should resist any attempts to be bullied,” Walton’s letter continued, as News.com reports. “It is critical the Australian government holds its nerve against such pressure and enforces its international and domestic rights.”
The AWU show of public support for the Australian government came within hours of China slapping an import ban on four Australian abattoirs in an escalation of Beijing’s warning of a widening consumer boycott in retaliation for Canberra’s push for an independent coronavirus probe.
Simon Kent
Breitbart London
The traditionally left-wing Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has put partisan politics to one side and joined calls for China’s efforts at global supremacy to be defeated. It wants a “trade NATO” bloc powerful enough to take on “China’s preferred approach of bilateral bullying” as a preferred means of keeping free trade a reality.
AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton has sent a letter to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging him to not capitulate to the Communist state’s threats of trade retaliation over the coronavirus pandemic, telling the conservative coalition leader the union is backing him.
“The integrity of Australia’s trading regime is paramount to sovereignty,” Walton wrote. “We note with concern the pressure being placed upon the Australian government with respect to the integrity of its trade regime.”
The letter comes after after China targeted Australia’s beef and barley producers this week before threatening to cut off Australia’s $63 billion iron ore export pipeline to Beijing following the Morrison Government’s calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the deadly coronavirus.
The AWU, which was founded in the 1880s and has over 100,000 members, says Australia must stand firm against the Chinese government. “Australia should resist any attempts to be bullied,” Walton’s letter continued, as News.com reports. “It is critical the Australian government holds its nerve against such pressure and enforces its international and domestic rights.”
The AWU show of public support for the Australian government came within hours of China slapping an import ban on four Australian abattoirs in an escalation of Beijing’s warning of a widening consumer boycott in retaliation for Canberra’s push for an independent coronavirus probe.
Friday, 6 March 2020
"These Are the Days of Elijah"
Australia is Wrestling with Religious Freedom
Murray Campbell
The Gospel Coalition (AU)
The fight against the Religious Discrimination Bill is heating up with a submission from some of the nation’s powerful Unions and with a bank telling everyone to love their way or go away.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Industry Group have written a letter to Attorney General, Christian Porter, warning the Government about perceived flaws in the Bill.
I am not saying that the Bill is perfect and that improvements cannot be made. I personally wish there was no need for a Religious Discrimination Bill in Australia, but hardline secularists continue to threaten religious freedoms and raise the temperature against religious Australians such that a Bill has become important, if not necessary.
So what are the Unions’ concerns? According to Dana McCauley, the primary issue relates to “a risk of harm to the staff and customers of Australian businesses.”
Employers are concerned the provision will conflict with their obligation under workplace laws to provide safe environments free of bullying and harassment, risk damage to their reputations, harm productivity and make it harder to recruit and retain staff.
The argument goes like this: this Bill will give religious people license to be mean and say horrible things to other workers and customers and employers won’t have the power to stop it. But is this the case?
Associate Professor, Neil Foster, has detailed that “The Bill does not authorise all religiously motived” acts, and second, the Bill does not create rights to new forms of horrible speech, but it does protect freedom of speech that operates against the background of already existing rights.
The “right” to make offensive remarks, is a right which already exists as part of our long tradition of protecting free speech, even speech which we don’t like and which upsets people. That is why we need a right to free speech—none of us are tempted to censor speech we agree with!
There has been a tidal wave of pressure to succumb to the new sexual code of conduct, and I can’t but help conclude that the ACTU and AI are just the latest to succumb.
Murray Campbell
The Gospel Coalition (AU)
The fight against the Religious Discrimination Bill is heating up with a submission from some of the nation’s powerful Unions and with a bank telling everyone to love their way or go away.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Industry Group have written a letter to Attorney General, Christian Porter, warning the Government about perceived flaws in the Bill.
I am not saying that the Bill is perfect and that improvements cannot be made. I personally wish there was no need for a Religious Discrimination Bill in Australia, but hardline secularists continue to threaten religious freedoms and raise the temperature against religious Australians such that a Bill has become important, if not necessary.
So what are the Unions’ concerns? According to Dana McCauley, the primary issue relates to “a risk of harm to the staff and customers of Australian businesses.”
Employers are concerned the provision will conflict with their obligation under workplace laws to provide safe environments free of bullying and harassment, risk damage to their reputations, harm productivity and make it harder to recruit and retain staff.
The argument goes like this: this Bill will give religious people license to be mean and say horrible things to other workers and customers and employers won’t have the power to stop it. But is this the case?
Associate Professor, Neil Foster, has detailed that “The Bill does not authorise all religiously motived” acts, and second, the Bill does not create rights to new forms of horrible speech, but it does protect freedom of speech that operates against the background of already existing rights.
The “right” to make offensive remarks, is a right which already exists as part of our long tradition of protecting free speech, even speech which we don’t like and which upsets people. That is why we need a right to free speech—none of us are tempted to censor speech we agree with!
There has been a tidal wave of pressure to succumb to the new sexual code of conduct, and I can’t but help conclude that the ACTU and AI are just the latest to succumb.
Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Selective Morality
Hypocritical Prejudice
The dust is not settled in Australia. Some folk have taken bitter umbrage at the confidential settlement reached by Israel Folau and Rugby Australia. One of the more prominent, outspoken critics is ex-Rugby player, Peter FitzSimons. He remains incensed that anyone would be allowed to hold, let alone practice, Christian beliefs and doctrines in the twenty-first century.
Here is FitzSimons in full flight:
FitzSimons, you see, is a grade A hypocrite.
The dust is not settled in Australia. Some folk have taken bitter umbrage at the confidential settlement reached by Israel Folau and Rugby Australia. One of the more prominent, outspoken critics is ex-Rugby player, Peter FitzSimons. He remains incensed that anyone would be allowed to hold, let alone practice, Christian beliefs and doctrines in the twenty-first century.
Here is FitzSimons in full flight:
As one who has followed the issues closely since Folau first disgraced himself by putting up a post endorsing the view that gays are destined for hell, and who has written and ranted about it extensively, I am more aware than most of the damage he has done, the hurt he has caused. In the 21st century, his homophobic gibberish—you heard me—simply has no place. And it is no excuse that the gibberish in question is sourced from the Bible. I was hoping the court would confirm that, hence the dissatisfaction.Homophobic gibberish, eh. It is sad to see a once great rugby player sneering at the beliefs of others. It is sad indeed to see such sexist gibberish dribbling forth over the play ground. FitzSimons should know better. Well, he does know better, but we all love and energetically protect our own prejudices, don't we Peter.
FitzSimons, you see, is a grade A hypocrite.
Monday, 30 September 2019
"A Very Dark Day"
Abortion Legalized in New South Wales
Archbishop Laments ‘Dark Day’
Thomas D. Williams
Breitbart News
“Today is a very dark day for New South Wales,” said Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher on Thursday in reference to the passage of a new law legalizing abortion in the Australian state, whose capital is Sydney.
Calling the new law “a defeat for humanity,” Archbishop Fisher said in a statement that Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 “may be the worst law passed in New South Wales in modern times, because it represents such a dramatic abdication of responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Fisher said the abortion law is the first case of legalized killing in the state since “the abolition of capital punishment in New South Wales in 1955.”
The new law, passed Wednesday by a vote of 26-14 in the state’s upper house, permits abortion for any reason up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and after 22 weeks, if two obstetricians agree. Prior to Wednesday’s vote, abortion had been legal in NSW only if a doctor deemed that a woman’s physical or mental health was in danger.
Archbishop Fisher noted that the Act had undergone several amendments prior to its passage, but they “do not make women or their unborn babies any safer, nor protect the conscience rights of medical professionals, nor provide distressed pregnant women with any support or alternatives to abortion.”
Fisher also thanked lawmakers who fought against the law as well as the “tens of thousands of people who attended rallies, maintained a vigil outside Parliament House even in heavy rain, contacted their local members, made submissions to the committee inquiry, or prayed that this law might not pass.”
“Even though abortion on demand right up to birth has now been formally legalised in this state, our commitment to life continues,” the archbishop said.
Church agencies and pro-life organizations will still offer care for pregnant women, new mothers, and their babies, he said, and churches along with women and men of goodwill “will continue to work together to turn our culture around, so that every vulnerable woman and baby is supported and abortion becomes unthinkable.”
“We can still put an end to the scourge of abortion in this state by making it unnecessary, no matter what the law says,” Fisher declared.
Archbishop Laments ‘Dark Day’
Thomas D. Williams
Breitbart News
“Today is a very dark day for New South Wales,” said Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher on Thursday in reference to the passage of a new law legalizing abortion in the Australian state, whose capital is Sydney.
Calling the new law “a defeat for humanity,” Archbishop Fisher said in a statement that Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 “may be the worst law passed in New South Wales in modern times, because it represents such a dramatic abdication of responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Fisher said the abortion law is the first case of legalized killing in the state since “the abolition of capital punishment in New South Wales in 1955.”
The new law, passed Wednesday by a vote of 26-14 in the state’s upper house, permits abortion for any reason up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and after 22 weeks, if two obstetricians agree. Prior to Wednesday’s vote, abortion had been legal in NSW only if a doctor deemed that a woman’s physical or mental health was in danger.
Archbishop Fisher noted that the Act had undergone several amendments prior to its passage, but they “do not make women or their unborn babies any safer, nor protect the conscience rights of medical professionals, nor provide distressed pregnant women with any support or alternatives to abortion.”
Fisher also thanked lawmakers who fought against the law as well as the “tens of thousands of people who attended rallies, maintained a vigil outside Parliament House even in heavy rain, contacted their local members, made submissions to the committee inquiry, or prayed that this law might not pass.”
“Even though abortion on demand right up to birth has now been formally legalised in this state, our commitment to life continues,” the archbishop said.
Church agencies and pro-life organizations will still offer care for pregnant women, new mothers, and their babies, he said, and churches along with women and men of goodwill “will continue to work together to turn our culture around, so that every vulnerable woman and baby is supported and abortion becomes unthinkable.”
“We can still put an end to the scourge of abortion in this state by making it unnecessary, no matter what the law says,” Fisher declared.
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Size The Day . . .
Let’s Not Waste the Season God Gives
On Saturday, Greg Clarke (former CEO of the Bible Society, Australia) sent out the following tweet,
I remember as a young Christian at University in the 80s when we felt we would have to work really hard in Australia to ‘keep the rumour of God alive’. At the moment, it’s wall to wall God stuff.
Greg Clarke is right. I’m not old enough to remember university in the 1980s but we don’t have to peer that far. Even a few years ago, I remember Christians being frustrated and saddened by the fact that God was absent from most conversations and seemed to be rarely on people’s agendas. It was as though the culture was erasing God from the public conscience, and it was only a small number of persistent believers who could get God into the conversation.
For three months social media has been filled with conversations about Christianity. Who would have guessed that the topic of hell would become an election issue?
Australia is experiencing are the most unusual season at the moment. For three months social media has been filled with conversations about religion and God and Christianity, and every day there is more reporting and more opinion pieces published about Christianity. Who would have guessed that the topic of hell would become an election issue? For a nation that is supposedly post-Christian and secular, we are engaging in a significant national conversation where God features.
To be sure, some of the conversations are less than edifying. Not all, but some reporting is little more than crude and unoriginal Christian bashing. Some of the commentary that is passing for Christianity is nothing of the sort. There are also atheists defending Christians. Even Professor Peter Singer, who preaches some of the most repugnant ideas that can be heard anywhere in the world today, last week wrote a constructive and reasoned article in support of Israel Folau. Other remarks come from well-meaning Christians, who are nonetheless being unhelpful and taking conversations down misguided paths. There is also much anger being vented from various quarters and doubling-down on caricatures of different people and ideas.
A Real Problem
To argue that there is no issue of religious freedom in Australia is to close your eyes and ears to the growing number of cases that are cropping up in many areas of Australian life, from sport to business and to education. Sure, as human beings we are sometimes guilty of exaggerating the socio-political climate: we are not living in the Soviet Union and this isn’t 1984. But neither is the culture static and neutral. I find it ironic that the most ardent champions of the nothing-to-see-here perspective, are those lauding Rugby Australia for sacking Israel Folau and calling for Christians Schools to lose their funding if they don’t subscribe to the sexual revolution.
Religious freedom is one of the pivotal tests of this generation. Without it we lose the capacity to be a truly pluralistic society. This topic should matter to all Australians, whether we are Christian or Jewish or Hindu or atheist. Do we really want to live in a society where corporate interests get to vet religious doctrine and where Governments appoint themselves arbiters of theological questions?
Do we really want to live in a society where corporate interests get to vet religious doctrine and where Governments appoint themselves arbiters of theological questions?
The Year of God’s Favour
Yet, as I read and agreed with Greg’s tweet, I thought a little more and my attention turned to 2 Corinthians 5 and 6 (which I am currently preaching through at Mentone). For example, in chapter 6, verse 2, God defines the age in which we are living. He does not say that this is a post-Christian or post-modern or post or pre anything age. Rather, the announcement is, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.”
Not was—not might be; not may be one day—but today. The epoch of history in which we live is the day of salvation. That’s exciting!
Is the current Australian discourse on religion a final gasp before we venture into a new and intolerant and irrational era of religious restrictions, or will common sense prevail? We don’t know yet. What interests me is the fact that talk about God and Christ and the Bible is filling newspapers paragraphs and trending on social media every day at the moment. Haven’t Christians been praying for opportunities to give the reason for the hope we have? Do we not ask God for conversations where introducing Jesus is a natural progression?
That day is today.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can let this season slip past our attention, or we can engage in loving and useful ways.
Three Ways to Seize the Day
First, we can pray.
Let us pray often, repeatedly, fervently for God to make known his Gospel love, just as he has shown us great mercy and kindness. Pray for our fellow Australians, regardless of their worldview and moral inclinations. If we are praying for them, we will have no time or desire to be spiteful or demeaning toward them.
We have the opportunity to break the cultural narrative and show Christ-like love to those who are vulnerable. At Church this morning we prayed,
Father in Heaven, help us to uphold your holiness and goodness. In an age of sexual confusion teach us clarity and to trust that your ways are good. May we present your Gospel with love and gentleness, patience and care. May Mentone Baptist Church be a safe place for people to investigate Christianity, to be welcomed and encouraged.
Second, we can love
Be the best friend, the most loyal work colleague, the most gentle and helpful student. Be a kind voice on social media. Offer hospitality and ask permission to share the message that has changed our own lives.
Third, we can speak
In 2 Corinthian 5:11-18, the Apostle Paul employs 3 verbs to describe his intent in evangelising: persuasion, compulsion, and regard.
Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
First, Christian evangelism is not compulsion, it is clear and passionate persuasion, presenting the facts of Jesus Christ and leaving it for people to make their decision. Second, it is not bigotry or ignorance motivating Christian evangelism but love; we don’t want anyone missing out on the astonishing benefits that come from knowing Jesus Christ. As one reads through the above portion of the Bible, we don’t see any picture of oppression or forced faith, but freedom that surpasses any temporary offerings. Third, we ought to regard people not through the grid of any current cultural paradigm but through the sense of God’s good news about Jesus. This means we may not affirm every belief, idea, and action but we fight for the dignity of every person.
The Art of Persuasion
Often the most persuasive things we can do happen away from social media—when we simply take an interest in the lives of people around us; when we listen to the dreams and fears of work colleagues and friends, and sharing how we believe Jesus is the ultimate answer.
In my opinion, the most unhelpful and loudest critics that I’ve heard during the Folau controversy are not from gay and lesbian Australians, but from comfortable and secure North Shore Sydney-siders who take virtue signalling to a new level. I have also heard about other social media interactions that hurt and insult people, and where gay and lesbians feel denigrated. Christians need to stand alongside gay and lesbian Aussies against such vitriol. A good example comes from Israel Folau who yesterday spoke against those who have been abusing Magda Szubanski online for her sharing an opinion about the Rugby player.
This is no time to be sticking our heads in Bondi’s sand or holidaying in New Zealand. The whole nation is talking about Christianity. If God is right, and “now is the time of salvation,” let us be praying and loving and speaking.
First published at https://murraycampbell.net
Tuesday, 7 May 2019
What's Gone Wrong with Oz?
Weirdos to the Right, Wackos to the Left
It seems that Australia is pulling way ahead of its weight when it comes to producing people with murderous intent. It was an Australian after all who insinuated himself into New Zealand, only to murder 51 unarmed, peaceful Muslim worshippers at some Christchurch mosques. And now it is another Australian, at the opposite end of the lawless spectrum who wants to execute revenge.
Amongst these desperadoes it is unreasonable to expect even a modicum of sense. In this case, the whacko wants to take revenge upon Christians for their being complicit in the murder of Islamic worshippers in New Zealand.
It seems that Australia is pulling way ahead of its weight when it comes to producing people with murderous intent. It was an Australian after all who insinuated himself into New Zealand, only to murder 51 unarmed, peaceful Muslim worshippers at some Christchurch mosques. And now it is another Australian, at the opposite end of the lawless spectrum who wants to execute revenge.
Amongst these desperadoes it is unreasonable to expect even a modicum of sense. In this case, the whacko wants to take revenge upon Christians for their being complicit in the murder of Islamic worshippers in New Zealand.
Monday, 8 April 2019
An Active, Living Force
Christianity the Cornerstone of Democratic Values
By Kevin Donnelly
The Australian
April 18, 2015
[This piece was written a few years ago. It's relevance is timeless, however. Ed.]
In his Easter message, David Cameron stated that Britain was a Christian country and that “the church is not just a collection of beautiful old buildings. It is a living, active force across our country.”
The British Prime Minister went on to argue that all schools must teach what it means to be British, which is not surprising given last year’s “Trojan Horse” affair, where some Muslim schools in Birmingham were considered in danger of advocating extreme Islamic values.
Cameron described British values as “freedom, tolerance, respect for the rule of law, belief in personal and social responsibility and respect for British institutions. Those are the sorts of things I would hope would be inculcated into the curriculum in any school in Britain.”
The argument that Christianity is central to British culture, especially its political and legal systems, is also argued by 22 Christian leaders in a document titled Values: The Characteristics of Our British National Identity.
Like Cameron, the Values document highlights the importance of liberal democratic values such as the rule of law, the sanctity of human life, a commitment to the common good and “freedom of speech, debate, conscience and religion”. The argument is also put that such values are “derived from our Judaeo-Christian foundations” and are “fundamental to the health of our national life”.
Cameron, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is on record as warning that multiculturalism has failed as a government policy and that the alternative must be “muscular liberalism”.
If Islamic youth are not taught clear and firm values about what it means to be British and why such a way of life is worth defending, then, Cameron argues, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they are attracted to “extremist ideology”. Neither should it surprise anyone that in Australia — a former British colony, with the same political and legal systems — liberal, democratic values and Christianity are central to our way of life, too.
By Kevin Donnelly
The Australian
April 18, 2015
[This piece was written a few years ago. It's relevance is timeless, however. Ed.]
In his Easter message, David Cameron stated that Britain was a Christian country and that “the church is not just a collection of beautiful old buildings. It is a living, active force across our country.”
The British Prime Minister went on to argue that all schools must teach what it means to be British, which is not surprising given last year’s “Trojan Horse” affair, where some Muslim schools in Birmingham were considered in danger of advocating extreme Islamic values.
Cameron described British values as “freedom, tolerance, respect for the rule of law, belief in personal and social responsibility and respect for British institutions. Those are the sorts of things I would hope would be inculcated into the curriculum in any school in Britain.”
The argument that Christianity is central to British culture, especially its political and legal systems, is also argued by 22 Christian leaders in a document titled Values: The Characteristics of Our British National Identity.
Like Cameron, the Values document highlights the importance of liberal democratic values such as the rule of law, the sanctity of human life, a commitment to the common good and “freedom of speech, debate, conscience and religion”. The argument is also put that such values are “derived from our Judaeo-Christian foundations” and are “fundamental to the health of our national life”.
Cameron, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is on record as warning that multiculturalism has failed as a government policy and that the alternative must be “muscular liberalism”.
If Islamic youth are not taught clear and firm values about what it means to be British and why such a way of life is worth defending, then, Cameron argues, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they are attracted to “extremist ideology”. Neither should it surprise anyone that in Australia — a former British colony, with the same political and legal systems — liberal, democratic values and Christianity are central to our way of life, too.
Friday, 22 February 2019
Special Pleading On A Grand Scale
Climate Change Alarmists Push Their Barrow Ad Nauseum
Leighton Smith
NZ Herald
When I was a boy, the family bought a newly developed section in the middle of the bush on Sydney's upper north shore. Before work began, it was attacked by a bush fire, as has so much of that part of Sydney in years since. Australia does bush fires well, especially in the southeast. Virtually every summer there were fires around the newer suburbs.
Of the five deadliest fires in Australia, three were in Victoria, one in both Victoria and South Australia, and one in Tasmania. The years of the fires according to lives lost were 2009, 1983, 1939, 1967 and 1926. There were 441 deaths and 5850 homes were destroyed.
I had relatives who survived two of those fires. One was the Tasmanian fire which got within two kilometres of the Hobart CBD. There were 62 deaths, 1200 houses destroyed and 60,000 farm animals killed. The Tasmanian fire, at the end of January this year, took seven houses and no deaths.
But that didn't stop the man made climate change alarmists pushing their barrow in overdramatic fashion. The Guardian Australia ran a piece which included "power grids collapse, dying rivers vomit huge fish kills, while in the north in Townsville there are unprecedented floods". Really?
There were massive Tasmanian fires in 1898, 1909 and 1915.
Leighton Smith
NZ Herald
When I was a boy, the family bought a newly developed section in the middle of the bush on Sydney's upper north shore. Before work began, it was attacked by a bush fire, as has so much of that part of Sydney in years since. Australia does bush fires well, especially in the southeast. Virtually every summer there were fires around the newer suburbs.
Of the five deadliest fires in Australia, three were in Victoria, one in both Victoria and South Australia, and one in Tasmania. The years of the fires according to lives lost were 2009, 1983, 1939, 1967 and 1926. There were 441 deaths and 5850 homes were destroyed.
I had relatives who survived two of those fires. One was the Tasmanian fire which got within two kilometres of the Hobart CBD. There were 62 deaths, 1200 houses destroyed and 60,000 farm animals killed. The Tasmanian fire, at the end of January this year, took seven houses and no deaths.
But that didn't stop the man made climate change alarmists pushing their barrow in overdramatic fashion. The Guardian Australia ran a piece which included "power grids collapse, dying rivers vomit huge fish kills, while in the north in Townsville there are unprecedented floods". Really?
There were massive Tasmanian fires in 1898, 1909 and 1915.
Thursday, 29 November 2018
"On Second Thoughts . . . "
UN Migration Pact
Nations Abandon Legal ‘Framework’ Building
Oliver JJ Lane
Breitbart London
More nations are joining the exodus from the United Nations’ (UN) controversial compact on mass migration, with legal experts now standing up to raise concerns about the drafting of the document and what legal implications signing it might have for countries party to the pact.
President Donald Trump was the first to pull out of the UN pact on migration in December 2017, a move which prompted howls of disapproval from both the mainstream media and globalist leaders. Yet several nations from all over the world have outright withdrawn from the compact since initially ratifying it in July, or have signalled their intent to do so, as states gain confidence in opposing fashionable but dangerous deals that are not in their own interests.
In comments that cut across the grain of the usual business and practice of the United Nations, President Trump said at the body’s New York headquarters in September: “Migration should not be governed by an international body unaccountable to our own citizens. Ultimately, the only long-term solution to the migration crisis is to help people build more hopeful futures in their home countries. Make their countries great again.”
Australia, Israel, and Poland are among the latest to pull out, all citing national interest reasons.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morris remarked Wednesday that the agreement is “inconsistent” with his nation’s best interest, and that the document “fails to adequately distinguish between people who enter Australia illegally and those who come to Australia the right way”, noting the frequent observation that the paper does not differentiate between legal and illegal migration.
Oliver JJ Lane
Breitbart London
More nations are joining the exodus from the United Nations’ (UN) controversial compact on mass migration, with legal experts now standing up to raise concerns about the drafting of the document and what legal implications signing it might have for countries party to the pact.
President Donald Trump was the first to pull out of the UN pact on migration in December 2017, a move which prompted howls of disapproval from both the mainstream media and globalist leaders. Yet several nations from all over the world have outright withdrawn from the compact since initially ratifying it in July, or have signalled their intent to do so, as states gain confidence in opposing fashionable but dangerous deals that are not in their own interests.
In comments that cut across the grain of the usual business and practice of the United Nations, President Trump said at the body’s New York headquarters in September: “Migration should not be governed by an international body unaccountable to our own citizens. Ultimately, the only long-term solution to the migration crisis is to help people build more hopeful futures in their home countries. Make their countries great again.”
Australia, Israel, and Poland are among the latest to pull out, all citing national interest reasons.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morris remarked Wednesday that the agreement is “inconsistent” with his nation’s best interest, and that the document “fails to adequately distinguish between people who enter Australia illegally and those who come to Australia the right way”, noting the frequent observation that the paper does not differentiate between legal and illegal migration.
Saturday, 17 November 2018
Australian PM Clear; Islamic Leaders Equivocate
Australian PM Calls out ‘Radical, Violent, Extremist Islam’
Muslim Community Demands Apology
William West
Breitbart News
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called out “radical, violent, extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life” the day after an Islamic State-inspired jihadist carried out a terror attack in Melbourne. He was immediately told to apologise by Muslim leaders.
Somalian-born Hassan Khalif Shire Ali attacked bystanders with a knife on Friday, claiming the life of one person and injuring two others in an attack claimed by Islamic State. One witness claimed Ali was yelling “allahu akbar” and is believed to be known to counter-terrorism agencies, the Melbourne Age reports.
SBS reports Mr. Morrison said while he supported religious freedom, religious extremism must be called out. “Radical, violent, extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life,” he said in a speech on Saturday. “Religious extremism takes many forms around the world and no religion is immune from it. But here in Australia, we would be kidding ourselves if we did not call out the fact that the greatest threat of religious extremism in this country is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremists.”
Muslim Community Demands Apology
William West
Breitbart News
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called out “radical, violent, extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life” the day after an Islamic State-inspired jihadist carried out a terror attack in Melbourne. He was immediately told to apologise by Muslim leaders.
Somalian-born Hassan Khalif Shire Ali attacked bystanders with a knife on Friday, claiming the life of one person and injuring two others in an attack claimed by Islamic State. One witness claimed Ali was yelling “allahu akbar” and is believed to be known to counter-terrorism agencies, the Melbourne Age reports.
SBS reports Mr. Morrison said while he supported religious freedom, religious extremism must be called out. “Radical, violent, extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life,” he said in a speech on Saturday. “Religious extremism takes many forms around the world and no religion is immune from it. But here in Australia, we would be kidding ourselves if we did not call out the fact that the greatest threat of religious extremism in this country is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremists.”
Monday, 2 April 2018
Unseemly Faux Outrage
Australia to Assist White Minority South African Farmers
Trendy Lefties Go Berserk
Simon Kent
Breitbart News
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has dismissed claims of racism over his plan to resettle South African white minority farmers in Australia, saying he ignores the confected outrage “from some of the crazy lefties at the Guardian and Huffington Post.”
Mr. Dutton faced a backlash after he first announced the farmers needed “special attention” because of the epidemic of violence engulfing them. As Breitbart News reported, Mr. Dutton noted Australia has refugee, humanitarian and other visa programs which have the “potential to help some of these people”. He said he had asked his department to look at the options “because from what I have seen they do do need help from a civilised country like ours”.
Mr. Dutton denies the offer is racist.
Trendy Lefties Go Berserk
Simon Kent
Breitbart News
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has dismissed claims of racism over his plan to resettle South African white minority farmers in Australia, saying he ignores the confected outrage “from some of the crazy lefties at the Guardian and Huffington Post.”
Mr. Dutton faced a backlash after he first announced the farmers needed “special attention” because of the epidemic of violence engulfing them. As Breitbart News reported, Mr. Dutton noted Australia has refugee, humanitarian and other visa programs which have the “potential to help some of these people”. He said he had asked his department to look at the options “because from what I have seen they do do need help from a civilised country like ours”.
Mr. Dutton denies the offer is racist.
Monday, 26 March 2018
Letter From the UK (About Australia)
Australia Examining Fast-Track Visas for Threatened South African Farmers
Simon Kent
Breitbart London
Australia is ready to consider issuing special visas to mainly white, Afrikaans-speaking South African farmers due to the “horrific circumstances” of land seizures, violence and murder they face.
Peter Dutton, Australia’s home affairs minister, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Wednesday his department was examining a range of methods to smooth their path to Australia on humanitarian or other visa programs.
As Breitbart News has reported, South Africans are increasingly worried that the government’s plans to expropriate land from white farmers without compensation could destroy the economy and the country’s fragile democracy. South Africa’s new president Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to pursue the same course as Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe in expropriating farmland from white farmers without compensation.
Simon Kent
Breitbart London
Australia is ready to consider issuing special visas to mainly white, Afrikaans-speaking South African farmers due to the “horrific circumstances” of land seizures, violence and murder they face.
Peter Dutton, Australia’s home affairs minister, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Wednesday his department was examining a range of methods to smooth their path to Australia on humanitarian or other visa programs.
As Breitbart News has reported, South Africans are increasingly worried that the government’s plans to expropriate land from white farmers without compensation could destroy the economy and the country’s fragile democracy. South Africa’s new president Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to pursue the same course as Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe in expropriating farmland from white farmers without compensation.
Friday, 8 December 2017
Idiots All
Climate Change Orthodoxy Creates Perverse Blindness
Folk appear to be a bit "challenged" in South Australia. Greenist politicians are dedicated to creating a robust electricity network which will comply with Global Warming orthodoxy, on the one hand, and which will deliver sound, stable, continuous electricity, on the other. The state has suffered in recent years from massive power outages caused by what wags are calling Greenist Power Gridlock. Its a terrible affliction.
It's not that South Australia cannot access or generate sufficient electricity if it chose to do so. Rather, the electricity must be green. It must be generated by technologies and methods which comply with Greenist orthodoxy.
One of the wacky-do "solutions" has seen South Australia commission a Gigantor Battery built and installed by Elon Musk of Tesla fame. Musk's core business is not cars, but what is called colloquially Grant Farming. He is super skilled at extracting funding and subsidies from fleeced taxpayers all over the world.
One of our local bloggers (Aussie based) wrote:
Folk appear to be a bit "challenged" in South Australia. Greenist politicians are dedicated to creating a robust electricity network which will comply with Global Warming orthodoxy, on the one hand, and which will deliver sound, stable, continuous electricity, on the other. The state has suffered in recent years from massive power outages caused by what wags are calling Greenist Power Gridlock. Its a terrible affliction.
It's not that South Australia cannot access or generate sufficient electricity if it chose to do so. Rather, the electricity must be green. It must be generated by technologies and methods which comply with Greenist orthodoxy.
One of the wacky-do "solutions" has seen South Australia commission a Gigantor Battery built and installed by Elon Musk of Tesla fame. Musk's core business is not cars, but what is called colloquially Grant Farming. He is super skilled at extracting funding and subsidies from fleeced taxpayers all over the world.
One of our local bloggers (Aussie based) wrote:
Friday, 1 December 2017
Letter From the UK (About Australia)
Rise in Anti-Semitism Troubling Australia’s Jews
BreitbartLondon
Simon Kent
Australia has seen an increase of almost 10 percent in incidents against Jews over the past year, and almost 20 percent over the past two years, according to a report released Sunday.
The annual Report on Antisemitism in Australia is published annually by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the peak representative body for Australian Jews. The latest edition shows Jewish community groups logged a total of 210 antisemitic incidents during the period, including physical assaults, abuse and harassment, vandalism, graffiti, hate and threats communicated directly by email, letters, telephone calls, and leaflets.
This compares to a total of 190 such incidents logged by the same sources over the preceding 12 month period.
“There was a marked increase in the form of assault known as ‘egging’ – targeting and assaulting Jews by throwing eggs at them. Eggings occurred predominantly as Jews walked to and from synagogue on Friday evenings and Saturdays in Melbourne,” said the report’s author, ECAJ Research Officer, Julie Nathan. Nathan added that anti-Semitic attitudes are entrenched “in western and Muslim culture” requiring Jewish communities to act to protect themselves and their places of worship.
As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, as recently as last August Jewish leaders in Australia’s biggest city reacted with dismay after a court rejected their application to build a new synagogue on the grounds that it could become a terrorist target.
BreitbartLondon
Simon Kent
Australia has seen an increase of almost 10 percent in incidents against Jews over the past year, and almost 20 percent over the past two years, according to a report released Sunday.
The annual Report on Antisemitism in Australia is published annually by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the peak representative body for Australian Jews. The latest edition shows Jewish community groups logged a total of 210 antisemitic incidents during the period, including physical assaults, abuse and harassment, vandalism, graffiti, hate and threats communicated directly by email, letters, telephone calls, and leaflets.
This compares to a total of 190 such incidents logged by the same sources over the preceding 12 month period.
“There was a marked increase in the form of assault known as ‘egging’ – targeting and assaulting Jews by throwing eggs at them. Eggings occurred predominantly as Jews walked to and from synagogue on Friday evenings and Saturdays in Melbourne,” said the report’s author, ECAJ Research Officer, Julie Nathan. Nathan added that anti-Semitic attitudes are entrenched “in western and Muslim culture” requiring Jewish communities to act to protect themselves and their places of worship.
The Jewish community is the only community within Australia whose places of worship, schools, communal organisations and community centres need, for security reasons, to operate under the protection of high fences, armed guards, metal detectors, CCTV cameras and the like.
The necessity is recognised by Australia’s law enforcement agencies and arises from the entrenched and protean nature of antisemitism in western and Muslim culture, resulting in a high incidence of physical attacks against Jews and Jewish communal buildings over the last three decades, and continuing threats.
As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, as recently as last August Jewish leaders in Australia’s biggest city reacted with dismay after a court rejected their application to build a new synagogue on the grounds that it could become a terrorist target.
Friday, 13 October 2017
Letter From Australia (About The Work of Bigots)
Documenting the Tide of Bigotry and Hatred
Margaret Colwell
Mercatornet
But it is happening mostly to Christians in Australia's same-sex marriage campaign
Margaret Colwell
Mercatornet
Everyone should be concerned over the growing discrimination, persecution and vilification of Christians which is occurring in Australia. Not only is the government failing to protect the human rights of Christians, but often it seems to be enabling discrimination and persecution through legislation and comments made by parliamentarians.
I believe we desperately need religious freedom provisions in the Australian Constitution to ensure that Christians are free to live out their beliefs safely and legally. The denial of religious freedom has always been a hallmark of totalitarian regimes; such oppression is becoming common in many countries now under the guise of anti discrimination laws. This has no place in a free country.
Allow me to document this controversial assertion.
As predicted, the debate regarding the redefinition of marriage has, as some predicted, unleashed a tide of hatred and bigotry. However, overwhelmingly, this has been squarely aimed at Christians. Listed below are numerous occasions where Christians have been the target of unwarranted discrimination, persecution and vilification. Hardly any of those people who vilified, harassed and assaulted Christians experienced any detrimental legal or social consequences for it. Most of them remain in positions of authority and influence.
Friday, 29 September 2017
Islam: Forcing Children to Marry; Authorities Complicit
Girls as Young as Nine Are Trafficked into Forced Marriages in Australia
Following the Example and Teaching of Muhammad
Victoria Friedman
Breitbart London
Following the Example and Teaching of Muhammad
Victoria Friedman
Breitbart London
More than 50 girls in New South Wales were trafficked into forced marriages to older men, with some ‘brides’ being as young as nine years old.
Australia’s Seven News obtained documents from the Australian Federal Police on child marriage in the country. In just two years, a total of 57 children were victims of forced marriage in Australia, with almost all, 51, being from the Sydney area.
The AFP documents included: references to an email from a girl who wrote she was being held against her will and being forced to marry; a situation report with allegations of a forced marriage at the end of the school year; and a human trafficking referral of a girl who was forced to travel outside of Australia and then exploited.
Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward said that children were under “enormous pressure” from their parents to marry. The minister said ‘the community’ “does know” that child brides do exist, but they choose to “turn the other cheek”, and ignore it.
Friday, 16 June 2017
The "New" World Order
Reassertion of National Sovereignty
Globalism Rolled Back
BreitbartLondonCANBERRA (AFP) – Australia Sunday gave 7,500 boat people until October to file a claim proving they are genuine refugees or be kicked out, declaring the “game is up” for illegal arrivals ripping off taxpayers.
Before the conservatives took power and adopted a tough line on the issue in 2013, an estimated 50,000 asylum-seekers flooded into Australia on more than 800 boats over the previous five years. Hundreds more, many from war-torn Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, died at sea during the treacherous journey.
Of those arrivals, the old Labor government processed nearly 20,000, leaving 30,500 to the current administration. Some 7,500 of them have yet to present their cases for asylum or are refusing to answer questions about their identity, while claiming welfare benefits, casting doubt on whether they really need protection.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said that if they fail to lodge a claim by October 1, they will be removed from the country and banned from re-entering. “This is a very serious situation and it’s costing Australian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” he said. “So if people think that they can rip the Australian taxpayer off, if people think they can con the Australian taxpayer, then I’m sorry, the game’s up. We are prepared to support people who are legitimate refugees, but we aren’t going to support people who are just accessing welfare … and then refusing to provide any information in relation to their protection claim.”
Refugee advocates reacted furiously, saying the government had sunk to “an impossible new low.
Monday, 24 April 2017
Islamic Thuggery in Australia
Australian, Wearing Cross, Beaten By Muslim Gang
Jack Montgomery
BreitbartLondon
Christians in Sydney, Australia, are being advised to hide their crosses after an Arabic-speaking gang shouting “F*** Jesus!” attacked a couple on a train while transport officers looked on from a “safe space” and did nothing.
The Sydney-based Daily Telegraph – a News Corp outlet unrelated to the Telegraph Media Group newspaper of the same name – reports the couple were attacked while riding the train through “Muslim enclaves” in south-west Sydney. Mike, who asked for his surname to be withheld for fear he might be targeted, said that four men of Middle Eastern appearance ripped his cross from his neck, stomped on it, and rained kicks and punches on his face, back, and shoulders. Two women attacked his girlfriend when she tried to protect him.
Five uniformed transport officers watched the attack take place but failed to intervene, Mike claimed, leaving the police to meet the train at a later station. “I was born in Australia of Greek heritage,” Mike told the Telegraph. “I’ve always worn my cross. For [them] to rip it off and step on it has to be a religious crime … It’s not on to feel unsafe in your own country.”
Jack Montgomery
BreitbartLondon
Christians in Sydney, Australia, are being advised to hide their crosses after an Arabic-speaking gang shouting “F*** Jesus!” attacked a couple on a train while transport officers looked on from a “safe space” and did nothing.
The Sydney-based Daily Telegraph – a News Corp outlet unrelated to the Telegraph Media Group newspaper of the same name – reports the couple were attacked while riding the train through “Muslim enclaves” in south-west Sydney. Mike, who asked for his surname to be withheld for fear he might be targeted, said that four men of Middle Eastern appearance ripped his cross from his neck, stomped on it, and rained kicks and punches on his face, back, and shoulders. Two women attacked his girlfriend when she tried to protect him.
Five uniformed transport officers watched the attack take place but failed to intervene, Mike claimed, leaving the police to meet the train at a later station. “I was born in Australia of Greek heritage,” Mike told the Telegraph. “I’ve always worn my cross. For [them] to rip it off and step on it has to be a religious crime … It’s not on to feel unsafe in your own country.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)