Over The Top

Melbourne's Pains

Repression by men in black uniforms is not a good look

Peter Hitchens
Mail on Sunday

The great city of Melbourne in Australia is now under a severe six-week curfew from 8pm until 5am.  Its businesses are crippled. Even the authorities admit it could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Muzzles are, of course, compulsory. Inhabitants can leave their homes only once a day for essential supplies and food, and once for one hour of exercise, within a three-mile radius.




The local police chief, Shane Patton, fetchingly dressed in black shirt and black tie (does he know no history?) is pleased that non-muzzle-wearers are being ‘shunned’ and says his officers ‘had’ to smash into cars whose drivers did not co-operate with stop and search

Police and soldiers are hammering on the doors of those who have tested positive for Covid (who are now forbidden to exercise), to check they are at home. Huge fines face those who don’t comply.

Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews says: ‘We can no longer have people simply out and about for no good reason… you will be stopped and you will be asked and need to demonstrate that you are lawfully out and you are not breaching that curfew.’

The local police chief, Shane Patton, fetchingly dressed in black shirt and black tie (does he know no history?) is pleased that non-muzzle-wearers are being ‘shunned’ and says his officers ‘had’ to smash into cars whose drivers did not co-operate with stop and search.  Why this wild repression? Because of 15 deaths in a day, mostly among the very old, in a state of more than six million people. Once again, the words ‘out of proportion’ spring to mind.

I predict that a major British city will be subjected to something similar in the coming winter.  Strikingly, it is in the formerly free English-speaking world, inheritors of Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, that the most severe attack on freedom is happening. They seem confident we will not defend it.

Cardinal Pell’s Acquittal

A Crushing Blow for the Leftist Lynch Mob

James Delingpole
Breitbart London

The release of Cardinal George Pell from prison and the quashing of his sentence by Australia’s High Court is a long overdue correction for one of the greatest miscarriages of injustice in Australian history.  Also — and very nearly as satisfyingly — it represents the most tremendously crushing blow to leftists, Social Justice Warriors, eco-loons across the world.

These people wanted Cardinal Pell in prison because he represented everything they hated: old, white, outspoken, Christian, conservative, and climate sceptic.  The fact that he was entirely innocent of the outrageous crime of which he had been accused was neither here nor there to the left-liberal lynch mob. They just needed a scalp — a ‘Great White Defendant’ — and poor George Pell fitted the bill just perfectly.

Pell’s ordeal — described as ‘one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in Australian history’ — began in December 2018 when at the age of 78, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old choirboy and molesting his friend after a Sunday Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.

Cardinal Pell spent 404 days in prison for a crime of which he was wholly innocent.

The Acme of Secularist Arrogance

Not The Final Word…

Murray Campbell
Gospel Coalition Australia


Rugby Australia and Israel Folau have come to an agreement. The terms of the settlement remain confidential but both parties have released a joint statement in which Folau affirms he never intended to offend anyone and where Rugby Australia apologises to Folau.

Not everyone is satisfied. Lawyers are expressing their preference to see the case played out in court, not necessarily because of prejudice against either party but for the sake of clarifying where Australian Law sits in regard to religious freedom. Other Aussies are disappointed because the case has ended in ex-communication for Folau rather than social execution. For 18 months, Peter FitzSimons has used his privileged place in the Australian media to cheer-on the sacking of Israel Folau—not the only voice, of course, but the loudest and most consistent. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, FitzSimons has expressed his disappointment over the final outcome and has tried to type out the final word on the Israel Folau saga: 

From the point of view of resolving the many issues raised, however—and more particularly, holding Folau to account for his damaging actions—it is singularly dissatisfying.

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.

It was for that reason my first reaction on hearing the news—and I write in the first few minutes thereafter—was the settlement was, firstly, a great pity. Secondly, my stronger reaction was I hoped RA kept the presumed payment to him to an absolute minimum.

FitzSimons has been quick to call out rumours on social media that suggest the size of the settlement, and yet here he is, acting as a judicial speculator,

False Religion

Australian Lawmakers Reject China’s Demand 

Will Not ‘Repent’ for Criticism of Chinese Communist Party

Simon Kent
Breitbart News

Two members of Australia’s conservative coalition government have rejected Beijing’s demand they “repent” for their criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.  They said Saturday they will never back down from “standing up for Australian sovereignty, our values, our interests, and standing up for people who can’t stand up for themselves.”

Outspoken Liberal politicians Andrew Hastie and James Paterson were due to take part in a study tour to China next month, but when the tour operator called the Chinese embassy to arrange their visas, it was told the pair was “unwelcome at this time”.

Both politicians have been constant critics of China’s authoritarian state, particularly its human rights record and alleged interference in Australia’s political system.

The Dangers of Globalist Organizations

"Mind Your Own Business"

Aussie PM Scott Morrison Takes Swipe at U.N.’s ‘Negative Globalism’




Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at the Lowy Lecture at the Town Hall in Sydney on October 3, 2019. - The annual Lowy Lecture is the foreign affairs think-tank Lowy Institute's flagship event where the speaker delivers a speech on Australia's place in the world.

Simon Kent
Breitbart News

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison hit out at the United Nations on Thursday, saying he did not want to see global organisations interfering in the governance of independent nations and “demanding conformity” of words, thoughts and actions. 

The leader of the country’s governing conservative coalition spoke in Sydney a week after using an address at the U.N. to confront “internal and global” critics of Australia’s climate change policy. 
“The world works best, we believe, I believe, when the character and distinctiveness of independent nations is preserved within a framework of mutual respect,” Morrison said. “This includes respecting the electoral mandates of their constituencies.”

The prime minister warned more broadly that freedom of “exchange”, “open markets”, “capital” and “ideas” had never been more important, but were under threat by “unaccountable globalist bodies.”

Israel Folau: What Is At Stake

Folau’s Court Case V. Religious Freedom


The Gospel Coalition, Australia


Sacked Australian Rugby player Israel Folau decided earlier this month to begin legal proceedings against his former employer Rugby Australia. He has recently produced a YouTube video explaining his decision and has opened up a gofundme page to raise funds for his legal expenses.

This high profile court case will likely have ramifications for religious freedom here in Australia. As such, TGCA spoke to Associate Professor Neil Foster to gain insight into this event.

TGCA: Why exactly is Israel Folau taking his former employer to court?

I don’t have access to the court documents which have been filed, but based on news and other internet reports it seems that the situation is as follows: he seems to be making a claim under s 772 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“FWA”), which provides:

An employer must not terminate an employee’s employment for one or more of the following reasons, or for reasons including one or more of the following reasons:..(f)…religion.

This provision was inserted into the Act to implement Australia’s obligations under some international conventions drafted by the ILO (the International Labour Organisation), referred to in s 771 of the FWA.

To repeat what I have previously said on my blog:

One obvious question is whether the termination here has been for the “reason” of Mr Folau’s religion. His exhortation was a paraphrase of a Bible verse, and accompanied by an encouragement to repent and seek salvation in Jesus Christ. But it might be claimed that the termination was not on the basis of his religion, but rather on the basis of his choosing to express his religion in a way which insulted or offended homosexual persons.

The question is a complex one.

Hamanism: When the State Turns Nasty

Australian Religious Freedom Is Under Legal Threat

Akos Balogh
The Gospel Coalition

A new bill introduced into the Senate last week (due to be debated this Monday, December 3rd) will, if passed unamended, severely erode Religious Freedom in our land. Especially for religious schools.

As Neil Foster, Associate Professor of Law at Newcastle University, writes: 

Senator Wong, leader of the Opposition in the Senate, has introduced a Private Senator’s Bill aimed at removing the power of religious schools to discriminate against same sex attracted students. Unfortunately, the amendments do much more than stop schools expelling students on the basis of their internal sexual orientation (a goal all sides of politics agree on.) They will have a serious impact on the ability of such schools, and other religious bodies, to operate in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Cultural Pressure Is Now Becoming Legal Pressure

As we’ve discussed before on this website, cultural pressure and suspicion against religious freedom has been building. The recent leaked recommendations from the Ruddock report generated a great deal of outrage, in both social and mainstream media.

In particular, any suggestion that religious schools have the ability to ‘discriminate’ against LGBTI staff and students was met with fierce condemnation. Civil public discussion around this issue has been difficult, if not impossible, under such conditions.

We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that cultural pressure is now threatening to become legal pressure.

What Do Australians Stand To Lose?

Enforcing Gender-Benderism

Warning To PM Morrison

On Proposed Australian Gender Laws

In a letter to the Prime Minister, John Wilson, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia has warned Scott Morrison that the ability of religious schools to insist on separate uniforms, sporting teams and toilets for boys and girls will be open to legal challenge under a government plan to outlaw discrimination against gay students.

The letter reveals widespread concern among religious schools teaching 300,000 students about the unintended consequences of legislation aimed at protecting gay students from discrimination.

The Coalition and Labour are trying to repeal an exemption in the Sex Discrimination Act that allows religious schools to discriminate against students on the basis of their ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’. The exemption is rarely used for this purpose but is one of the only legal protections in federal law for faith‐based educators. Anglican schools have also sounded the alarm on a separate push by Labour and Greens MPs to protect gay teachers from discrimination, warning they could lose the right to hire staff who support their ethos.

The letter from Mr Wilson goes a step further.

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.

More on Ardern's Flappy Lips

"It's All About Me"

We posted the other day a piece on how New Zealand's new Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has mounted a soap box and oozed sanctimony on Australian migrant policy.  The Ozzies don't have enough compassion.  New Zealand apparently has plenty.  Ardern has "offered" to take 150 of these economic refugees from Manus Island--where they are currently being held--but her "offer" has been strangely put.  She has not only made the offer--she has also insisted that Australia take it up, publicly nagging the Australian PM, Michael Turnbull.

Turnbull is reported to be furious with Ardern's flappy lips.

The Aussies are well experienced in playing hardball when it comes to such squabbles.  They have their own version of utu, or revenge.  A well-timed leak was promiscuously sprayed across both countries this week.  Apparently, the "refugees" on Manus Island have been engaging in under-age sexual activity with members of the local population.

Loose Lips Launch Ships

Ardern's Moral Posturing Has Consequences

During the Second World War, in Britain the warning was, "Loose Lips Sink Ships".  As the U-boats hunted for convoys of merchant vessels, sinking hundreds as they made their way to Britain carrying vital supplies, people were made conscious of the need for secrecy.  Given German intelligence operatives were active on radio listening posts, information often deemed to be harmless might have been sufficient for security leaks, leading to focused U-boat efforts on expected convoys. 

Now circumstances have changed.  We need to update the slogan from "Loose Lips Sink Ships" to "Loose Lips Launch Ships".  Several years ago Australian waters were invaded by boats launched out of Indonesia, carrying "refugees".  The Labour government of the day welcomed them into Australia.  At its height, one boat a week was arriving on Australian shores.  Most of these "boat people" were not genuine refugees: they were economic migrants who had paid money for passage to Australia.  They arrived, as the scam requires, with all their documentation mysteriously missing.  No passports, no documents proving provenance.  No UN refugee certification.  Nothing. 

Then Labour lost an election, and the Liberal administration stopped the boats virtually overnight.  They simply deployed the Australian navy to detect the ships and turn them back to Indonesia.  They continue to patrol in this fashion, and they continue to turn boats back.

But those in the business of people-running on the seas are smart, well-informed, cunning, and business savvy.

Letter From Australia (About The Work of Bigots)

Documenting the Tide of Bigotry and Hatred

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.

The Australian Intemperance League

Militant Homosexualists Threaten to Torch Church 

Virginia Hale
BreitbartLondon

An Australian church has received “vicious” threats to its safety after it displayed a sign stating the Biblical position on marriage, which activists claim “cause distress”.

Ahead of a postal vote on same-sex marriage, the Bellbowrie Community Church was targeted with threats and abuse after posting the sign, which pointed out that “God designed marriage between a man and a woman.”

Senior pastor at the Brisbane church, John Gill, told the Daily Mail Australia: “On Facebook, a lot of the stuff has been quite vicious at times. I mean quite physically threatening. That’s been scary for some in the church.  “One of the comments I saw, for example, was a suggestion that people bring petrol down and set the church on fire.”

He added: “There are two sides to this debate so it was no surprise that some do not agree with the sign. But what did surprise me was the degree of malice expressed by some, which could only be described as hate speech.”

Bigotry in Australia

Politician Suffers Abuse From Homosexualists

Australian politician defending religious freedom says she faces bigotry worse than racism

The Barnabas Fund

An Australian politician who has raised concerns about the impact on freedom of religion of attempts to redefine marriage says she has been subjected to bigotry worse than racism.

Karina Okotel, a Vice President of the Federal Liberal Party and who is of Sri Lankan heritage, says she has occasionally been subjected to racism in Australia. However, the “bigotry”, “discrimination” and “hate” she has experienced recently, due to her having opposed attempts to redefine marriage, have been “far worse.” She says, “I have even been told to go back to my own country, which is difficult given that I was born in Australia.

Hectoring From a Very High Horse

No Longer a Puff-Piece in a Women's Mag

Oh, my!  That did not take long.  Jacinda Ardern, pop politician, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party for all of twenty one days, and a much salivated-over media creation, just hit the wall.  One gets a sinking feeling.  

She is trying desperately to project maturity, gravitas, decisiveness, and strength.  Sadly, she has come across as school marmish, which is entirely at odds with the persona the media have helped her build and craft over the past three years.  She suddenly has morphed into "Lecturer-at-large".  What happened to the commitment to "relentless positivity"?  It lasted five minutes, then hit the wall.

How on earth did the brand new leader of the Labour Party manage to provoke the Australian Government into scarcely concealed fury?  It all came about because of the idiocy of one of her senior MP's.  Chris Hipkins apparently conspired with the Australian Labour Party in an attempt to bring down the Australian Government.  He used the NZ Parliament to conduct his machinations.