August 25, 2009 – 11:19 am
The Queensland government has tried their best for a quite a few years to ignore the calls to change the state’s laws on abortion. However, whatever your views are on abortion, the issue in Queensland can no longer be avoided by the Queensland Parliament.
The situation for individual women seeking an abortion and for doctors prepared [...]
August 21, 2009 – 10:28 am
I’ve written recently about the Australian government recent efforts to enlist further support from countries to our north in stifling the activities of people smugglers.
Reports continue to appear of dreadful conditions and treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in those same countries, such as Malaysia and Thailand.
Another recent example, reported in the Bangkok-based newspaper, The [...]
August 19, 2009 – 11:09 am
A public and political outcry in November last year, regarding a Doctor being denied Australian permanent residency because his son had Down Syndrome, led to the Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, announcing a Parliamentary inquiry into the health requirements in the Migration Act.
Nearly six months later, on May 15 this year, the terms of reference for [...]
August 18, 2009 – 11:43 pm
This story in the New York Times outlines a curious new compilation album called “Favorite Recorded Scream”.
the record is exactly what it says it is: an audio catalog of scream snippets — each a few seconds long — chosen by employees at various record stores in Manhattan.
It’s the sort of idea that seems like a [...]
August 9, 2009 – 10:50 pm
In some ways, the many people who feel environmental issues should get far greater political and media attention should enjoy this coming week in federal Parliament. Climate change, including the debate on legislative measures specifically aimed at ensuring a reduction in greenhouse emissions, is likely to be front and centre this week. (Of course, climate [...]
August 1, 2009 – 10:00 pm
There is more evidence that, however unjust and dysfunctional the administration of Australia’s immigration laws was in our recent past, it is being outstripped by what has been happening in the USA.
There are more and more examples coming to light in the USA that have echoes of the Cornelia Rau and Vivienne Alvarez debacles of [...]
