Not only is it ludicrous that politicians should have the right to control the free will of women (or anybody), but even more disgusting is the use of ‘Muslim Nation’ as a tool for evoking disgust. The argument’s based on the idea that a race might ‘take over’. Take over what? Remove the crazed symbolism over Australia and we’re left with a block of land that people live on. That’s all there is, and all there should be. Who gives a fuck about the ethnicity of its inhabitants.
If race or DNA is such a significant issue in Australia, I’ll ask why we keep voting in animals instead of human beings to make our decisions for us.

Too right, aketus.

Vale is trying (poorly) to play the fear card, but she’s not the first authoritarian politician to do it on the same topic. The admonishment to ‘populate or perish’ is implicit in many statements made by Ron Boswell, Alan Cadman and Tony Abbott to the effect that there are ‘too many abortions’ being performed in Australia. It’s nationalist, xenophobic horseshit. As if women have a duty to push out puppies for God, Queen and Country.

The rules for operation of uteri are made between their individual owners (that is the women they are installed in, if we must be clear) and the treating physician- no politicians need apply.

Party politics are at the core of so many bad decisions that I couldn’t possibly comment upon all of them. The assignment of approval of RU486 to any body other than the medical experts at the TGA is beyond illogical- and ultimately self-serving for professional politicians’ agendae of perpetual re-election.

Viktor, you’re right that we’ve had one party in conrol of Federal Parliament for far, far too long… but the notion that we are going to abort ourselves out of existence is absolutely silly.

Despite women having had the ability to legally terminate pregnancies, Australian population growth for the last 10 years remains at almost exactly 1.2% per year.

The notion that Muslims will take over Australia by outpopulating non-Muslims is not only ludicrous but a very poor attempt to gain support by needlessly inciting fear in the population. It’s a racist concept suiting neo-nazis like Jim Saleam and his Australia First Party.

The stats don’t lie and run completely contrary to Vale’s brain explosion of a comment. Just plain ridiculous.

Guy, I’m quite surprised that she didn’t say “Chinese” instead of “Muslims.” We’re a bit more accustomed to threats of the Yellow Peril From The North, are we not?

Further to that, the whole RU486 debate is not about whether or not to permit abortion- Australian women already have limited legal rights to reproductive freedom. It is about whether new medications should be approved by pharmacology experts at the Therapeutic Goods Administration or by some political wonk appointed to the Health Minister’s portfolio, who is not required to have any sort of medical qualifications.

The canard proffered by Tony Abbott that RU486 should be approved by an elected official is a complete bucket of bullshit. Have YOU ever voted for a person to be Health Minister? Me neither.

Liberal Party pollies must stay up late thinking up this garbage.

Vale got hers.
HoWARd et al let *shudder* Vanstone loose…
Last time I heard our Amanda was talking low and measured about who make up the bulk of immigration to Australia.

“I think I’ll invite Danna around for a cup of morning tea and perhaps a cucumber sandwich where I’ll be able to point out to her that our intake at the moment, our source countries, are very much from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, India, South Africa and the Philippines” – Our Amanda.

Regardless, Suki, Vale is unapologetic about lying with her figures. She keeps citing ‘100,000 abortions per year’ in Australia- and she can’t substantiate her claim. There might be 100,000 D&C’s performed in Australia annually for which physicians claim payment from Medicare, but which were therapeutic treatments after a miscarriage and which were terminations? It’s the same Medicare number.

The next thing you know, politicians will want the names and addresses of women who had D&Cs so they can be appropriately vilified in public. They may wish to change the Medicare claim number for therapeutic D&Cs and pregnancy terminations.

Watch Vale and Boswell for their next assault on women’s privacy and free reproductive choice.

There’s calls to censure Vale, but I think she’d wear a censure as a badge of honour.

After hearing Danna Vale’s ludicrous comments I have decided she is quite clearly mentally ill, so perhaps a nine month stint in Baxter would sort her out or perhaps we could deport her for treatment. Saying that Baxter or deportation are probably favourable to the treatment of the mentally ill in Australia.

Dear Danna
As John McEnroe once said “You cannot be serious”

Kate, I’m not sure Vale is mentally ill- that would in some ways excuse her foolish, racist outburst. I think she’s quite sane- and calculated her comment precisely to get plaudits from bogans across Australia.

I’m not sure she (or anyone else) needs a Cornelia Rau treatment, however. What happened to Rau was extraordinarily destructive. Vale may only need a cuppa tea and to open her racist little mind for 10 minutes.

Statasticians are certainly having absolutely none of her bullshit.

The only explanation of Vale’s comments is the narrow mind of an ethically bankrupt person who seeks perpetual re-election. Term limits for politicians would solve a lot of the problems in Australian government. Professional politicos don’t work for us- they work for themselves.

The tragety is there’s many people who think like Ms Vale.

I might be imagining this, but Ms Vanstone has become more endearing in a klutzy sort of way.