Why the Liberal party is just SO last season
The good Doctor Washer, a Liberal party backbencher and 50 of his colleagues, is reminding the Minister for Foreign Affairs- Alexander Downer, why he, and his party, cease to remain relevant, by highlighting how out-of-touch this government is in relation to its foreign aid policy. Currently, Australian foreign aid money comes with a condition which prevents it from being spent on abortion advice.
“It’s repugnant, it’s an insult to women. I think that is just absolutely an insult. What is even more ridiculous or more repugnant is that we’re saying in these guidelines that if you go and have an illegal abortion where there is a 13 per cent chance of death on average and you happen to survive, we’re happy to give you counselling. Well, that’s good for those who didn’t die but for the 13 per cent, I think counselling dead people is pretty difficult. I haven’t found much success in it as a doctor, so that’s absolute lunacy.”-Dr Mal Washer.
It is clear how Australians feel about safe abortion services. And yet, with this data, this government remains influenced by Senator Brian Harradine, who retired some 3 years ago.
Now is the time to ensure that this aspect of the Harradine legacy is removed from influencing Australia’s foreign aid money. Moreover, it should never have been exported overseas to people who clearly require assistance, not moralising.
June 6th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
I don’t want just Harradine out of my bedroom, but government and religion in general. Government is a convenience for the people. When it takes on a life of its own with own moral prerogatives, it’s gone waaaaaaaayyyyy too far.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Yes Suki … they are way out of touch … just goes to prove that although most people like the general state of the economy (although not ALL parts of it), it is not enough to persuade them currently to support HoWARd and his hatchetmen and woman (note the singular).
The phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” is not prevalent at the moment.
June 10th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
“But it seems to me that a Catholic politician’s duty on this particular subject, where I think there is an absolutely crystal clear moral position against abortion on demand, a Catholic politician’s duty is to try to make a bad situation better, not necessarily to try to create a perfect situation, given the realities of the world in which we live. You might have noticed that at no stage have I ever said that we should try to re-criminalise abortion, because I just think that to try to do that in our society, would be incredibly difficult and I think it might very well end up making a bad situation worse, not better.”
Thus spoke the Abbott, Suki …
…if you, or anybody can make any sense of those smooth but meaningless words, and how they might play out in the area of foreign aid, i would love to know.
Sounds like more of the same.
Hillsong replaces Harradine and Mal will be ‘washed up’, speaking up for the bleedin’ obvious. The place is going to pot and none of them are smoking it.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Happy 3rd Birthday – I see by the archive your blog was 3 years old on 6th June. (a couple of weeks back)
June 19th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Thank you Dave.
If you have been browsing my archives you would have noticed I used to be more prolific, managing a post every other day. Now I find 2-3 per month more usual.
I have spoke to other bloggers and we seem to have lost our way. I wa going to blog HoWARrd/Costello’s reference to an ‘L-plater’ when speaking of Rudd’s inexperience when it come to running the economy, but I find I had already done one for when they trotted out the same line for Latham.
June 24th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
For me the blogging process went some what along the stages:
What’s a blog
Oh. That’s what they are. I’ll comment on someone else’s blog.
What. They’re an idiot. I’ll start my own blog, arguing against them (Blog: The unexamined life boat)
Hey, I’ve made a connection with another blogger. We’ll explore ourselves together
I’m growing from the experience, but I want to keep some of what I write private (Blog: A quiet place to think.)
Let’s play around with the blog format (Conceptual Sandpit, The Underside of Christmas)
What I am learning through writing down my thoughts and sharing myself has changed me as a person – in fundamental ways that I never imagined.
I can’t help but use the things I learnt about myself from the blog and about real communication and start using them in reality
My life has become as rich as my blog
I no longer blog – but spend time living a richer life.
What’s it like for you?
June 24th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I am a considerably better writer, in everything I write, as a direct result of my blog. Writing is a finely honed skill.
My work forces me to write regularly, but before I blogged, I never really thought about report writing as anything more than an administrative process of my job, a letter to my relatives or the shopping list.
The two are feeding one another as writing succinctly, clearly and well, is really just practice, practice, practice.
July 1st, 2007 at 12:16 pm
In blogging, I found out I could use my abilities to reflect, understand and communicate both as a way to connect to people – such as you guys.
But also as a weapon against people I thought were bullying/dominating.
I’m not so sure this second thing is a good thing though.