My day to day work is interspersed with assisting victims of intimate violence to rebuild their lives.

By and large these (mainly) women rely on the generosity of neighbours and other more loosely connected supports to assist them to stay safe, until friends, family or the police arrive.

Recent events in Melbourne, where what seems to be the death of a caring man, who came to the aid of a woman, who was being assaulted, will only serve to alienate those who are vulnerable to domestic and family violence further. I say this because I predict that as a society we will pull back from helping strangers in need, even more than we did before this man’s unfathomable and confusing death.  If you don’t feel safe to help, you can always call the Police.  Use 000- it is an emrgency.

Ironically, my day to day work could also see me offering support to the partner and the three children who will be burying their brave partner and father, respectively.  My work may also require me to work with perpetrators.  It’s challenging , but they also have the opportunity to change, repair and redeem.

I will continue to work very hard to reduce violence in our community- and will not walk by.

I know I am not the only one and I hope it never costs me my life.

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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.

I have been watching Kevin Rudd intently and frankly, I have been concerned about some of his statements.

Today, all that changed, when I heard how forcefully and naturally Kevin spoke about his wife- Therese Rein, her business, women, work and the realities of interpersonal relationships in the year 2007.

“The reality we are dealing with here is this is the age of professional women who run their own companies who have their own lives and are not simply the appendages of middle-aged men.”-the PM in waiting.

I had no idea I would be so pleased to hear this level of sincerity, in what, sadly, seems to be a radical view of women in society, coming from the mouth of a politician.

I guess it takes me back to the insufferable ritual the meet and greet with our current PM and his wife used to be. Thankfully my current work is nowhere near as ‘sexy’ as previous roles, and I am spared the cringe-inducing spectacle that is the PM and Mrs HoWARd.

At every meeting with Mrs Janette Howard, she was an insipid, beige-y, girdled, dour, lightweight, appendage-like chore of a woman.

Kevin Rudd is all the more attractive, now that I know that he is the appendage of Therese Rein.

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There has never been much doubt in my mind that Christopher Pyne is quite dim.

I used to love watching him in the days when, on Friday Forum, Lateline would pitch him against Mark Latham. Oh my, there were times when I even felt a little sorry for the pitiable, petulant, naive and bewildered Liberal Federal Member for Sturt. Today is not such a day.

Today, I am horrified at how very little the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Aging knows about drug misuse, drug abuse, drug addiction, rehabilitation and wellness. Christopher Pyne has come out today suggesting that Ben Cousins should speak out in support of the federal government’s war on drugs.

“Having been given a second chance and been through rehabilitation, it would be, I think, appropriate for him to join the government’s tough on drugs campaign, because young people in particular will be watching to see what he does in the future. One way to assist those young people would be for him to join the campaign against drugs. A person like Ben Cousins who has admitted to drug use and been rehabilitated can talk with first hand knowledge of the dangers and downsides of drugs use.” – Christopher Pyne.

This is what Brendan Gale– Chief Executive of the AFL Players’ Association had to say specifically about Ben Cousins and illicit drug use in general:

“If a person is apprehended, dealing or using illicit drugs, he’s dealt with under the illicit drug policy, and that is, it’s a diversionary approach. And the focus is on education, rehabilitation, rather than putting him in the criminal justice system. […] but as far as illicit drugs with no performance enhancing effect, where there’s a health issue, and a welfare issue, we provide a medical response, not a punitive one. And that is consistent with all the States and the Federal governments drug diversion principles and that’s something that all experts agree is the best way to change behaviour.”

Then we have Medical Director of the Victorian Addiction Centre- Professor Greg Whelan advising that Ben Cousins’ is at a crucial time in his recovery.

“This (recovery from addiction) is a lifelong problem, just the same as asthma or arthritis or diabetes or oppression are lifelong problems. The biggest risk is in the first three months after people start their treatment, because we know that statistically that’s the time that they’re most fragile and most likely to relapse back to where they were before.”

I’m certain that the Minister for Aging hoped that Ben Cousins could be trotted out in time for the upcoming election with a Drugs are bad message in an effort to breath life into the cadaverous heap that is the WAR ON DRUGS policy.

As usual, Christopher Pyne is a reductionist who really should know better. Shame on you Minister.

Update: Richmond defender and president of the players’ association, Joel Bowden, said the Government’s proposals went against “all the research and all the information we’ve been given”.

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What better way to sum up HoWARd’s government and the things that really have had their time, than his sexist reaction to the ALP’s IR policy.

On 28/04/07, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard announced Federal Labor’s Fair And Balanced Industrial Relations Policy.

The policy was not gender specific with regard to the Parental leave and Flexible work for parents provisions.

2. Parental leave – Federal Labor recognises that many families want to have a parent provide all or most of the care for a child during the first two years of the child’s life. A Rudd Labor Government will guarantee that both parents have the right to separate periods of up to 12 months of unpaid leave associated with the birth of a baby. Where families prefer one parent to take a longer period of leave, that parent will be entitled to request up to an additional 12 months of unpaid parental leave from their employer. The employer may only refuse the request for the additional 12 months leave on reasonable business grounds. This will guarantee that Australian working families have the flexibility of up to 24 months unpaid leave to provide care for their child.

3. Flexible work for parents – A Rudd Labor Government will guarantee a right for parents to request flexible work arrangements until their child reaches school age. Employers will only be able to refuse any request on reasonable business grounds.

John HoWARd, occupying redundant thinking on a redundant time line instantly came out with this assumptive howler-

“You run the risk that some employers will avoid employing women, in particular, with young children.” – John HoWARd.

What’s incredible is that HoWARd demanded an apology from the buffoon for this, but did not for a second consider the offensiveness of his own remark.

It must be time to be rid of the pre-Copernican obscurantist.

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