Posts Tagged ‘children’
Tony Abbott – do not do it!
Good grief, what politicians will do to win power. One of the benefits of living in Australia, at least I believe it is still a benefit, is the right to criticise our politicians, even if we are of the same persuasion!
While Mr Abbott continued to condemn the Malaysia option, the carrot for him is that the proposed changes would ensure as prime minister he could send people to Nauru.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/abbott-muddies-water-on-boats-20110912-1k63e.html#ixzz1Xn2wbdfj
Furthermore:
A separate change would also ensure the minister could send children offshore without having to establish this was in their best interests.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/abbott-muddies-water-on-boats-20110912-1k63e.html#ixzz1Xn37Hz84
No. Definitely not.
May I remind ALL politicians of the requirements of the International Refugee Convention as discussed by Michael Pearce:
Withdrawal from Refugee Convention may be last resort
At first I thought, “What? We can’t do that!” then I read the article. Michael takes an extremely pragmatic approach to the debate, together with presenting a fresh perspective.
Public policy in Australia seems to have reversed the legal position. The major parties and public opinion seem to say that we should refuse refuge to those who reach our shores and seek asylum because that denies refuge to those in the so-called queue. That is, we should abrogate an obligation which is legally binding on us so that we can comply with an imagined obligation by which we are not, in fact, bound.
Michael goes on to say (emphasis added):
This course will no doubt be very unpopular in some quarters and for good reason. It would signal to all that we, one of the richest countries in the world with enviable space and resources to spare, did not want to share with the bedraggled and desperate few who, by good fortune, wash up on our shores. But this is only to tell the truth about who and what we are as a people.
Would that more people listen to people like Michael.
Why this desire for off-shore processing? What exactly does it achieve? Why the desire to send unaccompanied children off-shore? What does that achieve?
Chris Bowen needs to read some history.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said unaccompanied minors presented ”very emotional and difficult issues”. ”The overriding obligation is to say to parents, ‘Do not risk the lives of your children to get the prospect of a visa in Australia.’ ”
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/abbott-muddies-water-on-boats-20110912-1k63e.html#ixzz1Xn5AF2xs
Parents don’t send unaccompanied children in order to get a visa – they send them to save their lives. What of all the unaccompanied children sent here from England many years ago? Was that OK because they were English? I actually work with a woman who is friends with a person who was sent by their parents to Australia to save that (then) child’s life in precisely the same way children are being sent now. Unless Mr Bowen is totally oblivious to the realities of life, he knows in his heart if he were faced with the same decisions some of these parents are faced with he would do EXACTLY the same thing. So would any parent. Do not make glib comments in the media to try to paint parents as being in the wrong for trying to save their children.
Australia MUST remove the guardianship of these children from the position of Minister for Immigration. It is hard to imagine a greater conflict of interest existing. How this came about is beyond comprehension.
Child “beauty pageants” in Australia?
I’ve been watching the media coverage of Australia’s first US style beauty pageant for children. I don’t like the idea.
Australia has always had beautiful baby competitions, but they were always babies or toddlers competing as, well, BABIES or TODDLERS. Not primped and preened to within an inch of their adult lives, looking highly sexualised. As a mother, I just cannot condone these competitions.
I read an article some time ago, when the competition here was first announced, about parents from both sides of the argument actually threatening members of the “other side” of the debate. What are we becoming?
Children should be allowed to be children. No, I don’t see it as a “bit of fun” for the whole family at all. I see it as parents trying to live their dreams through their children, at the expense of their children’s innocence and childhood. The children would surely be better served by their parents listening to their reading or reading to them, than traipsing around being flaunted as mini-adults.
Am I being “old-fashioned”? No, I don’t think so. I think I’m being practical and responsible. You may have a different view. Please share!
Related articles
- Mums defend child beauty pageant (heraldsun.com.au)
- Picture-perfect kids in beauty pageants (heraldsun.com.au)
- Toddlers & Tiaras SHOULD NOT MIX (lifesableep.wordpress.com)
Religion in public schools – NO!
All I wanted to do was check the footy results. Unfortunately I stumbled across an article in The Age reporting the Victorian Education Department is forcing public primary schools to teach christian religion. I am astounded! In Victoria we have a Liberal government. One of the foundation principles of the Liberal party is freedom of the individual!
From the party’s web site:
We believe in the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives; and maximises individual and private sector initiative.
Forcing my children to learn christian religion, or ANY religion, is denying my rights and freedoms. Forcing my children into religious education is certainly NOT minimising interference in my daily life! This all seems to stem from 2006, when we did not have a Liberal government, so I hope the Victorian Government acts and acts NOW on this issue that is so against the principles of the party.
We are also supposed to have freedom of religion in this country. This issue has caused me to change my vote once before at a federal level. This time I will voice my disapproval more strongly!
The Humanist Society has set up a website to “garner views on the issue” and is taking legal action against the Education Department.
Australia is a country of people from many different lands, many different cultures and many different religions. We are are multicultural society and forcing christianity into schools is NOT the Australian way. Read the article and see what it is suggested the children who opt out of the classes are going to be doing: according to the article, they must not do any other classwork.
I am shocked. Very shocked. I am still embroiled in a civil rights fight with a federal government department and now I must look at particpating in a fight against a state government department. I have four children about to enter the Victorian education system. As a parent this is not what I want for my children. Clearly I am not the only one, given the Humanist Society website states:
12:30 – We are also aware that the Humanist Society of Victoria’s website has been so inundated with people wanting to access it that it has crashed. This speaks volumes on just how many people care and want to learn more. Future information will come from FIRIS so be sure to subscribe to the newsletter.
EDIT:
In the spirit of “if you want to change something, suggest an alternative”, resulting from a discussion with someone else, my suggestion would be introduce Cultural Intelligence classes and within that framework touch on all religions to provide awareness, rather than indoctrinate in one. We need Cultural Intelligence training, so why not start early?
Who locked up the children?
This article today runs with the opening phrase of “Julia Gillard locks up …”
No, Julia Gillard doesn’t lock up anyone. WE, the Australian citizens are locking up these children, just as we did under Howard (which the article also refers to).
Prime Ministers do not do these things personally. Prime Ministers and parliaments (assuming we are indeed a democracy) are simply doing what WE, the citizens, ask them or tell them or let them do. WE are personally responsible, every single one of us. For WE give the power.
Time for us to voice our disapproval of what our representatives are doing in OUR name.
The dark side…
This report in The Age is not something I particularly want to write about or for that matter even think about, but given the prevalence of the internet in all our lives, we all have a responsibility to be aware. Paedophiles. How do we eradicate them?
A snippet from the article linked above:
“Thanks to my new friends for helping me realise that I am more normal than I thought I was,” reads a wall post by one user, who talks about abusing his “gorgeous” 10-year-old daughter.
“So this is where we let it all hang out and can finally talk openly and share with like-minded people.”
To quote Hillary Clinton’s use of a Nigerian saying once again, “It takes a village to raise a child”. Just with this particular problem we are talking LOTS of children and a very large village: the global internet village.
Yes, I know, Facebook and many other social networking sites have an age criteria for joining. That in itself doesn’t mean we should just turn a blind eye to the use of such sites by predators.
I agree it is not solely the responsibility of the sites to police such activity. The scale is prohibitive. We need a better way of ensuring people can’t just sign straight back up, which is effectively the case now.
The internet is the one place where we can all be someone other that who we are in real life. In fact, there are many people advising us to make sure we hide our identity on the internet as a form of protection. I ask myself (and you) where else in life can we hide our identity and get away with it for very long? The bank? The local police? The tax office? Medicare? Take away for a moment all the warnings about identity theft and so on and look at the bare bones of this hiding. Why do we, as a society, make out the internet is so different to the rest of life?
We even refer to the “rest of life” as “real life” on the internet, neatly shortened to RL, of course. Along with TTFN, LOL, BBL, AFK, IDK……….. the list goes on.
Hang on a minute – the internet is just a part of real life. It isn’t a thing apart, a fourth dimension, an imaginary world. That is a cop-out. The keyboard you type on is real. The screen is real. The heat sink in your computer is real, as is the CPU and the motherboard. The person you email, tweet, IM, wall post or whatever is flesh and blood, just like you and I. So what is so unreal about the place?
Perhaps if we stop pretending, if we stop hiding behind anonymity and tighten up identity theft laws and punishments, if everyone has to prove who they are before delving into cyberspace we might just solve a whole plethora of problems.
Let’s all stop pretending.
Quizzically Musing 