Tag Archives: Burqa

The Week that Was – October 26 to November 1

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This week saw the Labor party announce that they may keep the current government’s policy of turning back boats, because it appears to be working. However, they have said that they will only do it with Indonesia’s permission, which probably won’t happen, and then they didn’t say much else about it.

Clive Palmer has signed a deal with the government to pass the Direct Action Plan through the Senate, allowing the government to pay emitters to reduce their emissions. This has annoyed people, because Palmer had initially said he wouldn’t let it through because he believed it to be a wast of taxpayer money, and would only accept an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) if Australia’s allies would do the same, especially China. The government has also found a way to get the Fuel Excise to rise without taking it through Parliament. It will go up by half a cent every six months and is estimated to rain around $19 million. There is a catch though, if the government can’t get Parliament to agree within 12 months the money has to be given back, not to the taxpayers, but to the oil companies. Tony Abbot has also said that he wants an adult debate on the GST so it can be changed. It’s led to a few people wondering about this ‘adult debate’, given Abbott was part of the protests about the Carbon Tax during which he stood in front of some pretty nasty signs about Julia Gillard.

Tony Abbot during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620x349.jpg)

Tony Abbott during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620×349.jpg)

Ebola scared the bejesus out of everyone again this week, after an 18-year-old Brisbane woman was taken to hospital with a fever after coming into the country from West Africa. She was in self-quarantine in her home before she came down with the fever, and as it turns out, she’s tested negative. However, refugees from West African Ebola countries will no longer be given visas for the time being, and those who already have visas will be quarantined for 21 days. This seems to be the only reaction Australia has made at the moment, as they haven’t forced aid workers into quarantine, like several US states have, although most aid workers are making sure quarantine themselves and check their temperature everyday, as is recommended by health authorities and aid groups. Again, the Australian Medical Association has said Australia should be sending staff to Ebola hot zones to help, however the government is still saying that they probably won’t until they have an evacuation plan in place should anyone contract the virus.

Parliament House got interesting earlier in the week, after three men staged a protest about the burqa ban being overturned. You can see the video from the ABC here.

Nova Peris is embroiled in scandal this week after being accused of using taxpayer money to get an international track star from the Caribbean to come to Australia because she was having an affair with him. She has denied the allegations and the Labor Party is standing beside her, while some believe News Corp may have got the emails illegally. Peris spoke in Senate to say that this is part of a blackmail attempt in a long running child access case.

The metadata laws passed this week, meaning that metadata will be held for two years. This is believed to cost the telecommunications companies money, so they will get subsidies from the government, but it is unclear at the moment as to how much money there will be. There are critics, especially the Greens and Nick Xenophon, but given Labor supported the legislation, it’s gone through.

The government is trying to confirm the death of an Australian ISIS member in the conflict zone. The man is thought to be the most high-ranking Australian in the organisation. Meanwhile, Australian troops are still in the UAE, yet to go to Iraq to advise the military there.

Finally this week, Medibank shares are on sale,  Australian couples are having trouble getting visas to India for surrogacy, Julia Gillard has been found by the Trade Union Royal Commission to have done nothing wrong, farmers are suing the government for damages after the live export ban a few years ago, and the West Australian town of Albany played host to commemorations for the centenary of the first ships leaving Australia for WWI.

Tweet of the Week

Things that I’ve been Looking at Online

How British Colonialism determines which countries celebrate Halloween – The Washington Post

With the US Midterms coming up, people are being reminded to vote:

The Week that Was – October 19 to October 25

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At the start of this week, Iraq finally found itself a Defence Minister, allowing Julie Bishop to finalise the terms of Australian troops coming to help advise the Iraqi defence forces. While there won’t be direct combat for the moment, the troops, mainly from the SAS, will advise and train the Iraqi army to deal with Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL). Speaking of Islamic State, Tony Abbott has been mentioned in a propaganda video spoken by a 17-year-old Australian who was able to get to the Middle East undetected by authorities. The young guy, a student from South-western Sydney told his mother he was going fishing and never came back. Abbott has used this to explain why Australia is in Iraq, and both sides of politics, not to mention community leaders are shocked that the young guy is there.

Meanwhile, the decision to make women wearing the burqa to watch parliamentary proceedings from a sealed-off section of the public gallery that is usually reserved for visiting students has been reversed. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate met and decided that it would be better if women wearing the burqa were taken aside and asked to remove the covering for a moment so an officer could be satisfied of their identity. Some of the people who supported the burqa ban, such as Cory Bernardi and Jacqui Lambie are calling it ‘political correctness gone mad’, but most people seem to think that the Speaker and the Senate President are doing the right thing.

Also this week, we saw a shocking terrorist attack in Canada.

It saw Tony Abbott make a speech in Parliament about what happened in Canada, as did the Opposition.

Earlier in the week, Tony Abbott visited Indonesia for Joko Widodo’s inauguration. Widodo, often referred to by his nickname “Jokowi”, is the second democratically elected president of Indonesia. Abbott wants Australia and Indonesia to be closer and more friendly, but it is thought that Jokowi is going to be tougher on threats to Indonesia’s sovereignty, particularly by Australia, not to mention the fact that Widodo has domestic issues to deal with, such as a hung parliament and his promises to the Indonesian people.

Australia is apparently starting to frustrate the rest of the world when it comes to the fight against Ebola. The Health Minister has said that Australia will be focusing on the Asia-Pacific region and how we can help an outbreak there, as well as working on research into a vaccine. Australia has also sent $18 million to Africa to help them fight, but the opposition has demanded the government send personnel to West Africa to help fight the virus, as has, it turns out, the UK and the USA. Meanwhile, the chief medical people from each state and territory have met to discuss Australia’s plans to fight Ebola should someone in Australia be diagnosed with it, and they would also like Australian medical staff to be sent to Africa.

This week also saw Australia mourn the death of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He died on Tuesday (the 21st) at the age of 98. He’s considered to be one of the best Prime Ministers the country has ever had, making major social change, such as no-fault divorce and free tertiary education. He is also well-known for his changes to Aboriginal land rights, so much so, that several Aboriginal communities entered a period of traditional mourning. Many tributes came in from across the political spectrum, including Malcolm Fraser and all parliamentary business was suspended, except for a sitting to pass a condolence motion and have a few speeches.His State Memorial Service will be held on the 5th of November in Sydney. You can read some editorials and tributes about Whitlam by Julia Gillard, David Marr and Lenore Taylor from the Guardian website.

Finally this week, Bill Shorten spoke about his dislike of hiding behind the bible when arguing against marriage equality, the AMA is criticising the government for its response to Ebola, the Governor-General met up with Australian forces in the UAE and Afghanistan, and Saturday saw National Mosque Open Day, in an attempt to inform people about Islam.

Tweets of the Week

The makeshift Whitlam memorial on the steps of Old Parliament House in Canberra

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Australia’s war on whistleblowers must end – The Guardian

Barry Spurr is the smoking gun of institutional racism – New Matilda

The death of a US-born journalist working for Iranian TV is believed to be the work of Turkish authorities – Daily Mail UK

The relationship you wish you had (about a gay couple on YouTube) – Huffington Post

The Week That Was – September 28 to October 4

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It’s official. Australia is going to Iraq to take part in US airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL). At the beginning of the week, while waiting for confirmation, Australian troops were doing practice flights in the UAE and reconnaissance flights over Iraq. The government has not considered Syria yet, and may decide not to go there in the end. However, according to the government, we’re not going to war, we’re going to help a humanitarian mission – despite this the ABC has been using the term ‘war’, so go figure. Australia’s tactical advisors are yet to begin working in Iraq as they haven’t been given their diplomatic immunity, but apparently that will happen soon. Meanwhile, raids were carried out in Melbourne by Victoria Police and the AFP. There was one person arrested and charged for sending money to finance terror organisations. The police say it had noting to do with the young man killed last week, and that the FBI tipped them off about the guy.

At the end of this week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President decided to force women wearing burqas or niqabs to sit behind the glass walled part of the public gallery, usually reserved for school groups. This “security measure”, as they’re calling it, has been criticised by most people, arguing that it treats Muslim women as second-class citizens, with some calling it religious apartheid. On Friday, Tony Abbott spoke with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop and asked her to reconsider the decision.

That mysterious thing called the budget is still haunting the government, as they try to figure out new ways to save money that won’t upset the Opposition, and will allow for the changes to go through. There is talk of lowering the income limit for tax benefits, as well as fiddling with the large family tax benefit. In the meantime, they’ve also got to find cuts in order to have money to fight in Iraq and fund new terror laws, though getting through a hostile senate may be a challenge, especially if Clive Palmer and the PUP decide not to support the changes the government decides to make.

This week, Scott Morrison announced an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by guards at the Detention Centre in Nauru, after saying earlier this week that he would be “pretty damn cross” if the allegations are true. However, the investigation is also looking into whether or not the children’s charity Save the Children is orchestrating the claims or encouraging asylum seekers to make such allegations.

As the Ebola outbreak continues in Africa, and with the news of the first person being diagnosed of the disease on US soil, officials are moving to quell the fear here. Australia is at low risk, and while airports are on alert and have the capacity to send suspected Ebola cases to hospitals, we shouldn’t be overly concerned. They’ve also pointed out that in Australia, we have the resources to deal with a patient with Ebola.

In other news, the move to fully privatise Medibank is gaining momentum, with advertising now letting people know that they can register their interest in buying shares in the health fund. While some are happy with the move, there are concerns that jobs could be at risk, premiums will go up, and what happens to the many Australians that picked Medibank due to its link with the government. Also, the Trade Union Royal Commission continued this week with bribery allegations against the MUA, as well as the implication of the CFMEU in activities with crime bosses.

Finally this week, Australia Network stopped transmission into the Asia Pacific, and Australian citizen was killed in Afghanistan, and it turns out some Australian companies are not paying the amount of tax they should be.

Tweets of the Week

ICYMI – Hong Kong has been crippled by protests. But they are some of the most well-behaved and polite protesters you will ever see…

They recycle:

They apologise for barricading train stations:

They shield the cops from the rain:

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

California adopts “Yes means Yes” consent legislation – TIME Magazine

Only in Australia…Bushfire training for journalists – ABC Backstory

How to Comment – The Not Adam

The Week That Was – September 21 to September 27

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On Sunday, in cities across Australia there were climate change protests as part of international protests in the lead up to a UN Summit on Climate Change in New York. World leaders like Obama attended, but Australia sent Julie Bishop, instead of Tony Abbott.

However, I feel like most of this week has been about terrorism and terror laws and stuff like that, and I case you were wondering, no, the budget has not yet been passed in full. Tony Abbott spoke to parliament about the new terror laws, which make specific nations or regions no go zones, punishable by 10 years in prison (unless you have a good reason to be there, like being a journalist or an aid worker – but you have to prove it), ASIO and the police get more powers and international evidence can be used against you in Australia, as long as it wasn’t obtained through torture. There has been criticism though, from people who think the laws go to far, as well as those who think the laws don’t go far enough.

One of the main stories this week is about an 18-year-old being shot by a Victorian Police officer outside a police station. The young man was asked to come to the station to be interviewed after his passport was cancelled and concerns were raised about him being radicalised. He was met by two officers, one from Victoria Police, the other an AFP officer. The young man allegedly stabbed them before the Victorian officer shot the man, killing him. There were reports suggesting he was looking into the Prime Minister’s movements, which have since been debunked, and it is also believed that he was following the Islamic State fatwa declared at the start of the week, which his family has denied. Either way, he scared the authorities enough that they’ve upped security at Parliament House. Tony Abbott told the country that there were obviously people in Australia who weren’t nice and are essentially out to get us – mind you this is also the Prime Minister who keeps giving people a checklist of things for a terror attack (a knife, an iPhone and a victim, apparently), which has been the source of both amusement and concern in my house.

Unfortunately with these new laws, as well as the aftermath of the terror raids and the young guy being killed, people have started to be quite horrible to the Muslim community. At least four mosques in Sydney have received threatening letters, and people in the community are being threatened, taunted and assaulted. It also doesn’t help that an Australian Defence Force officer reported that he had been assaulted by two men of Middle-Eastern appearance, only to withdraw the claim 24 hours later. Then you have those in politics, namely Cory Bernardi and Jacqui Lambie, who seem to have decided that we should universally discriminate against the Muslim community by banning the burqa, or force Muslim women to remove their burqa in Parliament House – despite the fact I’m under the impression that they’re using burqa as a universal term for all head coverings.

Moving on, the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS – aka ISIS/ISIL) began strikes on Syria this week, with help from regional partners like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They’re trying to help Syrian Kurds fight IS. Australia was not part of the airstrikes, but may well join in soon as Cabinet is due to decide in the next few days, now that Abbott’s been at the UN and talked with Obama about it all.

Speaking of Tony Abbott going to the United Nations, he went to talk with world leaders, vote on resolutions to fight back against IS, and talked about how economic growth makes the world a better place – or something like that. He chatted with Iraq’s Prime Minister, as well as meeting with Egypt’s President Sisi to talk about Peter Greste – according to Abbott, Sisi is a “reluctant jailer”. He also checked out the FBI and NYPD offices before heading home.

This week there were two major developments in the realm of asylum seekers. First, in a deal with Clive Palmer, the government has brought back Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) for 30,000 refugees in detention centres in Australia and on Christmas Island. No one from Manus Island or Nauru will be eligible and the refugees that are will have to move to regional areas, or at least that’s what I took from the announcement. Second, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Cambodia to allow the resettlement of refugees in Cambodia. Australia will give Cambodia $40 million in the next four years, for the voluntary program, with no cap on the number of refugees to be resettled. The money will be used to pay for a resettlement package, paying for housing, language lessons and other start-up costs the refugees will have. Australians are not the only ones upset by this move though. Protesters demonstrated outside the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh, saying that Cambodia doesn’t have the resources to look after their own people, let alone asylum seekers.

Finally this week, the Royal Commission into Child Abuse looked into the Retta Dixon home in the Northern Territory, Sydney Airport had a security scare thanks to a passenger ambling around distracted by a tablet, Peter Slipper was sentenced to 300 hours community service for his issue of travel vouchers, and a Islamic School in Sydney went into lockdown after a guy with a knife threatened staff at the office.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

Student democracy protests continue in Hong Kong – South China Morning Post

Christopher Pyne (the politician not the actor) wins an Ernie Award – Daily Life

Hamish Macdonald on how the West has reacted exactly as ISIS wanted them to – The Guardian