War-time Crises Require War-time Speeches: How Scott Morrison Can Win the Battle for National Morale
The LNP’s battle against the Coronavirus is also a battle for the hearts and minds of Australians. If the Prime Minister fails in winning the latter, his ability to fight and win the former will be significantly compromised. It’s evident to most that Scott Morrison is doing everything a good leader can to win this war, but as goes the law of unintended consequences, Morrison is on the cusp of losing the battle for Australia’s hearts and minds, because of the absence of reassuring battle cries. There’s no doubt that Sunday’s late press conference revealed a Prime Minister working hard…
“Woman of faith” AOC gets Sunday Schooled after accusing religious freedom advocates of “weaponizing” the Bible, like white supremacists
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she’s tired of religious liberty advocates “weaponizing” the Bible to “justify bigotry,” just like white supremacists, slave owners and segregationists did. The New York congresswoman, who described herself as a “woman of faith”, made the comments during a Thursday House Oversight Committee hearing about the Trump administration’s “religious liberty assault on LGBTQ rights.” Ms Ocasio-Cortez retweeted a video of her speech on Sunday, saying: “There’s a long history in the US of abusing scripture to advance the causes of bigotry & discrimination. Slaveholders did it. Segregationists did it. White supremacists do it. And it continues. Yet…
Morrison’s no retreat, no surrender Press Club speech shows a Prime Minister eager to serve
In a speech for the National Press Club on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered the equivalent of a State of the Union address. From its content to his delivery, it was obvious that the Prime Minister was addressing the nation, not just the top end town. His address didn’t present a government in damage control, but a government that is in control. Morrison was right to not use the opportunity to give ground to noisy dishonest critics on social media. Many of whom come across as detached from everyday Australia, and seem to exist only as a deliberate distraction…
Mark Latham says, Australians were lied to during the same-sex marriage debate: this is ‘chilling for all religious preachers and freedoms’
One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham has said Australians were lied to during the same-sex marriage debate after voters were repeatedly assured the legalisation of gay ‘marriage’ would not result in a loss of freedoms. Mr Latham made the comments in a post on Facebook today, following news that the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board had accepted a complaint from an LGBTQ activist accusing Israel Folau of “homosexuality vilification”. Campaigner Garry Burns took issue with the former rugby star’s “controversial” April Instagram post which warned hell awaits sinners who refuse to turn to Jesus for forgiveness, including homosexuals. Mr Latham described the NSW…
Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to preserve freedom of expression, but actions speak louder than words
The line between inciting hate or violence and informing others about that hate and violence is being blurred. Facebook’s recent heavy-handed actions against Caldron Pool, and Caldron Pool contributor, Evelyn Rae, suggest that the social media platform is happy to unfairly conflate reporting or fair criticism of an event with endorsement of that event. There is a difference between advocacy and commentary. If we apply descriptive and prescriptive linguistics to how newsworthy events or commentary are presented, we can see that companies like Facebook will inevitably hurt their customer base, because they continue to blur the descriptive and the prescriptive,…
Brexit: The Queen’s Speech is Boris Johnson’s Best Move Yet
Unless you’ve been completely living off-grid for the past three years, you’ll know that the United Kingdom’s, 2016, Brexit referendum is yet to be officially ratified. The 2016 referendum saw the people of the United Kingdom vote in favour of leaving the European Union by 1,269,501 people. The final result ended with 51.9% (17.5 million) of those in the U.K voting to leave the E.U, while 48.1% (16.1 million) voted to remain [i]. The results uncovered a division between North and South. The majority in England and Wales chose to leave, while Northern Ireland and Scotland, still heralding a decent…
Judge says Christianity is ‘incompatible with human dignity’, sacked doctor responds: ‘We’ve lost free speech, now we’re being compelled to lie’
A UK doctor who was told by a judge that his Christian beliefs were “incompatible with human dignity” has responded to the ruling, calling it “beyond reason, logic, and science.” Dr David Mackereth lost his Employment Tribunal case last week after he was fired by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for refusing to identify his patients by anything other than their biological gender. The DWP’s case against the 56-year-old father of four claimed the doctor’s belief in Genesis 1:27 was not a belief protected by the Equality Act 2010 but was rather a ‘mere opinion.’ “In essence, I’m now being compelled…
A lesson for Kristina Keneally on the basics of freedom and faith
Kristina Keneally is hopelessly muddled about how freedom works, specifically freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I’m sure she’s had it explained to her before, but inexplicably comprehension yet eludes her – an alarming observation to make of a Federal Senator. I think leftists are often so mired in the prejudice of their anti-freedom propaganda they often end up shadow boxing, fighting against things no serious person believes. Take, for example, yesterday’s eleven-part Twitter challenge to the Prime Minister doubling down on her insistence that someone who tweeted something vile he then regretted, deleted and apologised for three years…
‘Hate Speech’ is the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Why Kristina Keneally is wrong on Raheem Kassam
Incredible scenes from the left side of Australian politics. Shadow Home Affairs Minister Kristina Keneally spoke in the Senate on Tuesday night to illustrate why British born political commentator & former Breitbart editor Raheem Kassam shouldn’t be allowed to enter the country to speak at CPAC (Australia’s Conservative Political Action Conference.) Keneally spoke bluntly: We should not allow a career bigot — a person who spreads hate speech about Muslims, about women and about gay and lesbian people — to enter our country with the express intent of undermining equity and equality. Keneally’s calls come amidst a wash of Australian…
Eric Abetz’s historical stand against those who sacrifice freedom in the name of ‘progress’
Eric Abetz gave one of the most important short speeches in Australian political history this week. Yet few Australians would know he even spoke a word, let alone know who Abetz is or what he stands for. Eric Abetz was born in Germany in 1958 and came with his family to Australia in 1961. In the 1980s, Abetz worked his way through ‘University as a part-time taxi driver, and farmhand. Once completing his law degree, he went on to practice law in Hobart’s northern suburbs’. He joined the Liberal Party in 1976 and was appointed to the Senate in February…
The Folau and Felix cases show, when marriage is redefined freedoms are taken away
Like Australia’s Israel Folau, Felix Ngole from the UK, is a litmus test regarding freedom of religion, as well as freedom of speech, in the Western World. And for all those concerned about the future of freedom of speech in this country, it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. As John Steenhof, the managing director of Human Rights Law Alliance Limited, wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald: Britain’s second-highest court handed down a decision on religious freedom yesterday that will send chills down the collective spine of Rugby Australia. In contrast, Israel Folau and his team will be…
Mark Latham defends religious freedom: “big corporate chiefs preach diversity but what they are actually doing is trying to impose uniformity.”
This morning in the New South Wales Parliament One Nation MP Mark Latham moved a motion in defense of religious freedom. During his speech, Latham said: “75 years ago today young men from across the Free World stormed the beaches of Normandy to fight for the liberty of all mankind… How then in 2019 are so many Australians worried about the loss of religious freedom in our country in peacetime?” Referring to the recent sacking of rugby star Israel Folau, Latham went on to blast corporate dictatorships and their influence in sport: In 1944 the Free World fought a dictatorial…
Mark Latham to move a motion protecting religious freedom and condemning Rugby Australia
Mark Latham is today expected to move a motion protecting religious freedom and condemning Rugby Australia for their treatment of Israel Folau. The One Nation MP will also ask the NSW Parliament to condemn Rugby Australia for redefining the Bible as a form of vilification and ‘hate speech.’ The motion states: That this House calls on the Government to: (a) support the basic human right of New South Wales workers to express political, cultural and religious opinion in their private time, away from their place of work, without suffering employment penalties, (b) support Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and…
WATCH: Greens leader promises to introduce laws to regulate media and crack down on ‘hate speech’ from political opponents
Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale has said he will introduce new laws to regulate the media in an effort to crack down on “hate speech” issued by his political opponents, such as Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones. “We’re going to call out the hate speech that’s been going on,” Di Natale told supporters at a rally. “We’re going to make sure that we’ve got laws that regulate our media so that if people like Andrew Bolt, and Alan Jones, and Chris Kenny, and I could go on and on and on — if they want to use hate speech…
The Church should have the freedom to refuse allegiance to the State on the issue of Gay Marriage.
If Australia’s Prime Minister is serious about fairness, he’ll preserve the right to a conscientious objection to SSM; the right for people to hold the view, and teach their kids that marriage is between a man and a woman; and that those children have a right to equal access to their biological father and mother. As I have hopefully made clear in the written contributions I’ve made to this national debate, I see the issues as a matter of social justice. The “no” vote has been about defending truth, liberty, fraternity, science, and even equality, from unbalanced ideological servitude. The State wants…
Hate speech is a myth: It’s a shaming control technique used by those who can’t debate the issue.
By no means is this a conclusive run down on what I see as the need to find, and advocate for, a fair use of the vehicles we choose to communicate, and receive information through. By pointing out inconsistencies, and connecting them to a possible cause, my purpose here is primarily an attempt to suggest, that when it comes to social media, we practice the proverb of looking before we leap. A few years back an incident showed me the contrast between hard reality, and cheap comment. Comments from people, who in the comfort of relative security, only seem to be far more concerned with the side of the story that sells best, than with finding balance. Surely,…
Hate speech laws are for people who can’t handle their own emotions.
In the debate about whether we create or discover a writing voice, it doesn’t matter which side of the camp you land on. It’s generally agreed that a writing voice takes time to develop. When I started a blog in 2013, I had no real idea how it would develop. My plan was to use the blog as a way of networking, and as a way of improving my own writing skills. In my post-graduate world, I wasn’t sure a blog would achieve either. Looking back, I can see areas where I’ve succeeded, and I can also see areas where…
Labor Party threatens free speech: Written and spoken words can cause actual harm, the guilty must be subject to effective sanctions.
The Australian Labor Party’s consultation draft claims to “distill the policies and enduring values that Labor aspires to implement in government.” According to the document, “all Australians have the right to exercise their freedom of speech” (p.187; 120), but with that freedom comes the responsibility not to “harm” others with your words. “Australia’s anti-vilification laws strike an appropriate balance between the right to free speech and protection from the harm of hate speech” (121). Words, either written or spoken, can cause actual harm, beyond “mere offence,” according to the ALP. Those who abuse the “responsibilities that come with freedom of…
Senator Cory Bernardi says, we need to have a frank discussion about freedom, identity politics and political correctness
Senator Cory Bernardi has said there needs to be a frank discussion in Australia about religious freedom, identity politics and political correctness. “The issue is about how do we maximise freedom in this country, freedom of speech, freedom of association, without getting bogged down in too much identity politics or political correctness.” WATCH: Senator @corybernardi says we need to have a frank discussion about religious freedom, identity politics and political correctness in Australia https://t.co/1NRmb6WDWW #auspol #freespeech #freedom #religiousfreedom #ssm pic.twitter.com/Znow2qms3n — Aust Conservatives (@AuConservatives) July 11, 2018
John Anderson: Freedom of association is under attack
John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, has said freedom of association is up there with free speech in terms of things we must defend. Speaking at the Church And State Summit 2018, Mr Anderson said: “It’s an incredibly important right in a free society. In a free society people need to be able to organise. They should have the right to belong to a sporting club. They should have the right to belong to a political party.” Watch:
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