Should churches be taxed?
There are some strange things that people believe. Some people think the Apollo space craft never landed on the moon, others that the world is flat, and still others that all religions are the same. It seems that we are inclined to believe things that go against reason. One of the many myths Aussies believe is that churches do not pay tax. However, churches do pay tax, because everyone in church who makes an income pays tax on that income. They pay income tax, GST, various council fees and taxes, and many other taxes that we all have to sacrifice…
YES Campaign wants to force Christian schools to hire LGBTQI teachers
Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull once assured us, the Same-Sex Marriage bill would not “impose any restrictions on religious freedoms at all. Australians practice their religions with freedom, as we always have done and always will…” He then went on to say the bill itself made “no change to anti-discrimination laws.” This was the standard rhetoric we heard during the Same-Sex Marriage survey. “What’s it got to do with you?” YES voters asked. “If you don’t agree with gay marriage, don’t have one.” The idea was that, if same-sex marriage were to become legal, it would have zero impact on those…
The Myth of Scandinavian Socialism
Bernie Sanders has single-handedly brought the term “democratic socialism” into the contemporary American political lexicon and shaken millions of Millennials out of their apathy towards politics. Even if he does not win the Democratic nomination, his impact on American politics will be evident for years to come. Sanders has convinced a great number of people that things have been going very badly for the great majority of people in the United States, for a very long time. His solution? America must embrace “democratic socialism,” a socioeconomic system that seemingly works very well in the Scandinavian countries, like Sweden, which are,…
Same-Sex Marriage: After the plebiscite and the legislation
The results of the same-sex plebiscite were announced on 15 November 2017, and a few weeks later Australia became the 26th nation in the world to legislate for same-sex marriage. The Prime Minister was beside himself, as he punched the air, like an Aussie batsman who had just scored a century against the old foe, England. ‘Australia has done it,’ he proclaimed, ‘What a day for love, for equality, for respect.’ Step aside Neville Chamberlain who was overjoyed at guaranteeing peace in our time in 1938. Here is Malcolm Turnbull in 2017: ‘This belongs to us all. This is Australia…
Dastardly Dastyari
When Herschelle Gibbs dropped Steve Waugh in the 1999 Cricket World Cup one of the most misquoted quotes was born. It’s commonly understood that Waugh said, ‘How does it feel to have just dropped the World Cup?’ But, according to the man himself, the truth is it was more like, ‘That’s going to cost your team today, Hersch’. Regardless of what particular version you go with, surely, this time, Dasher has done his dash – at least with the Australian voting public. As David Flint has recently argued in his excellent article, “He would be disqualified under section 44 of…