Perspectives

To Critique, Inform, Challenge and Entertain

Category: CURRENT ISSUES

CURRENT ISSUES / GENDER EQUALITY

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Bri Lee’s Inspirational Public Lecture

Reading Time: 2 minutesBri spoke engagingly about her book, her time as a judge’s associate, as well as her experiences as a complainant in a sexual assault case. She also spoke about her current advocacy to reform Queensland’s outdated rape law. This law allows a person accused of sexual assault to rely on the defence that ‘they had a mistaken but honest and reasonable belief that sex was consensual’. Bri Lee came across as a very bright, eloquent, committed and brave young woman. I was particularly impressed with her capacity to see the big picture.

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS / CURRENT ISSUES / OPINION

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Constitutional Recognition of Australia’s Indigenous People

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Australian constitution should be amended to recognise the historical and current place of our Indigenous people.

Flowing from this recognition of cultures predating European arrival, I propose that Indigenous people should be guaranteed 12 seats in the Senate and every other protection guaranteed to inhabitants of an original Australian State.

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS / CURRENT ISSUES

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The Mandate Furphy

Reading Time: 6 minutesThe Australian government‘s claim that it has a mandate to implement specific promises it made during the election campaign leading to its election simply does not add up. No one knows why an elector casts a vote for a candidate, unless the candidate is running on one issue only. At most a successful candidate has a general mandate to represent the electorate and pursue their or their parties’ policies. Successful candidates aligned with the party or parties that make up a majority in the House of Representatives may also be said to have the electors’ mandate to form a government. It is simply not possible to determine whether electors’ votes for a candidate or party were an endorsement or authorisation of government action.A clear mandate for government action on a particular issue can only be clearly secured through a plebiscite and less clearly from a survey. An election win can never produce a mandate of anything other than who should be elected and who forms government.

CURRENT ISSUES / RELIGION

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The right to tell others how to live v’s The right to be left alone to live life as one chooses

Reading Time: 2 minutesA multi religious society, like ours, relies on mutual respect for other religions and the non religious sector. Publicly denigrating others as an expression of religious belief has to be minimised, if not eliminated, if we are to remain a harmonious society. The only respect shown in this saga appears to be the public’s respect of Folau’s right to believe whatever he chooses to believe. What is being asked of him in return is that he respect the life choices of others, and not publicly condemn and offer unsolicited advice as to how they should live.

CURRENT ISSUES

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Winning at any cost?

Reading Time: < 1 minuteWee need to reintroduce or reinforce the old fashioned view that winning is about being better at playing the game. We need to promote the view that by sledging, intimidating, threatening, and regularly breaking the rules in the hope of not being caught, you are conceding that your only chance of winning is to step outside of the rules.