So, I’ve just finished reading Paul Kelly’s fascinating and non-partisan insight into the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Governments of 2007-13: “Triumph and Demise: the Broken Promise of a Labor Generation”. There is so much to learn from this period of our history.
This week has seen the annual White Ribbon Day of awareness and action on domestic violence. Thankfully this issue has been getting a lot of attention in our parliaments and media lately, especially with the awarding of Australian of the Year 2015 to survivor and activist Rosie Batty.
Back when I was young & naive, I simply wanted to find any perpetrators of domestic violence and lock them up for the rest of their lives. Beating up women and children, or even just the threat of violence, is a despicable act that can not be tolerated at all.
However, over the years I have come to understand a bit more about domestic violence, its victims, and causes.
This is a no-brainer, really.
Unions have done some great things for workers over the years, and we are all better off for some of the changes they have introduced & enforced. This should be commemorated, sure, but this can be on any day of the year, as these achievements took place throughout the year. Does it have to be the first Monday in May? Of course not.
I have been called a fundamentalist, or “fundie”, as an insult many times, as a way of trying to denigrate my faith, make out I’m old-fashioned, behind-the-times, backwards, or even evil and hating. But what is fundamental Christianity?
On this special day, we pause to recognise the importance of father’s in our lives, and to thank these men for their love and sacrifices given for us.
But not everybody has fond memories or experiences with their father. In fact many don’t even know their father at all. In America, 33 percent of children are raised in fatherless homes. That’s over 24 million children (more than the entire population of Australia!). But the fatherless represent 85% of youth in prison, 63% of all youth suicides, 85% of children with behavioural disorders, 75% of adolescents in chemical abuse centres, and 80% of rapists.
18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:18
Particularly with the focus on same-sex marriage, attention is drawn to those businesses, particularly small individual-run businesses, who have a religious conflict with providing some services.
Most notably have been the cases from America of the florist, baker, county clerk, amongst others, who don’t feel comfortable providing their services for same-sex weddings, as this action contradicts their Christian faith.
The questions arise regarding whether your religious faith can determine who you serve in your public business. And it’s a sticky one. I don’t pretend to fully understand the whole legal system in the US, but I have read and heard enough to get a bit of a grasp on it.
So, the hot topic of discussion in the political world has been the issue of same-sex marriage. Should it be recognised? Who should decide whether to recognise it? What form should it take? And many more questions.
In Ireland, a referendum was conducted as the issue there was a constitutional one, requiring the vote of the people to change the definition. In the US, the Supreme Court decided by a majority of 1, that it was unconstitutional to limit marriage to two people, namely 1 man and 1 woman.
So recently I had a chance to read through a publication by Senator Matthew Canavan (LNP, Queensland) entitled Balancing taxing and parenting – submission to Re:think – Australian Government Tax Discussion Paper from June this year. In this document, Senator Canavan discussed the imbalance produced by having a tax system focused almost exclusively on the individual, regardless of any spousal income, whilst our family payment arrangements are based on household income.
There has been several times over the last decade or so, where the idea of “income splitting” has been raised. However, I haven’t before seen such a comprehensive analysis of the benefits of household-based taxation as in this paper. I recommend you get access to a copy and read it yourselves.
Everybody makes mistakes. We all recognise this, when we think about it clearly. However we aren’t always so quick to acknowledge this when we are the recipient of someone’s mistake.
It is important to pause & think when someone says something or does something that isn’t right. Was it intentional? Did they realise what impact it would have on you? How big a deal is it, actually?