Filed under politix …

Aug 13 2004
1 Comment
extemporanea, politix, queer, wandering

Australia ‘soft on terror, hard on gays’

A ban on gay marriages has been given priority over new terrorism laws, sparking claims that the Howard Government is “soft on terror but hard on homosexuals“.

Did the ant-gay marriage law pass the Senate last night? I have to admit I do not know but I assume it did. Despite being only #4 on the Senate notice paper yesterday, the Bill hadn’t been reached before question time, which is when I stopped listening. I had meant to check in last night but never got around to it.

Off to Sydney today for the weekend (work, not pleasure, alas). Writing this from the airport in Melbourne (I <heart> wireless hotspots, even at the extortionate rate of $5 for 15 minutes…)

Aug 12 2004
extemporanea, politix, queer

Black Thursday

Today’s the last parliamentary sitting day in the current session and, if the pundits are right, the last day before the election. This is from the Senate order of business (“the Red”):

Government business – notice of motion –
No. 4 – Minister for the Environment and Heritage (Senator Ian Campbell) – First reading of the Marriage Amendment Bill 2004 (debate to proceed immediately if agreed to)

So the Straight Australia Bill will, barring an upset, pass through our national parliament today, supported by an unholy coalition of cowardly politicians, religious nutters and hate merchants.

It’s a black day for decency, tolerance and the fair go, and today’s actions will have far-reaching effects on our national psyche and the status of queers in this country. Just you wait and see. For the first time in decades, a law is being passed which retracts, rather than extends, our civil rights.

Hopefully the debate will be at least interesting. I’ll listen in and post any observations that I come up with.

Meantime, this letter should be in today’s Sydney Star Observer:

My boyfriend and I are getting married in Canada on September 25 and no-one is going to take that away from us. John Howard can get fucked. Mark Latham can get fucked. George Bush, Pope John Paul II, Fred Nile, George Pell, Phillip Jensen, Alan Jones, Miranda Devine, Piers Akerman, Brian Harradine and Phillip Ruddock can all get fucked.

Tagged ,
Aug 10 2004
2 Comments
politix

Against Bush

“Bluetooth Users Against Bush uses bluetooth enabled devices (mobile phones, PDA’s, laptop computers) to create moments of ad-hoc solidarity for people opposed to George W. Bush and his disastrous policies.”

The less tech-savvy might find Knitters Against Bush more to their taste.

And while we’re at it:

Aug 10 2004
agit-prop, buggery, god, politix, queer, war

Cynical politics that weakens society

The editorial in today’s Melbourne Age takes a very reasonable line on the gay marriage debate:

Certainly the ban will fan intolerance, and that is a most potent reason for not proceeding with it. If the Parliament must vote on the issue (and there appears to be no pressing reason for the legislation) it would best be decided by conscience vote rather than by party directive.

It appears Labor may have agreed to the ban in order to neutralise it as an issue before the election. If so, this is cynical politics that weakens the society our parliamentarians are meant to serve.

Meanwhile, the Shadow A-G, Nicola Roxon, has sent me a long rambling form reply to an email I sent her last week on the subject. It’s not particularly illuminating, except in so far as it betrays Labor’s (or at least the right wing’s) true motivation:
Continue reading →

Aug 06 2004
2 Comments
agit-prop, politix, queer

Wanted: 13000 protest emails by Friday the 13th

The Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby have issued a call for supporters of queer rights to send email messages to Mark Latham and Nicola Roxon condemning their sell-out on the same-sex marriage inquiry.

This story from the Sydney Star Observer has the details, including a pro-forma email message you can cut and paste. It’s only takes about two minutes.

Aug 06 2004
extemporanea, politix, queer

Now for the Bunyips

From today’s letters page in the Age:

Now for the Bunyips

So gay marriage will be made illegal in Australia before the federal election? Have I missed something? Was it ever legal? No, of course not, but it’s refreshing to see our national leaders put aside their political differences to outlaw something that doesn’t even exist. I now look forward to bipartisan support for the Bunyip Control Act.
Paul Kidd,
Fitzroy North

Aug 05 2004
politix, queer

Our friends in the Labor

Our friends in the Labor Party have decided to jump on John Howard’s anti-gay bandwagon and the ALP will now support the government in passing the Straight Australia Act.

Background, for those of you not paying attention: previously the ALP had said it would wait until it had the report of a Senate Committee which is looking into the Bill. Said Senate Committee has been calling for public submissions, the deadline for those submissions was last Friday. In the meantime, something calling itself the National Marriage Coalition has been holding an old-time revival meeting in some tent in Canberra. In between sessions of speaking in tongues and casting out demons, our federal politicians have been falling over one another trying to grab the opportunity to promise the fundies anything they want and to categorically rule out giving queers more rights than dogs.

To say that I’m disappointed would be to create the false impression that I expected anything more from the ALP. I’ve spent my whole life being sold up the river by the Sussex Street Shit Squad, and this is just more of the same. What really makes me cranky is the fact that, come election day, my queer brothers and sisters will be lining up to man the booths, nail up the pole posters and vote “1″ for this pack of cheats. All because Mark Latham is 0.001% less subhuman than Howard. Latham will probably win (and believe me, I’d rather have Ol’ Bitch Tits than the Short Man in a heartbeat) and we’ll be thrilled to receive a crumb or two from the government table. It sucks.

The good news is that there’s a real chance that the Greens will have 8 or 9 Senators (currently: 2) after the poll and we might actually get somewhere for once.

Jul 29 2004
2 Comments
agit-prop, politix

Panopticon chic

I’m not generating a lot of words on this site lately, I know. Busy with work, not much to report. Meantime, here’s a photo:

You are on a video camera an average of 10 times a day

“You are on a video camera an average of ten times a day,” Mr Kenneth Cole thoughtfully informs us. One might wonder whether there’s a political point to be made about this level of universal surveillance, but no. If you’re going to live in George Orwell’s nightmare, you might as well have some nice clothes.

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

(Photo from Myer store window, Melbourne.)

Jul 18 2004
politix

This land

pussy

This land is my land, this land is your land…

[via Kottke]

P.S. Back from Bangkok. Happy and tired. More tomorrow.

Jun 22 2004
politix

Flying the flag

What brilliance our policy-makers are displaying!

The Prime Minister has announced he’ll give more money to schools who fly the Australian flag. Obviously it’s a cracking idea, especially for those lefty schools full of poor kids. Let’s face it, most of those kids are headed straight for the scrapheap anyway, they might as well learn to salute a piece of cloth before they start lodging their (work-for-the) dole forms.

Well, here at buggery.org we’re a wake-up to this kind of shallow vote-buying, and I’m going to go one better. Whatever the PM is offering, I’ll double it, for the school which teaches its students to burn the flag, not salute it.

Meanwhile, the Labor Party has announced it will make us pay more for prescriptions so they can fund (please, let’s not everyone say “tax cuts” at once).

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