Australian Family Party

Family Matters

Family Policy

Australian Idol

by

australian idolWhen John D. Rockefeller died in 1937, he was reputedly the richest man in the world.

At his funeral were many of his employees as well as a large contingent from the press.

Spotting Rockefeller’s chief accountant in the crowd, a young journalist from The Washington Post approached the accountant after the funeral.

“Weren’t you Mr Rockefeller’s accountant?” enquired the journalist.

“Yes, I was,” replied the accountant.

“Tell me,” whispered the journalist, “How much did he leave?”

“All of it,” whispered the accountant.

Rockefeller built Standard Oil, amassing (in today’s money) a $400bn fortune. He treated wealth as ‘life’s purpose’, crushing anyone who got in his way. In later life he admitted that his early greed was ‘demonic’.

Napoleon conquered all of Europe for political glory, crowning himself ‘Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Rhine, King of Spain and King of Holland’.

For sporting glory, Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in seven consecutive Tour de France wins.

Examples of the pursuit of beauty and body-building image are too numerous to list.

Those who seek personal glory and those who seek financial opportunity are often frequent bedfellows. As are a good many cosy relationships between businesspeople and governments.

The French have a saying, ‘Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’ – the more things change, the more they remain the same.

The Bible, for example, recounts the incidence of a riot in Ephesus in 55AD.

The Apostle Paul had been preaching the gospel, and a number of people were converted to Christianity causing a drop in trade for the local idol-makers.

“About that time there arose a great disturbance … A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is a danger that not only our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” (Acts 19:23–27)

Classic rent-seeking.

In recent times, Climate Change and its handmaiden Renewable Energy have become man-made idols and, like Rockefeller and Demitrius, anyone or anything standing in their way is crushed.

A good example of Renewable Energy being like ‘gods made by human hands which are no gods at all’, is so-called ‘green hydrogen’.

In 1975 – 50 years ago – during the 94th Congress, the US House of Representatives held the first of two investigative hearings on the subject of hydrogen – ‘its production, utilization, and potential effects on our energy economy of the future’.

The hearing was chaired by Congressman Mike McCormack, who claimed hydrogen ‘had the potential of playing the same kind of role in our energy system as electricity does today’.

In 2003 – 22 years ago – economist Jeremy Rifkin, published The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the Worldwide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth.

In that book, Rifkin claimed that ‘Globalization represents the end stage of the fossil-fuel era. Turning toward hydrogen is a promissory note for a safer world’.

Then-President George W. Bush bought into the vision. In his 2003 State of the Union Address, he said, ‘With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome the obstacles associated with taking hydrogen-fuelled automobiles from the laboratory to the showroom so that the first car driven by a child born today (2003) could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free’.

According to the US Bureau of Statistics, there were 4,089,000 children born in the United States in 2003.

Now aged 22, not one of them has bought a hydrogen-fuelled automobile.

A few months after his speech, the Bush Administration announced a collaborative effort with the European Union for ‘the development of a hydrogen economy’, including the technologies ‘needed for mass production of safe and affordable hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles’.

Hydrogen is indeed abundant, but it is not a source of energy. Like petrol or electricity, it must be manufactured. Which, in energy terms, is very expensive (it takes three units of electrical energy to produce two units of hydrogen energy). In other words, it requires a lot of electricity to make a small amount of hydrogen that is hard to handle, difficult to store, and expensive to use.

And yet, despite all that has been known for the past 30+ years, in 2019, South Australia’s politicians pumped hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money into green hydrogen schemes.

In its Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan, the Office of Hydrogen Power announced ‘500,000 tonnes of green hydrogen would be produced annually by 2030’.

It has just been shut down.

If we want a strong enough economy that can build a strong military that can defend us against looming regional threats, then our politicians need to abandon their obsession with man-made idols such as climate change and renewable energy.

Swedish Statesman Axel Oxenstierna summed up the situation this way, “Behold my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed.”

That was 1640 – nearly 400 years ago.

Plus ça change …

Shelter from the Storm

by

ShelterBob Dylan’s soulful ballad from his 1975 album Blood on the Tracks provides a helpful guide to where we finally might be heading on climate change and renewable energy.

First, let me state that ‘climate change’ is real. Taking action on climate change, however, is not.

The pain, the angst, the disruption, the cost associated with ‘taking action on climate change’ can all be summed up in two words – reducing emissions. CO2 emissions in particular – from power generation, transport and farming.

In the name of ‘reducing emissions’, Australian and international renewable energy merchants – corporate parasites who manipulate the political process to extract money from taxpayers and consumers – have leapt onto the ‘climate change’ bandwagon and have raked in billions of dollars by gaming the system, raising energy prices, impoverishing consumers, fleecing taxpayers and destroying jobs.

Phrases such as ‘subsidised renewables’ simply mean taking money from low-income people in the form of taxes, charges and higher electricity prices, and giving it to the renewable energy merchants.

They are a scourge. They tarnish the political process, distort the market and in the case of energy, distort the entire economy.

Renewable energy is probably the biggest scam the world has ever known.

Most scams target naïve investors who, when they lose their money, have only themselves to blame. The renewable energy scam, however, has been perpetrated by governments, with consumers and taxpayers the hapless victims.

The scam uses every trick in the book including fear – “the earth will become uninhabitable” –  to emotional blackmail – “think about your children’s and grandchildren’s future”. It is reprehensible.

Over the past 20 years, an entire false economy has developed fuelled by ‘Renewable Energy Targets’, ‘Emissions Trading Schemes’, ‘Emissions Reduction Funds’, ‘Renewable Energy Agencies’, ‘Climate Change Authorities’ and so on. Wind farms, solar farms, giant batteries, pumped hydro, green hydrogen, clean hydrogen, green steel, carbon capture and storage … one day this whole racket will collapse, and someone will write a book called ‘50 Years of Madness: How the World was Conned’.

How a tiny, harmless natural part of the environment has been used to spook the masses and undermine our entire way of life is going to be a question for the ages.

CO2 is not a pollutant. It is not dirty; it is not harmful.

CO2 levels in the atmosphere have indeed risen but they are not harmful to either humans or the climate. In fact, elevated levels of CO2 have increased crop yields and vegetation growth.

As Thomas Huxley, the famous biologist once said, “Many a beautiful theory was killed by an ugly fact”.

Or this from author Khaled Hosseini, “Better to be hurt with the truth than comforted with a lie”.

As for the science of climate change, it is nowhere near settled.

For every scientist who says CO2 is a problem, there’s a scientist who says it isn’t.

Friends of Science, a Canada-based non-for-profit organization comprised of more than 500 active and retired earth and atmospheric scientists, engineers, and other professionals, has written to the United Nations telling it there is no climate emergency. Here are the specific points about climate change highlighted in its letter:

  1. Natural as well as anthropogenic (man-made) factors cause warming.
  2. The warming is far slower than originally predicted.
  3. Climate policies are relying on inadequate models.
  4. CO2 is not a pollutant – it is a plant food that is essential to all life on Earth.
  5. More CO2 is actually beneficial for nature; it greens the Earth and is good for agriculture.
  6. Global warming has not increased the incidence or the severity of natural disasters.
  7. Climate policies must respect scientific and economic realities.
  8. There is no climate emergency; therefore, there is no cause for panic.

Clearly, there is not a man-made climate crisis, yet we are being forced to pay ridiculously high prices for electricity even though we know that high power prices kill people, particularly older people.

Even if emissions were a problem, which they are not, attempting to reduce them comes at a huge cost for absolutely no benefit.

China, India, Russia, the United States and all the developing world are not reducing their emissions.

Around the world, hundreds of new coal-fired power stations are under construction.

The world is not walking away from coal. Or gas.

Yet, here in Australia, we have both major parties calling for net zero emissions.

Australia is not going to stop exporting coal and gas to feed power stations in other countries, but somehow burning coal and gas in those countries is different from burning them here. Go figure.

In any event, if renewable energy is as cheap and as reliable as has been claimed, then why does it need legislation and subsidies to prop it up?

In summary, the only rational approach to climate change is to do what mankind has always done – adapt.

If human beings can adapt and live comfortably in cities such as Helsinki, Finland with temperatures of minus 5 degrees or in Phoenix, Arizona in the United States with temperatures of plus 35 degrees – a 40-degree difference – then we can certainly adapt if temperatures do in fact increase by 1 or 2 degrees. As for melting ice caps, temperatures in the Arctic and Antarctic average minus 40 degrees. A 1- or 2-degree change is not a crisis.

If we wish to have a strong enough economy that can build a strong enough military to be able to defend ourselves against looming regional threats, then we are going to need to abandon this obsession with useless forms of energy generation, such as wind and solar.

The Australian Family Party hereby calls for the abandonment of ‘Net Zero’ and the repeal of all climate change and renewable energy legislation.

A Few Good Men

by

few-good-menIn that classic scene from the movie A Few Good Men, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise is defending two Marines accused of murdering a fellow Marine based at Guantanamo Bay.

Kaffee believes the Marines were following a ‘Code Red’ – an illegal order for extrajudicial punishment – issued by Colonel Nathan Jessep, the base commander, played by Jack Nicholson.

Kaffee gets under the skin of Jessep who is a formidable, authoritative figure who sees himself as above reproach.

During a tense exchange, Kaffee asks Colonel Jessep, “Did you order a Code Red?”

The Court Martial Judge quickly interjects with, “You don’t have to answer that question.”

Jessep arrogantly responds, “I’ll answer his question”.

“You want answers?” Jessep sneers.

“I think I’m entitled”, replies Kaffee.

“You want answers?” Jessep shouts.

“I want the truth!” Kaffee shouts back.

Jessep then blurts out his famous line, “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

Kaffee once again demands to know, “DID YOU ORDER A CODE RED!”

Jessep erupts with, “Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.

“Who’s gonna do that? You?

“I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom … and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.

“You don’t want the truth because deep down you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.

“We use words like honour, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something.

“You use them as a punchline.

“I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.

“I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post”.

When this movie was released in 1992, Tom Cruise’s character Daniel Kaffee was, as you’d expect, the good guy, and Jack Nicholson, the baddie.

But the Utopian post-World War II, post-Soviet Union, ‘End of History’ world that gave rise to movies like A Few Good Men didn’t last.

The world never was, nor is it now, how we’d like or wish it to be. The cruel truth is that our desire for a just, kind, or ideal world inevitably clashes with the harsh, indifferent, and unpredictable nature of reality.

In 2022, in a military news outlet called Task & Purpose, retired US Marine 3-star General Gregory Newbold expounded on this theme in an attempt to remind the civilian population of what the military is and what it does.

“Many citizens – especially our most senior politicians and military leaders – seem to have developed a form of dementia when it comes to warfare. The result is confusion or denial about the essential ingredients of a competent military force. The condition is exacerbated and enabled when the most senior military leaders who ought to know better defer to the idealistic judgements of those whose credentials are either non-existent or formed entirely by ideology.

Newbold is referring to the Lt Kaffees of the world.

He continues: “The military has two main purposes – to deter our enemies from engaging us in warfare and if that fails, to defeat them in combat. Deterrence is only possible if the opposing force believes it will be defeated. Respect is not good enough; fear and certainty are required.

“The military cannot be a mirror-image of the society it serves. Values that are admirable in civilian society – sensitivity, individuality, compassion, tolerance for the less-capable – are often antithetical to the traits that deter a potential enemy and win wars that must be fought.

“There is only one over-riding standard for military capability – lethality – the ability to kill. And the officeholders who dilute this core truth with civil society’s often appropriate priorities undermine the military’s chances of success. Reduced chances of success mean more casualties which makes defeat more likely.

“Wars must be waged only with stone-cold pragmatism, not idealism. War is a means to an end, and the end is defeat of the enemy and the establishment of a peace, but not just any peace but a peace in your favour.

In an ominous warning of troubling times ahead, The Australian’s Paul Kelly reported recently:

“This week the dictators came together in Beijing – Xi Jinping, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – in a display of authoritarian power rarely matched since World War II.

“The vast military display featured nuclear-capable missiles, undersea vehicles, the latest drones, fighter jets, anti-ship missiles and long-range bombers reinforced by thousands of troops goose-stepping in almost perfect co-ordination.

“China intends to dominate in industrial, military and ideological domains.

“Xi’s message is that China’s military dominance of the Asian region will be irresistible.

“The world has just witnessed the most powerful symbolic display of China’s military aspirations with their intimidating logic for Australia.

“And what did our government have to say?

“Nothing – or nothing of any note.

“We cannot even find the language to address the events transforming the world that pose the most serious challenge for our country and people.”

I have never been anti-China.

Bob-Day-Xi-AbbottAs reported in my previous comments on China in Beijing to Damascus – A Road to Peace, China has a fascinating Judeo-Christian history.

I have also met Xi Jinping, albeit briefly, in 2014. We talked about housing and how Chinese investors viewed Australia’s property market very favourably.

But a lot that has happened since then disturbs me greatly.

We need options. Our total reliance on the United States is untenable. Its growing internal divisions could seriously impact its external commitments.

One alternative defence bloc could be a Japan–South Korea–Philippines alliance; however, these are all conventional military powers. They would be no match for a nuclear superpower such as China.

India is a friend and is a rising geo-political player. It is also a nuclear power.

But India looks after India, and being an avowed Hindu country, is also culturally very different from Australia.

As Kelly reports, in Beijing, leaders from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea met and did not hide their contempt for the West.

Which brings us once again to Israel.

Israel is currently fighting a war defending Western Civilization.

It is a military superpower.

We should develop a closer relationship.

The Israel-Gaza conflict will soon be over, but China’s military expansion will not.

Can we handle the truth?

Standing on the Promises

by

South-Australia-electionAt the Australian Family Party, we have always believed in building a stronger nation — through Defence, Economy, and Family.

What we do:
We stand to protect our nation, rebuild our economy, and support families as the foundation of a strong society.

How we do it:
We advocate for stronger defence and alliances, policies that promote growth through business and innovation, and values that protect and support families — honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Why it matters:
Because the Australia we know, love, and respect is worth safeguarding — for our children and grandchildren. In an uncertain world, we must unite, stand strong, and make sure our voices are heard.

Our last newsletter The Promised Land was very well received, and the momentum is building.

According to Roy Morgan, 17 per cent of Australians believe that the government should do more to support Israel.

A political party in South Australia needs just 4 per cent of the vote to be elected to the Upper House — and once in parliament, we will have the platform to make our case for stronger ties with Israel, and a stronger future for Australia.

To do this, we need good people — specifically, 50 candidates: 47 in the Lower House and 3 in the Upper House.

Being a candidate is not difficult — in fact, it is a great experience. There are no costs involved, and you can contribute as much or as little as you are able.

If standing yourself isn’t possible, perhaps you can encourage a young person who might be considering a political future. Mentorship is vital — without it, we risk leaving the future to career politicians with no conviction.

The good news is, Australians are ready for change. As The Australian recently reported, “Support for minor parties and independents has reached its highest level in at least four years.” The time is right.

Will you stand with us?
If you’re interested in becoming a candidate — or in supporting someone who might be — please get in touch today. Together, we can make sure that Australia remains safe, prosperous, and proud.

If you are interested in becoming a candidate, please contact us here (and choose ‘Federal Director’ as the recipient).

Thank you for your support.

The Promised Land

by

australia-israelA number of years ago, my wife and I visited Israel. We had hired a car and had been driving for a number of hours in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon then through the Golan Heights stopping at a number of Druze villages along the way.

As it was getting late in the afternoon, we thought we’d seek accommodation at the next town which was called Safed (or Zfat in Hebrew).

As we entered this small town, an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquillity came over us and we both commented on what a nice feel the place had.

‘Let’s stop here for a day,’ we said.

We checked a few places along the main road but there was no accommodation anywhere.

We then pulled into a place called The Rimon Inn but alas, it too was fully booked.

We were in Israel, we’d been travelling all day, my wife happened to be pregnant at the time, and there was no room at the inn. It wasn’t Bethlehem and she wasn’t due yet, but something was starting to sound familiar …

Getting desperate, I pleaded with the young lady at the desk saying, ‘We’re really tired, my wife is pregnant, do you have anything at all?’

Feeling a bit sorry for us, she said ‘Well there is an old stone building out the back’.

Smiling, I said ‘It isn’t a stable, is it?’

Understandably, she didn’t get the joke, so I simply said, ‘That will be just fine, thank you’.

And it was, as was the town itself. A delightful village built on the side of a hill. Steps everywhere.

We found out later that Zfat was where the ancient Hebrew prophets gathered. It was the ‘closest place on earth to God’ they said.

In the 77 years since Israel’s independence, the Jewish people have created a State that has become a global technological and entrepreneurial powerhouse.

With a population of barely more than 9 million – by comparison, its neighbour Egypt has 115 million, Iran has 90 million, Iraq 45 million and Saudi Arabia 33 million – Israel has become the Middle East’s superpower.

How did that happen?

First, immediately after leaving high school, all Israelis take part in compulsory military service.

After military service, they take their experiences with them into the private sector – first with their university studies, and then into business. Many highly successful start-up companies in Israel are founded by those who served together in the military. Brilliant.

Warren Buffett, one of the world’s biggest investors, has only ever invested in one country outside of the United States, and that is Israel. When announcing that his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, had paid $2 billion for a 20 per cent stake in Israeli toolmaker Iscar, Buffet said, “Israel reminds me of the United States after its birth. The determination, motivation, intelligence and initiative of its people are extraordinary.”

All of this has been achieved with no natural resources and being surrounded by hostile countries openly committed to wiping it off the map!

Compare that with Australia which has a population of 27 million, bountiful resources and the natural defences of an island continent.

The Australian’s Greg Sheridan says, ‘Australia is a nation in decline. Across every indicator you can imagine – economy, living standards, social cohesion, crime, health, military capability, the creativity and virtuosity of the arts – we’re in serious decline.’

In comparing the two countries, three key factors stand out – defence, the economy and family formation.

On DEFENCE, Australia spends 2 per cent of its GDP, Israel 9 per cent.

On the ECONOMY, Australia forecasts 1.7 per cent growth for 2025, rising to 2.2 per cent in 2026. Israel projects 3.4 per cent growth in 2025, rising to 5.5 per cent.

On FAMILY formation, Australia’s birth rate is 1.5 compared to Israel’s 2.9.

First, defence. It is a given that the first duty of any government must be the defence of the nation.

As has been widely admitted, Australia is currently defenceless. We rely totally on the United States.

And yet Australia has three times Israel’s population, 400 times its landmass and a GDP ($1,800 billion) three times the size of Israel’s ($600 billion).

Resource-hungry China, with its regional aggression and military build-up – particularly its naval force which is now the largest in the world – should send an ominous warning to resource-rich countries like Australia.

As mentioned previously, Israel is its region’s superpower. It knows what it needs and is confident in its ability to meet any challenge – with or without outside help – in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in the world.

Or compare the Middle East to the Far East.

Israel is half the size of Taiwan and has less than half its population but if it was Israel that was located off the coast of China does anyone think for one moment that China would threaten it?

A former chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee reported that the volume of intelligence that the U.S. receives from Israel is greater than that which it receives from all NATO countries combined.

General George Keegan, the former head of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, said “If we had to gather the intelligence ourselves that Israel gives us, we would have to establish five CIAs!”

Israel’s success lies not in what is beneath the ground but in what is between the ears – and within its heart.

Former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke once said that Israel was ‘… an inspiration, a small, lone democracy in the Middle East’.

Its birth rate, which is double that of Australia, signals a strong belief in its future – and in its past.

The late Jonathan Sacks said, “To defend a country you need an army. But to defend a free society you need families, schools and an educational system in which ideals are passed on from one generation to the next, and never lost, or despaired of, or obscured.”

Israel defends its culture and its way of life.

Having said all that, and notwithstanding these stark contrasts, Australia and Israel have a lot in common, harking back more than a hundred years.

October 31st, 1917, for example, was a pivotal moment in the Middle East Campaign of World War I, where the Australian Light Horse Brigade captured the heavily fortified Ottoman stronghold of Beersheba.

The capture of Beersheba sounded the death knell for the Ottoman Empire’s 400-year occupation of Jerusalem and surrounding territory.

As a result, Beersheba formed a significant historical link between Australia and Israel.

Israel is currently fighting a war defending Western Civilization – which Australia is very much a part of – against an enemy that wants to destroy our civilization.

As always, and against all odds, Israel will win.

As discussed in previous posts here, here and here, Australia – and South Australia in particular, given its similar climate and topography to Israel – would benefit enormously from a much closer relationship with Israel.

South Australia is currently experiencing an ecological disaster caused by a massive outbreak of toxic algae, and neither the State nor the Federal Government seems to have a clue what to do about it.

Israel currently operates five desalination plants along the same length of coastline as the Adelaide side of Gulf St Vincent. Its marine biologists are the smartest in the world. They would have had this problem solved long ago.

But there’s something even more we have in common.

Australia’s Constitution begins with the phrase ‘Humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God’ – yes, that’s the God of Israel.

Once again, it is good to be reminded of what Judeo-Christian values have brought to the world – the establishment of schools, universities, hospitals, aged care organisations and welfare agencies. The elevation of women, as well as the abolition of slavery, cannibalism, child sacrifice and widow burning.

It’s been said that one has to go through the wilderness to get to the promised land.

Australia has problems it urgently needs to solve and goals it needs to achieve.

We have spent long enough in the wilderness. It is time to enter the promised land.

On defence, the economy and the family, I stand with Israel.

If you would like to join me and thousands of other like-minded Australians, please JOIN us.

Thank you.

 

 

On Wings of Eagles

by

abortionIn a recent Liberty Itch article on abortion, the clinching argument was that being pro-choice regarding the Covid vaccine made the pro-life position on abortion hypocritical. I disagree.

Although prioritising individual liberty, libertarians also recognise that there is a role for government in protecting individual rights and property. Abortion, which has impacts on the mother, father and unborn child, therefore falls well within the ambit of libertarian discussion.

The matter of vaccination is a largely personal one – doubly so when the vaccine has not undergone normal medical trials to establish safety and efficacy.

Governments chose to indemnify drug companies from any negative outcomes as a result of the use of their Covid vaccines, a move that was as irresponsible as it was outrageous. These decisions further strengthen the argument for personal choice and autonomy.

On the matter of abortion, women indeed have a choice. They can choose to abstain from sex, thus avoiding any pregnancy. Alternatively, they can use contraceptive measures to significantly reduce the likelihood of pregnancy. The argument that a woman’s right to kill her unborn child is ‘empowering’ equates to the use of abortion as a convenient post-conception contraceptive.

The utilitarian argument, using abortion to reduce poverty and suffering, is also unconvincing – summarised neatly in the statement that a woman “should have the right to remove it, just as someone has the right to remove a guest from their property”.

As any property owner knows, removing a squatter or tenant who refuses to pay rent is far from simple, as the law is at pains to protect those who may be vulnerable. Further, any owner who evicted a squatter, tenant or guest while knowing that eviction would lead to their immediate death would surely risk being charged with manslaughter, if not murder.

If the utilitarian position is a reasonable one, then throwing an unwanted pet out of a car in a snowstorm is also perfectly acceptable.

Unsurprisingly, and very fortunately, making anything a crime does attract government coercion. I may not agree with the law, but I do expect the government to enforce any law it passes. On the other hand, as we know all too well, banning something does not mean it does not occur.

The argument that “It is wrong to violate the bodily autonomy of one person to keep another alive” acknowledges that the unborn child is a person. The pro-choice position then seeks to justify the unborn child’s murder on the basis that it violated the ‘individual rights’ of the mother, whose rights outrank the unborn child’s life.

If we are to accept that the ‘rights’ of one individual trump the ‘rights’ or, more importantly, the life of another, then this suggests that a hierarchy of individuals can be established for all individuals in our society. It also means an unborn foetus has the same right to life as the woman in which it is located.

By the same logic, should we kill recidivists to supply life-saving organs to more worthy persons?

Pregnant women can, of course, avoid the impact and responsibility of raising a child by placing the baby up for adoption.

The pro-choice argument for bodily autonomy once the woman has become pregnant also doesn’t hold water.

Imagine a pilot who decides halfway through a flight that they no longer wish to be a pilot, or a surgeon who decides halfway through surgery that they no longer wish to operate.

As a society, we expect people charged with responsibilities to discharge those responsibilities with all due care. A pilot or surgeon is at liberty not to commence a flight or operation, and to cease performing those functions when it is safe to do so. In a similar vein, a pregnant woman is responsible for the safe care of her unborn child and should be obliged to fulfil those responsibilities until that child can be safely delivered to the care of others.

We can all agree that men and women should be able to choose whether or not to have a child, or whether or not to keep a child after birth. What I cannot agree with is ending a child’s life simply because it is convenient for the mother and/or father. Even if the child is conceived as a result of rape or incest, or due to contraceptive failure, convenience is not a sufficient reason.

In South Australia last year, a bill was introduced into the parliament requiring that women who choose to terminate a pregnancy after 28 weeks induce the child alive, not stillborn. After 28 weeks, with proper care, babies are viable outside the womb.

The bill did not prevent women from terminating their pregnancies, it only insisted that the baby be born alive, not euthanized and be born dead.

Presumably, as the woman was planning to abort the child, giving the child to a loving couple to adopt would not be opposed. This would have given rise to a significant number of new adoptions.

The bill was defeated 10 votes to 9 in South Australia’s Upper House.

As a woman’s ‘right to choose’ a termination was not being compromised, why anyone would oppose saving the life of the child when it was going to be aborted anyway is beyond me.

Our laws are distinctly uneven when it comes to the issue of abortion.

On the one hand, they allow mothers to decide the fate of the child without the father’s input. On the other, if the mother decides to continue with the pregnancy, despite the father wanting an abortion, then the father remains responsible for the provision of child support.

In this regard, the silence from pro-choice feminists is deafening.

Personally, I would argue that the entire pro-choice abortion argument is a hypocritical house of cards.

For example, in 2009, a bill called ‘Zoe’s Law’ was introduced into the NSW Parliament that aimed to recognize the death of an unborn child as a separate offence – particularly in cases where the loss of the foetus was caused by a criminal act against the mother.

Named after Zoe Donegan, an unborn child who died in 2009 after her mother, Brodie Donegan, was injured in a car accident caused by a reckless driver, the case sparked debate about whether the legal system adequately addressed the loss of an unborn child in such circumstances.

The bill was eventually watered down and became the ‘Crimes Legislation Amendment (Loss of Foetus) Act 2021’ and is now the operative law in New South Wales for addressing the loss of an unborn child due to criminal acts.

Finally, our society prosecutes people for damaging the eggs of endangered eagles or nesting sites while celebrating human abortions, all while human birth rates continue to fall below replacement rates.

Thank you for your support.

 

Noughts and Crosses

by

CrossFrançois-Marie Voltaire, the world’s most famous atheist, once proclaimed that although he didn’t believe in God, he employed devout Christians to be his accountant, his cook and his barber because, he said, ‘I don’t want to be robbed, poisoned or have my throat slit!’

Voltaire’s credo is a variation of the admission by another famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, who has taken of late to describe himself as a ‘cultural Christian’. He feels ‘at home’, he says, in the Christian ethos, going on to say that substituting Christianity with anything else ‘would be truly dreadful’.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of Christianity’s great contributions to the world.

Most of the world’s languages for example were put into writing by Christian missionaries.  More schools and universities were started by Christians than by any other group. Motivated by a sense of concern for others, Christians established hospitals, aged care organisations and welfare agencies.

The elevation of women was a Christian achievement, as was the abolition of slavery, cannibalism, child sacrifice and widow burning. Before Christianity came along, almost every civilisation and culture practised slavery or human sacrifice.

Countries which today enjoy the greatest civil liberties are generally those places where the Christian gospel has penetrated the most.

There is a Chinese proverb, “The tears of strangers are only water”. When there is famine or genocide in Africa, for example, Christianity says, “Those people are human like us, we need to help them”. Other cultures say, “Yes, it’s a problem but it’s not our problem”.

The ‘equality of human beings’ is a Christian idea which led to the abolition of slavery and international human rights. US Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said, “That all men are created equal is self-evident”. Most cultures throughout history however, reject this. ‘Inequality’ is what is self-evident they say – height, weight, strength, intelligence, truthfulness, talent etc. What Jefferson was referring to of course was ‘moral equality’. Each life is as valuable as any other.

Closer to home, the Reverend John Flynn founded the Flying Doctor Service and the Australian Inland Mission. His Presbyterian Ministers were known as ‘the boundary riders of the bush’ and were responsible for establishing communication through the inland pedal wireless.  Early colonial Governors Macquarie, Hunter and Brisbane were committed Christians. Governor Macquarie personally promoted the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Sunday School Movement. And Australia’s Constitution begins with the phrase, “…. humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God ….”

Which brings me to a disturbing but symptomatic example of attempts to remove Christianity from the public square – in this case, quite literally.

For more than 30 years, a small church in the Adelaide Hills village of Houghton, has erected three crosses at Easter time. The crosses are simple but strong structures which have steel ‘cleats’ attached to them to enable the crosses to drop into pipe sleeves in the ground. After Easter, the crosses are removed, the pipe sleeves capped, and a small amount of dirt and grass placed over the caps awaiting re-discovery the following year.

Easter

For reasons known only to local government bureaucrats, but obscure to common sense, the local council this year saw fit to remove the crosses shortly after they were installed.

The improbable reasons given for removing the crosses were that the Council had been ‘inundated with complaints’, that ‘no permit had been issued’, and ‘there were public safety concerns’. As one resident put it, ‘Safety concerns? What were they concerned about? That they’d go out there one morning and find someone had been nailed to one of the crosses and they would get the blame?’

EasterNot only had the crosses been removed, but a ‘Parking Infringement Notice’ had been attached to one of them together with a card inviting the reader to contact the Council for further information. This I subsequently did, only to be threatened with ‘another fine’ if the church didn’t immediately repair the slight depression in the ground where the crosses once stood!

One is always loath to attribute to malice what can be better explained by over-zealous bureaucracy, hence a post on Facebook and subsequent local backlash over the Council’s actions did result in an immediate offer by the Council to reinstate the crosses.

Regrettably, the industrious Council inspector had not only removed the crosses, but for some inexplicable reason had also dug out the in-ground sleeves which made it a major task to re-assemble the display.

As for the alleged ‘inundation’ of complaints – none having ever been recorded over the previous 34 years – the Houghton Church and its local residents enjoy a relationship going back 150 years. A local calendar features the following description of Houghton Church:

‘In August 2025, the Houghton Uniting Church will celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the laying of its foundation stone. Throughout that time – including through two World Wars and other cataclysmic events – Houghton Church and its members have been a source of comfort and care when needed. It has also been an important connection point for community events including its annual Christmas Carols on the Green and Pancake Tuesday events, as well as being an active participant in Remembrance Day and Anzac Day services. And of course, Weddings, Christenings and Funerals held at the church provide a service to the community during life’s ever-present milestones.’

These Councils need to be reminded of the old saying, ‘Be careful what you wish for’.

Banning Christianity from the public square is one thing, but trying to ban it from the local village square takes it to a place where even angels fear to tread …!

Thank you for your support.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

by

rock-paper-scissorsLord Byron, in his moving poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, offers the following reflection on life:

I seek no sympathies, nor needs,
The thorns which I have reaped are of the tree I planted,
They have torn me, and I bleed
I should have known what fruit would spring from such a seed.

If there’s one immutable lesson we learn from life, it is ‘we reap what we sow’.

From the micro to the macro, from the personal to the national, we know that actions have consequences.

In the natural world of physics, Isaac Newton formulated the laws of motion – his third law being that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – meaning that if one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force back on the first.

We can all relate to this.

In the political world, it is said, ‘No good turn goes unpunished’ or ‘Why is he attacking me? I never did him any favours!’

My father used to say, ‘Beware of beginnings’. Once you start something, it is difficult to end it.

You may not even be thanked for beginning it, only criticized for ending it.

Which must be how America and Donald Trump are feeling right now.

For 80 years, America has patrolled the world’s shipping lanes, keeping trade functioning.

It has, at its own expense, been the world’s policeman and the principal source of funding for all manner of aid and humanitarian relief.

So, when a new President wants to clean up the ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ in the system and start forcing wealthy countries to pay more towards their own defences, instead of the world thanking them for 80 years of benevolence, it cops nothing but abuse.

Surely it is time the rest of the world acknowledged that it should not be left to one country to solve all the world’s problems.

After all, a strong America – militarily and financially – is undoubtedly a good thing for the world.

Even more so considering the rise of China.

In another case of reaping what has been sown, it has long been an accepted understanding in liberal democracies that there be a balance between a State’s three heads of power – the Legislature (congress/parliament), the Executive (President/Prime Minister/Cabinet Ministers) and the Judiciary (judges/courts).

It is the ‘rock – paper – scissors’ of how democratic societies govern themselves.

As we learn from the childhood game, ‘the rock blunts the scissors, the scissors cuts the paper, and the paper wraps the rock’.

If, however, one of the branches becomes too powerful and no other branch can control it, the system collapses.

Witness the dangerous overreach by some of the world’s judiciaries in taking on the role of opposition to popularly elected governments.

While we understand why those accustomed to having power do not like relinquishing that power – access to taxpayers’ money to fund their political infrastructure being the primary reason – engaging in relentless legal warfare such as that waged against Donald Trump invariably backfires.

And what French President Emmanuel Macron’s left-wing Renaissance party could not achieve at the ballot box, has been taken up on its behalf by the courts to convict the leading contender in the next election, Marine Le Pen, banning her from contesting the election!

Similar legal shenanigans have been occurring in Brazil, Romania and Israel, with unelected judges going out of their way to thwart the will of the people.

Canadian author Mark Steyn makes an ominous prediction:

‘We will soon no longer be able to vote ourselves out of this’.

In other words, no matter how people vote, the ruling class will not accept it.

The upshot will undoubtedly be the deterioration of national cohesion and the undermining of confidence in a country’s institutions.

We reap what we sow.

In one final observation, health has always been one of those ‘actions have consequences’ domains.

The term ‘fat cats’, for example, was once used to describe rich people. Poor people were undernourished and thin.

Today, it is often the case that the poor are obese, and the rich are thin!

Why is that?

Why has obesity more than doubled over recent years when governments spend more on health than ever before – and promise to spend even more at every election?

The same goes for education.

In 2013 the federal government spent $12bn on schools.

It is now $30bn, yet all the objective tests show school results going backwards.

The Australian’s Greg Sheridan says, ‘Whatever the problem was, it wasn’t money’.

But perhaps it was.

Too much of it, that is.

We reap what we sow.

Thank you for your support.

The Eyes Have It

by

WesleyThey say to be a successful traveller, you need a good sense of humour – and no sense of smell!

And for those who know anything about travelling around Europe – and know anything about Europeans in particular – they would understand the observation that heaven is not ‘up there’ and hell not ‘down there’, but rather that these places can be found in Europe.

‘Heaven’, they say, is where the Swiss are the administrators, the French are the cooks, the Germans are the mechanics, the Italians are the lovers, and the English are the policemen.

‘Hell’, on the other hand, is where the Italians are the administrators, the French are the mechanics, the Swiss are the lovers, the English are the cooks, and the Germans are the policemen!

Vive la différence!

Speaking of Europe, it was Oxford professor John Littlewood, who first published his theory on why he believed road accidents in Europe were substantially higher than those in Britain.

Littlewood suggested that it was all connected to the observation that a significant majority of people – seventy per cent in fact – have what he calls a ‘master right eye’.

In countries such as Britain that drive on the left, that first split-second view of approaching, overtaking or sudden change in traffic will be seen by the majority of drivers with their master right eye.

In countries that drive on the right, however, that split-second picture of traffic conditions is first seen by the left eye, which is the master eye in only thirty per cent of people.

Littlewood says that the same comparisons can be made with other countries which drive on the left – Japan, Australia, New Zealand – and comparable countries which drive on the right – the United States and Canada.

Littlewood says that the ancient Romans intuitively understood this and as a result drove on the left.

Driving on the right, he says, is Napoleonic – the result of the French Revolution – and like so many other things that derived from that great convulsion, they can be fatal.

On that score, much has been written about why England did not suffer the same catastrophic consequences that befell France in the late 1700s, when social conditions – Charles Dickens and all that – were very similar.

Why was there no English version of the French Revolution?

London and Paris – A Tale of Two Cities?

Many contend that it was the influence of the evangelist John Wesley (1703 – 1791), who was the principal leader of the revival movement known as Methodism.

For more than 50 years, Wesley travelled the length and breadth of England preaching the gospel and exhorting people to ‘… love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself’.

John Wesley did the preaching, and his brother Charles Wesley wrote the hymns:

‘O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing’ … ‘And Can It Be That I Should Gain’ …. and hundreds more beside.

Others, however, put the difference between the two countries down to that other great English religion – cricket!

Cricket?

Yes, cricket.

It’s been said that ‘If you understand cricket, you understand life’.

By the late 1700s cricket had become a well-established sport throughout England with villagers – rich and poor alike – playing on the many village greens across the land.

The rich and the poor knew each other!

In France, the rich lived in Versailles, the poor lived in Paris.

They didn’t know each other.

It’s a lot harder to execute someone you go to church with, sing hymns with, and play cricket with!

In France, there were no such inhibitions. The banality of evil ….

We don’t know whether John Wesley played cricket during his travels, but it would be a fair bet that he did.

In the English-style village in which I live in the Adelaide Hills – Houghton – this year marks the 150-year anniversary of the laying of the village church’s foundation stone. Throughout that time – including through two World Wars, the Great Depression, devastating bush fires and other cataclysmic events – Houghton Church and its members have been a source of comfort and care to the local residents. It has also been an important connection point for community events including its annual Christmas Carols on the Green and Pancake Tuesday, as well as being an active participant in Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services. And of course, weddings, Christenings and funerals held at the church provide a service to the community during life’s ever-present milestones.

Houghton Village once had a hotel called the Travellers Rest. It is no longer there, but the ground on which it once stood now forms part of the Village Green where community events take place and many a traveller stops and rests.

In the words of another great hymn:

‘His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me …’

The eyes have it.

Thank you for your support.

Christmas 2024

by

Christmas-2024It’s been said, ‘Our lives are not examined for medals, diplomas or degrees, but for battle scars’.

In our Newsletters this year we have covered subjects from nuclear power to the nuclear family; from Sherlock Holmes to the Sex Pistols; from the Palestinians to the Pearly Gates; from A.I. to Adoption; from Machiavelli to the Monkey’s Paw; from universities to euthanasia – and a whole lot more in between!

We’ve also discussed our Judeo/Christian heritage – Judaism focusing on what a person does, Christianity focusing on what a person believes. Or as one wag described the difference, ‘Jesus saves, but Moses invests!’

Which brings us to the turmoil in the Middle East.

Although not impacting upon Australia directly, the conflict has unexpectedly flushed out the proverbial sheep from the goats. And by goats, we mean those who are hostile to our only Western ally in the region, Israel.

Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong will be forever condemned for their betrayal of not only a strategic military ally, and a country that is our cultural and spiritual kin, but also for their betrayal of the entire Jewish community in Australia.

Israel will, of course, as it always does, emerge even stronger as a result of this attack on its people.

Israel is about to become the region’s superpower.

Decades of trying to be a good neighbour to those who wish to destroy it are over.

A new Israel-dominated Middle East, supported by the United States, will emerge.

Those Arab states that have embraced modernity – Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and others – will thrive and prosper.

Those that have not will become irrelevant.

The re-election of Donald Trump this year will change the world – from the Middle East to Europe to South-East Asia.

On the domestic front, we have covered two by-elections in South Australia – Dunstan and Black – caused by the resignations of two consecutive Liberal leaders in Steven Marshall and David Speirs.

In the Dunstan by-election, Labor candidate Cressida O’Hanlon defeated Liberal candidate Anna Finizio by just 360 votes. There was essentially no difference between Labor’s result and the Liberals’ result between the 2022 General Election and the 2024 by-election. Each dropped 3 per cent to the Greens who increased their vote by 6 per cent – from 13 per cent to 19 per cent.

Our candidate, Dr Nicole Hussey, held her own admirably amongst the field of five extremely capable women. Nicole’s speech at the Declaration of the Poll was particularly well-received.

The Black by-election was a different story entirely.

As previously reported, the much more conservative seat of Black switched quite spectacularly from the Liberal Party to Labor with a massive 13 per cent swing.

And while all the media attention was focused on the major parties, the Australian Family Party secured a very encouraging 5 per cent of the primary vote.

Our candidate, Jonathan Parkin, together with family, friends, Party members, and our new DLP partners, worked tirelessly during the by-election and the results speak for themselves.

As well as achieving a 5 per cent primary vote, we manned all the polling booths and covered all our expenses. Replicated State-wide, 5 per cent would be more than enough to secure a SA Upper House seat and be well on the way towards a Senate seat!

So, with so many highs and lows this year, how should we end the year?

I love the story of the Spanish patriot leader Navarez who, on his deathbed, was asked by the priest if he had forgiven his enemies.  “I don’t have any enemies”, said Navarez, “I shot them all.”

And Voltaire, who was asked on his deathbed if he wished to renounce the devil. To which Voltaire replied, “Now, now my good man, this is no time to be making enemies”.

They say that everything rises and falls on leadership. It is the greatest need in the world today.

Former Western Australian MP John Hyde used to say, “Any lightweight can lead kids into a lolly shop, but it takes real leadership to lead them out.”

Australia is very poorly led at the moment.

It is often observed in business that some people don’t have 20 years’ experience as they claim, but rather, have one year’s experience repeated 20 times.

Anthony Albanese has been in parliament for nearly 30 years and yet still acts like an immature university activist. One year’s experience repeated 30 times.

Former Labor leader Bob Hawke was a strong leader who appointed competent people to run the nation’s key portfolios – Peter Walsh as Finance Minister, John Button as Industry Minister, Bill Hayden as Foreign Minister and others.

Likewise, John Howard, who appointed people of the calibre of Peter Costello, Nick Minchin, John Anderson and Peter Reith.

Compare those Ministers with the likes of Chris Bowen, Jim Chalmers and Penny Wong!

That is not good for Australia.

All this and more lie ahead in 2025.

So, what about 2025?

I would like to keep churning out these Newsletters, as I think the topics we discuss are extremely important and very few are covering them.

In response, I trust you have enjoyed receiving them as much as I have enjoyed writing them – all of which are sent out and will continue to be sent out – free of charge. This enables anyone and everyone to access them and stay informed.

If, however, you are in a position to support this important mission, please click here.

As Christmas Day approaches, I will leave you with this wonderful insight from Max Lucado:

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been finance, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so He sent us a Saviour.

To all our members and supporters, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and thank you again for your support throughout 2024.