A debate about sexism erupted when female prime minister Julia Gillard attacked the opposition leader in Australian parliament for his misogynist attitudes.
Julia Gillard
The Guardian鈥檚 description of Australia鈥檚 opposition leader Tony Abbott as 鈥渘eanderthal鈥 is not unreasonable. Misogyny is an Australian blight and a craven reality in political life. But for so many commentators around the world to describe Julia Gillard鈥檚 attack on Abbott as a 鈥渢urning point for Australian women鈥 is absurd.
PM Julia Gillard's sharp serve against opposition leader Tony Abbott鈥檚 sexism gave many, especially women, long overdue cause to fist-pump the air and think, 鈥淔inally, a point for us.鈥
I constantly scan the internet for breaking news, but I first found out that Prime Minister Julia Gillard's speech mercilessly lambasting opposition leader Tony Abbott for being a misogynist was going viral from my 16-year-old daughter.
She temporarily disconnected from the multiple social media she inhabits to call out to me: 鈥淒ad, have you seen that AWESOME Julia Gillard speech? EVERYBODY is talking about it!鈥
An hour later it was in the news headlines: PM's speech goes viral.
Special guests Bashana Abeywardane from Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Karl Hand from Community Action Against Homophobia, plus Carlo Sands takes on Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer!
Prime Minister Julia Gillard鈥檚 鈥渆xpert panel鈥 on refugee policy will hand over its findings on how to 鈥渟top the boats鈥 and end the parliamentary 鈥渄eadlock鈥 over offshore processing when parliament begins sitting again next week.
After an asylum boat tragedy that killed 90 people in June, the three-member panel, headed by former defence chief Angus Houston, on the 鈥渂est way forward for Australia to prevent asylum seekers risking their lives鈥 considering 鈥淎ustralia鈥檚 right to maintain its borders鈥.
The obvious question posed by Labor's recent attacks on the Greens for being dangerous extremists is: who the hell keeps asking Paul Howes for his opinion?
The antics of Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer have served as a useful foil for Labor. They're like caricature capitalists lifted from a comic book.
Attacking them has given Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan the opportunity to make up for their earlier capitulation on the Rudd mining tax with a bit of populist rhetoric, while letting BHP and Rio Tinto just get on with it.
Labor and Coalition MPs have shed thousands of crocodile tears claiming that Australia needed to 鈥渟top the boats鈥 to 鈥渟ave lives鈥 by making offshore processing of asylum seekers government policy.
Labor backed a private members bill put by independent MP Rob Oakeshott that would allow Australia to expel refugees to any country that was part of the Bali Process, including Malaysia.
Socialist Alliance National co-convener Peter Boyle spoke alongside NSW Greens MLC John Kaye at the opening session of 91自拍论坛 Weekly鈥檚 Climate Change Social Change conference in Parramatta on June 30. His speech is below.
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I want to dedicate this little presentation to our Pakistani comrade Baba Jan 鈥 who has been imprisoned and tortured since August last year for standing up for the rights of his people from the Hunza Valley after their villages and farmlands were flooded in 2010.
July 1 is the new financial year and the start of many new government policies. This year, the carbon and mining taxes, and expansion of income management, or welfare quarantining, to five new locations.聽
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People receiving Centrelink payments and living in Playford in South Australia, Logan and Rockhampton in Queensland, Greater Shepparton in Victoria, and Bankstown in NSW may be subject to the new system.
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The carbon and mining taxes have generated hysterical debate, but the extension of income management has been noticeably underreported.
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