Last year I spoke with human rights lawyer Peter Fam about the No Jab No Pay, No Jab No Play laws.
Peter rightly asks how can the Human Rights Commission justify the legality of the NJNP when it’s impossible for a parent to give free, full and informed consent when they’re under pressure or financial duress.
I’ll be writing to the Human Rights Commission with this exact question.
One of the greatest things that happened to my family was that we were born and raised in this great south land.
To celebrate Australia Day and our national flag, I have a limited number of FREE ‘Proud Australian’ stickers to give away.
If you are a Monash resident you can get yours by: 1. Dropping by my office in Warragul and collecting one in person. 2: Send me a message with your postal address, and I’ll mail it to you!
#ProudAustralian #ProudOfOurFlag #ProudOfOurNation
During the 20th century women fought hard to secure fundamental rights and freedoms including the vote. But it seems there is a new battle being fought – a fight to protect women-only spaces.
These spaces play a vital role in ensuring the privacy, security, and safety of women.
The recent Tickle v. Giggle case has brought this issue into sharp focus. This case involved a legal challenge to the exclusion of males from the women-only social media platform Giggle. The women lost. At the heart of this case is Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act 1984, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. But the Act also recognises the need for single-sex spaces. For example, Section 33 protects women-only spaces or services, such as shelters, changing rooms, bathrooms, toilets, and women’s sport.
These provisions exist to protect privacy, safety, and equality for women. The law recognizes that these exemptions are important for safeguarding hard fought for women's rights. And yet the court’s decision failed to uphold this.
Failing to protect women’s spaces could have far-reaching, adverse consequences. Without clear boundaries, we risk undermining the primary purpose of these spaces—to provide women with environments where they feel safe, protected and respected. This is particularly crucial for women who have experienced violence, harassment, or trauma. If these spaces are eroded or made less secure, women may be left vulnerable and deprived of access to services, support, and safety.
As highlighted in the case, women’s spaces also include social and community spaces online. Erosion of women’s online spaces discourages women from fully engaging in their social networks and communities and significantly compromises their safety and wellbeing. This is a huge step backwards for women’s rights.
The Tickle v. Giggle case reminds us that while inclusivity is important, it cannot come at the expense of women’s rights. We must strike a balance that respects all individuals while preserving the integrity of spaces that have been designed specifically for women.
And that’s justice, as I see it.
If recent events overseas and domestic in-fighting here ahead of the federal election are anything to go by, it seems 2025 is likely to be very challenging. In the face of any adversity I encourage you to stay resilient, strong and united. Take control of what you can – for instance, our forests are tinder dry, so do whatever fire prevention you can around your home.
I still get calls from people sharing the most heartbreaking stories of unbearable trauma and suffering due to vaccine injury.
And last Friday’s call from a husband whose family’s life has been destroyed due to his wife’s severe life-changing injuries is no exception. Doctors refusing to acknowledge the link and an overwhelming sense of desperate hopelessness is exacerbating their desperate plight.
But people like Meryl Dorey have been sounding the alarm about the existence of vaccine side effects for decades. Please take a moment to listen to her story.
Russell Broadbent here, Federal Member for Monash.
The Albanese Government claims to be delivering a ‘cheap and reliable’ renewables plan. But this is clearly not the case, the numbers don’t lie. Let’s have a look what energy retailers are saying.
In AGL’s annual report, the Generation cost of coal-fired power was almost 3 times cheaper than renewables. And when considering the Fuel cost, coal was still 56% cheaper than renewables.
Let me be clear - the more that renewables force themselves into the energy grid, the more that Australians will be paying as both consumers, and as taxpayers.
Between intermittent wind towers and solar panels, ‘green’ compliance costs, taxpayer funded subsidies and higher electricity bills, it is certain the renewable energy transition is not in the best interest of our nation. Australian households are paying 20% more for their electricity than they did 2 years ago, and it is a shame because this supply shock on dispatchable, baseload electricity was imposed by the Australian Governments, on Australians.
Only coal can supply the industrial standard of cheap energy that DRIVES Australia. So when the Liberals or Labor are promising cheaper energy, they better be promising to keep our coal fired power stations open.
That’s justice as I see it.
The Great Debate in Perth was a unique opportunity to thank everyday Australians for challenging the status quo and changing the narrative. Let the hunter become the hunted.
Live version of the debate can be viewed here: https://youtube.com/live/QLd7CsEiksc
Graham (Hoody) Hood: 0:00
Julian Gillespie: 13:47
Senator Malcolm Roberts: 33:21
Professor Ian Brighthope: 58:31
Panel Discussion: 1:26:23
Graham (Hoody) Hood: 2:20:19
Dr Kevin McKernan: 2:29:07
Russell Broadbent: 2:50:05
Maryanne Demasi: 3:18:25
Professor Gigi Foster: 3:33:18
Katie Ashby-Koppens: 3:55:05
Panel Discussion: 4:09:35
Russell Broadbent here, Member for Monash.
The term ‘universal childcare’ sounds pretty reasonable, doesn’t it?
It implies that childcare will be fair, accessible, and the right decision for every family.
Judith Sloan in The Australian, says the Prime Minister plans to make universal childcare a key element of his election campaign.
But when I started peeling back the layers of this policy, I noticed a few red flags.
Firstly, as Judith says: ‘the biggest winners will be high-income earners who currently receive proportionately lower childcare fee subsidies than those on lower incomes.’
Doesn’t sound very fair now, does it?
It’s important to understand that sending children to childcare is not a first option for many Australian families, even though it may be becoming the norm. In fact, I think many parents are reticent to use childcare too soon – many want to spend time with their children, especially when they’re babies.
But in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, most parents have no choice but to rely on two incomes to pay the mortgage and feed the kids.
So it appears childcare has become a rather lucrative business model for the private sector.
In Melbourne, centre-based childcare, which is the most common option, costs anywhere between $70 to $185 dollars PER DAY.
When you have multiple kids to factor in, it hardly makes the return to work worth it.
The Productivity Commission recommends that 30 hours, or three days, per week should be made available to all children aged up to five years.
Modelling suggests that this policy will have a small impact on workforce participation, adding an additional 17,000 full time equivalent workers.
According to Judith Sloan, the cost of Universal Childcare works out to be more than $200,000 per job created.
Doesn’t seem like the best use of taxpayer dollars to me.
At the end of the day, we all want what’s best for our kids and whatever makes life easier for parents.
Universal Childcare sounds like a great idea. But as I said earlier this childcare policy puzzle has a few missing pieces.
That’s justice as I see it.
Last Friday, I posted a video of a part of my chat with Dr Judy Wilyman.
I encourage you to tune in to our full conversation via the video link below.
Last week I wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP to respond to Mr Martin’s letter.
It is no longer tenable for the government to rely on outdated or refuted assertions from the TGA (especially when they now advise they do not have a duty of care to the Australian people).
This is a serious matter – a fundamental issue of public safety and accountability and one that transcends politics.
39 Victorian firefighters are approaching their FOURTH Christmas stood down without their firefighting salary due to reckless and redundant COVID mandates.
They’re desperate to return to work, but who do they turn to?
It seems no-one is taking responsibility, so last week I wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP, Health Minister Mark Butler MP, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan MLA and Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas MLA seeking their urgent intervention.
In the mid-1990s, Dr Judy Wilyman saw chronic disease sky-rocketing in schools and wondered whether it could be linked to the expanded childhood vaccination program. Her research confirmed her worst fears.
She shared her powerful story with me, including her view that given the evidence, it is a crime against humanity if parents are not able to give free and informed consent regarding the type and number of vaccines their child receives.
