Dana’s demography. So Australia risks becoming a Muslim nation
if women continue to abort children at the current rate? Perhaps Dana
Vale should be listening to one of her fellow female members of the
Liberals’ Class of 96. The Sun-Heraldreported
this weekend that Jackie Kelly has threatened to vote against any
further spending on the Federal Parliament building unless a child-care
centre is installed. “I call on all parents in this house to vote
against spending any more money on this building until we have invested
in a child-care centre for the parents who work here,” she said. “Let
us provide a role model for the workplaces of Australia in supporting
work-family choices.” Let us provide decent childcare. That – rather
than exercises in dodgy demography – might help boost fertility rates.

Rats and the ranks. One interesting angle hasn’t been publicly discussed in the wake of weekend reports
over the quality of defective body armour, combat jackets and helmets –
that a helluva lot of our boys and girls in uniform neither like nor
trust their new Minister, Brendan Nelson. Why? Because he ratted on the
ALP to join the Libs – and once a rat…

Abbott and abortion.
More on the Monk and arguments on RU486 that just don’t add up. Tony
Abbott wants ministers to make the decision about allowing the drug.
But isn’t he the bloke who said we couldn’t trust politicians over a
republic?

People in glass houses. Peter Costello remains
as entertaining as ever in Question Time, but he may have gone a little
far when he turned an answer on the economy into an editorial on the
Victorian Labor Party’s preselection fun and games. “I want to place on
record that we are standing with the member for Hotham, the member for
Maribyrnong and the member for Corio against the factional forces down
there in Victoria which are going to roll each and every one of them
out,” he said. “We appreciate you even if the factional bosses of the
Labor right wing do not. On the other hand, that may be a kiss of
death—so we are opposed to the members for Corio, Maribyrnong and
Hotham!” Which comrade will follow up the Herald Sun‘s report on Victorian Liberal factional moves today headed “Kroger-Costello camp flexes its muscles”?

Bothering godbotherers.
Largely overlooked in the row last week over those cartoons of the
Prophet was a skirmish in Tasmania over an artwork with images of Jesus
surrounded by gay men – and the very level headed reaction of the
Bishop of South Sydney, Rob Forsyth. Shadow Attorney-General Michael
Hodgman says the images are an abomination and should be censored. But
here’s what Forsyth had to say: “All of us will one day appear before
the judgement seat of God, including the people who do these things.
That’s the big question in life; not protecting Christians from
offence… I don’t think that the law should protect us Christians from
offensive material. I don’t think the law should protect any religion
from offensive material or any other ideology from offensive material.
The law should only be used to stop people calling for violence, or
inciting the kind of hatred, racial hatred, that will lead to violence
and discrimination of a serious kind. But other than that, we need to
have a free society, free from the interfering of the law in these kind
of debates. And this applies in my view right across the board for all
religions.” Gosh. That’s blasphemy in some quarter.

Send your
snippets to christian@crikey.com.au