Religion & Ethics Australia Daily

A twice-weekly public affairs review from the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College

No. 009, 12-15 November 2004  ² compiled by Rod Benson

News reports

Aboriginal issues

The Howard government’s radical plans to attack “passive welfare” in indigenous communities could place it in breach of the Racial Discrimination Act, according to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Weekend AFR 13-14 Nov 04

Abortion

Parents of disabled children believe women will continue to have late-term abortions as long as governments fail to offer them adequate services and support. Abortion doctors said yesterday one of the reasons for late-term abortions were signs of foetal abnormalities, which often can not be detected until late in a pregnancy.

Aust 12 Nov 04

Health Minister Tony Abbott has been lobbying pro-choice Coalition women MPs to sit on a wide-ranging federal parliamentary inquiry into abortion. But the MPs are resisting, concerned that it is a “back door” way of winding back current abortion laws. Aust 12 Nov 04

Abortion is not just a decision faced by careless teenagers, writes SMH medical editor Julie Robotham. “All the evidence suggests that, increasingly, the people who abort include a significant number of the aspirationals of John Howard’s middle Australia.” SMH 12 Nov 04

The SMH publishes nine letters to the editor on abortion. SMH 12 Nov 04

Christopher Pearson reports on various comments made recently by public figures on abortion, concluding that much of the talk has been reactive and ad hominem. Weekend Aust 13-14 Nov 04

Emma-Kate Symons observes that “disputes over the morality and ethics of euthanasia and embryonic stem-cell research pale in comparison with the sound and fury of the suddenly resurgent abortion debate in Australia, and offers some reasons for it. Weekend Aust 13-14 Nov 04

The SMH’s leader argues that “doctrinaire opposition to abortion and contraception can’t be allowed to colour the approach of legislators” and “the right of individuals to live their lives without the unwarranted interference of government” must be respected. SMH 13-14 Nov 04

Abortion will be high on the agenda of the first cabinet meeting of the Howard government’s fourth term, with a wide-ranging debate expected on Monday to canvass all options on the issue. SMH 13-14 Nov 04

A parliamentary inquiry into abortion is off the immediate political agenda after Prime Minister John Howard stepped in to stall Health Minister Tony Abbott’s passionate campaign against the “tragedy” of pregnancy termination. Aust 15 Nov 04; SMH 15 Nov 04

Journalist Rosemary Neill writes a personal letter to Health Minister Tony Abbott, focusing on the role (or absence) of biological fathers during gestation. Aust 15 Nov 04

The Australian publishes five more letters to the editor on abortion. Aust 15 Nov 04

Alcohol

The troubles of NSW Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw have reopened the debate on the effects of alcohol in the workplace. Weekend AFR 13-14 Nov 04

Animal rights

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has pressured the giant American fashion chain Abercrombie & Fitch to ban Australian wool until mulesing and live exports are stopped. PETA is now poised to target European fashion houses. SMH 12 Nov 04

Criminal justice

NSW Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw, at the centre of a drink-driving scandal, resigned last night after a blood test revealed he had been 4  ½ times over the legal limit. Weekend Aust 13-14 Nov 04

Debt

Manager of the Victorian Consumer Credit Legal Service, Carolyn Bond, has argued that the consumer finance industry is kept afloat by “debt slaves” – people who will never get on top of personal financial debt.

Democracy

Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell, outlines the weaknesses of procedural and normative democracy, and argues in favour of “democratic personalism” – a transformative democracy founded on “the transcendent dignity of the human.” SMH 12 Nov 04

Drugs

NSW police are set to introduce one of the most sweeping drug and alcohol testing regimes in Australia, in a zero-tolerance approach expected to be copied by workplaces across the country. SMH 13-14 Nov 04

Ecstasy, amphetamines and other party drugs are increasingly being taken at home or at private parties, and researchers are warning the changes in venue may place users at even greater risk of harm.

SMH 13-14 Nov 04

Environment

The NSW government has proposed a system of land-clearing restrictions that promise a more efficient alternative to the controversial blanket bans imposed elsewhere in the country. AFR 12 Nov 04

The National Party believes federal environmental protection legislation should be wound back, and plans on pushing for a review. Weekend AFR 13-14 Nov 04

Top US environment officials are claiming a broad mandate to refashion the regulation of water and air pollution and wildlife protection in ways that will promote energy production and economic development.

SMH 13-14 Nov 04

The world’s largest lead smelter at Port Pirie, South Australia, has contaminated export crops of wheat and barley with heavy metal residues that exceed international safety limits. Aust 15 Nov 04

Ethics – business – Australia

Listed companies are facing increasing pressure to report on their environmental and social performance. “Society is changing and is demanding more of business; it’s no longer just the environmentalists making demands on companies, it’s now company law, listing requirements and pension regulations,” said the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants head of environmental and social policy, Rachel Jackson. AFR 15 Nov 04

Ethics – medical

The family of a man in a coma failed in a court action to stop Sydney’s St George Hospital from withdrawing his life support yesterday, and alleged that the move was motivated by bed shortages. SMH 12 Nov 04

Gambling

Cash machines in casinos and clubs may not be encouraging problem gambling, an Australian National University study claims. SMH 13-14 Nov 04

Genetics

Australian scientists are studying 6000 primary schoolchildren to see whether they carry a mutation in a gene linked to deafness. But if they do not find changes in the DNA of healthy children that may predict later hearing loss, they will be able to give parents no meaningful information about when the condition is likely to become apparent, or help them prevent it. The ethically fraught study is thought to be the first “gene hunting” project in Australia to involve children who are not sick. SMH 12 Nov 04

Globalisation

In a review of Martin Wolf’s Why Globalisation Works, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Stephen Grenville argues the case for globalisation.

AFR 12 Nov 04

Human rights

The last line of defence for human rights in the terrorism age are courts and judges across the world that have been putting a brake on laws that infringe on fundamental human freedoms, High Court Justice Michael Kirby said yesterday. SMH 12 Nov 04

Islam

Islam could be the communism of the 21st century if the West does not reform its secular democracy, says Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell.

SMH 12 Nov 04

More than 280,000 Muslims around Australia marked the end of Ramadan yesterday. More than 30,000 Muslims gathered at Sydney’s Lakemba mosque, with another 2000 meeting at Auburn’s Gallipoli mosque. Ramadan is the month in which Muslims traditionally show self-restraint and discipline by fasting during daylight hours. Aust 15 Nov 04

Judiciary

Within four years, the last two Labor appointments to the bench of the High Court will have gone and there will be a new chief justice. If the Howard government wins the 2007 election, it will have the opportunity to firmly shape the court’s direction for more than a decade, through appointments. Weekend AFR 13-14 Nov 04

Politics – Australia

The federal government will start to push through its $8.7 billion in election promises and stalled workplace reforms when parliament resumes tomorrow. AFR 15 Nov 04

Politics & faith – US

Harvard Professor Samuel Huntington writes on how faith defines America. Weekend AFR 13-14 Nov 04

Sex

Quoting from a victim statement tendered to the court, Adele Horin argues that 36-year old teacher Karen Ellis’ sexual affair with a 15-year-old student was wrong, but not deserving of a jail sentence because the student “was not harmed, indeed gained, from the relationship.”

SMH 13-14 Nov 04

Trade

Pharmaceuticals will not cause adverse side effects for the US-Australia free trade agreement, writes Brendan Grabau. AFR 12 Nov 04

Water

Families with teenagers, big gardens and pools could face higher bills if the NSW government’s pricing watchdog accepts Sydney Water’s plan to lift water prices for the next four years. Weekend SMH 13-14 Nov 04

Australia is short of water and the situation is getting worse. Wilson da Silva suggests that what is needed is a new approach to how we think about water.

CSIRO Solve Nov 2004

Women’s rights

The chief justice of the Family Court has backed complaints that discriminatory practices are preventing women being appointed to the High Court. Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock responded saying that ability was the sole criterion he applied for appointments to the bench. AFR 15 Nov 04

Workplace relations

New research casts doubts on the Howard government’s argument that changing unfair dismissal laws will give a big boost to employment. Weekend AFR 13-14 Nov 04

Other items of interest

The Economist questions whether the recent US federal election represents the triumph of the religious right. http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3375543

A new feature film, Kinsey: Let’s Talk About Sex, starring Liam Neeson, is attracting protests from defenders of traditional family values. Critics are focused primarily on Kinsey’s promotion of early childhood sexual activity. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41412

Michael Hirsch writes on the West’s misreading of Islam. http://www.alternet.org/story/20488/

Heather Karrasch, Coordinator for Early Childhood Ministries, Baptist Union of Victoria, writes on ways to make playgroups more evangelistically focused. http://www.crossover.baptist.org.au/ENews/FeatureArticles/Playgroup%20can%20be%20Missional.rtf

1. Added to Ministry Resources: Unravelling The Da Vinci Code and Gnosticism – MP3 recording of a lecture given by Ben Witherington III at Morling College on 23rd August 2004. Ben Witherington, a prominent expert on the historical Jesus and a New Testament scholar, is Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Lexington. His lecture will take you through the issues raised by writers like Dan Brown in the international best seller, The Da Vinci Code. If you’ve read the book and want someone unravel the fact from the fiction then have a listen. MP3 file is 12.3MB in size. CAUTION – Download MP3 file is 12.3 MB <http://baptistnsw.asn.au/ministry/Resources>

2. Added to Ministry Resources: A New View On Romans 7 – MP3 recording of a lecture given by Ben Witherington III at Morling College on 24th August 2004. Ben Witherington, a prominent expert on the historical Jesus and a New Testament scholar, is Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Lexington. CAUTION – Download MP3 file is 9.6 MB. <http://baptistnsw.asn.au/ministry/Resources>

READ is published by the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College, 120 Herring Rd, Eastwood NSW 2122 AUSTRALIA. Telephone (02) 9878 0201. The content of READ and the views expressed in articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College or the Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT. Subscription is free. To subscribe, email with the words “subscribe to READ” in the subject line. Use the same email address to request more information. Copies of original articles are available on request. Abbreviations: AFR=The Australian Financial Review; Aust=The Australian; SMH=The Sydney Morning Herald.