Moving along the ballot paper we now reach the Country Alliance, which at first glance looks a lot like the Nationals, only with more firearms, fishing and firewood, and an emphasis on outdoor activities. My old school in Adelaide would have loved this stuff, I reckon.
Tag: victoria (Page 6 of 6)
I have to admit to a certain trepidation in writing up this party. My first encounter with the Liberal Democratic Party was three years ago, when I was reading up on all the small parties for the 2010 election, and I had to stop part way through my analysis of their policies because I was getting so angry and upset about their views on healthcare that Andrew started to worry about my blood pressure. Which is a little ironic, really.
So, thinking of calm blue oceans, let us enter the libertarian paradise that is the Liberal Democratic Party website.
In my inbox this morning, a brief email from one of the MPs I wrote to, thanking me for me email, and saying it meant a lot. I sent emails to 23 MPs, all of them brief (three sentences), and only a few of them individualised except by name, just saying thank you for their support of the bill. I didn’t expect a response from any of them, they were just quick emails to hopefully counteract some of the nasty ones that I hear were sent to the MPs voting in favour of decriminalisation.
I’ve checked, and Ms Coote got one of my very generic ones, so I’m doubly touched at her response.
(also, I think this is the first time I’ve ever got mail of any kind from someone in the Liberal Party (since the Liberals don’t even bother letterboxing in my electorate)! Soon, I shall collect the whole set!)
It’s really good to know that even a short, generic thank you email is something that will be read and will apparently make someone’s day a little better. I’m sort of feeling guilty that I didn’t write more individualised emails to everyone – but reading all that Hansard takes a long time, so I really only wrote more specific thanks to people whose speeches stood out for me.
Guilt aside though, it means that it *is* worth taking the time to write to politicians, even if I only have time to be brief. Which means I am more likely to do so.
(Do they know what they have started? Bwah ha ha ha!!)
It’s a time-consuming business, though. I want to do more of this, but I’m clearly going to have to choose my issues carefully. There must be a faster way to learn when legislation that I might be interested in is being discussed than going through Hansard page by page…
I’m sorry to be so one-track minded at present, but it’s rare that something so interesting is happening in our local politics.
Oh and for those who don’t know, not only did the bill pass, but I’ve just had an email saying it passed without amendments, which is definitely a good thing. I’ll have another go-round with Hansard shortly and find out if I need to send any more appreciative emails. One should always encourage politicians who have done good things!
Given how I’ve been going on and on and on about this, it seems important to talk about why I feel so strongly about decriminalising abortion. Continue reading
One really delightful result of sending my letter to senators is that Greens Senator, Colleen Hartland, sends us daily updates on the debate in the Senate, with links to speeches by other MPs that she thinks we will find of interest.
And, I’m delighted to say, she doesn’t care which party they come from.
So. Here are two speeches from Labor Senators in favour of this Bill. I haven’t had a chance to read them yet, but I’ll be going through Hansard in detail later.
Shaune Leane, I think. This one is confusing me, because his name does not come up at the start.
And, for those who are interested, here is the email, with a few more details about what is going on.
I just received an email from the Greens Upper House MP for my electorate. The email was sent to all the people who had sent letters of support for the decriminalisation of abortion bill. In it, she included a link to her speech
http://www.electedgreensvictoria.org.au/speech.php?speech=495&filter=CH
Either she read my letter and actually used some of what I said (a couple of sentences are almost word for word) or we agree so entirely that… well that I don’t know what. I don’t think I’ve ever read a political speech on any subject where I can agree with absolutely every nuance of what she says. My faith in the Greens is much revived…
Whichever it is, I am so very happy. All that remains now is for the bill to get passed in the Upper House… The temptation to go and sit in the visitors’ gallery this week is strong. I think I’m about to become a Hansard addict again…
I’m sure there was something else I wanted to post about, but I’m just so excited by the notion that perhaps my letter actually got used by someone that I can’t think straight about anything else. I am part of the political process!
So, here in Victoria we are currently trying to decriminalise abortion. And about time too – we’ve had a silly criminal law on the books that nobody has been prosecuted under for over 20 years, so it’s certainly time we got sensible about it.
Anyway, it’s before the Upper House at the moment, having barely passed the lower house, so now is a good opportunity to email your favourite member of parliament about it.
My personal irritant is people who keep trying to amend it to make things harder or more embarrassing or require ‘anonymous review panels’ for abortions, or, in particular, bring forward the gestational time at which abortion is legal. Having trained as a genetic counsellor, this particularly gets my goat, as the people most affected by this law would be women who either have serious medical issues themselves or who have just had a very nasty prenatal diagnosis.
Here’s the letter I’m sending to basically everyone in parliament this week.
Cate Speaks is now archived on PANDORA, the National Library of Australia's Web Archive
