1. Some recent announcements by H.M.A. Government concerning foreign affairs
1.1 Australia will "provide $7 million over three years to support the United Nations’ Joint Programme for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in the Pacific."
The quotation in that headline comes from the media release "Promoting Economic Growth in the Pacific", dated September 29, 2015, downloaded from the website of the Minister for Foreign Affairs (currently The Hon. Julie Bishop
M.P.):
http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150929a.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D
(That iniative came to my attention
via this article at The Australian's website.) According to a press release issued jointly by the United Nations Children's Fund (U.N.I.C.E.F.), the United Nations Population Fund (U.N.F.P.A.), and the World Health Organisation, Ms Bishop "noted that the AU$7 million investment will support the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health". That Strategy can be downloaded from its official website here:
http://globalstrategy.everywomaneverychild.org/
Or go straight hither:
http://globalstrategy.everywomaneverychild.org/pdf/EWEC_globalstrategyreport_200915_FINAL_WEB.pdf
(And the aforementioned press release is available under the headline "Joint Media Release: Australian commitment to UN joint programme for Pacific mother, child and adolescent health kicks off investment in Global Goals for Sustainable Development", dated September 30, 2015, at U.N.I.C.E.F.'s website:
http://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/1852_24727.html
and under the headline "A JOINT PRESS RELEASE: Australian commitment to UN joint programme for Pacific mother, child and adolescent health kicks off investment in Global Goals for Sustainable Development", same date, at the U.N.F.P.A.'s website:
http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/pacific/2015/09/30/12827/a_joint_press_release_australian_commitment_to_un_joint_programme_for_pacific_mother_child_and_adolescent_health_kicks_off_investment_in_global_goals_for_sustainable_development/)
Labels: abortion, contraception, feminism, foreign affairs
1.2 Were it to be elected to "the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2018-2020 term", Australia's "focus would be on empowering women and girls, strengthening governance and democratic institutions, promoting freedom, freedom of expression, and advancing human rights for all", and it "would be unrelenting in [its] efforts to secure abolition of the death penalty."
The quotations, excluding my square-bracketed replacement of the word "our", in that headline come from the text prepared for the spoken national statement by Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs (The Hon. Julie Bishop
M.P.) in the United Nations General Assembly (seventieth session), dated September 29, 2015, downloaded from the official Minister for Foreign Affairs website:
http://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2015/jb_sp_150929a.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D
See also the media release "United Nations Security Council & Human Rights Council", dated September 29, 2015, downloaded from the same website, in which Ms Bishop says similarly that
We are an international leader in advancing the rights of women and girls, strengthening governance and democratic institutions, and promoting freedom of expression.
As a member of the Human Rights Council, Australia would bring a clear focus on addressing human rights violations and holding perpetrators to account. Australia would also be a leading advocate for global abolition of the death penalty.
[http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150929.aspx]
Labels: death penalty, democracy, feminism, foreign affairs, human rights, liberalism
2. "The tensions for parents, educators and children in building a sustainable culture of ethical and respectful relationships early in life" is the project title of taxpayer-funded (to the tune of $198992) research which "hopes to move the debate around sexuality and sexual relationships away from being viewed as problematic for young people to that of building a culture of ethical and respectful relationships in early life."
The quotations in that headline come from the Western Sydney University (W.S.U.) "RESEARCH DIRECTIONS" flyer "Building Children’s Ethical Relationship Skills with Parents and Educators", dated December 2011, presumably published by W.S.U.'s Office of Research Services, downloaded from W.S.U.'s website:
https://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/248057/071211_KidsEthicalRelationships_Robinson.pdf
(That project came to my attention
via the print version of the article "Let's talk about sex, knowledge, health and well-being, baby", by Fran Molloy, dated October 12, 2015, downloaded from
The Sydney Morning Herald's website:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/tertiary-education/lets-talk-about-sex-knowledge-health-and-wellbeing-baby-20151008-gk44ht.html?skin=text-only)
See also Prof. Robinson's staff profile
here or
here.
Labels: feminism, G.L.B.T., morals, sex ed
3. On the second day of the recently-concluded Synod, H.H. The Pope made His Holiness's "first direct intervention at the Synod in the course of the past two years"; in that intervention, The Pope said "that thus far the only official Synod documents which enjoy full ecclesiastical approval are the two discourses he himself delivered at the opening and closing of the Extraordinary Synod last October, as well as the "Relatio Synodi" or final document of the Extraordinary Synod which he approved."
The quotations in that headline come from the article "Pope Francis makes first direct intervention; was Cardinal Erdö undermined?", by The Rev. Fr. Nicholas Gregoris, dated October 6, 2015, downloaded from
The Catholic World Report's website:
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/4239/pope_francis_makes_first_direct_intervention_was_cardinal_erd_undermined.aspx
(That article came to my attention
via this blog post by Fr. Zuhlsdorf.) Interestingly, the Vatican revoked Fr. Gregoris's press credentials the next day; see the article "Vatican revokes Catholic priest’s press credentials after he challenged archbishop", by Mr. Patrick B. Craine, dated Monday, October 12, 2015, downloaded from
LifeSiteNews.com:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-vatican-revokes-catholic-priests-press-credentials-after-he-challe
Labels: Francis Bergoglio
4. "ultimately, the package is about trying to devise ways to increase female workforce participation amongst mums, single mothers, mothers in couple families. Historically, we know that that is occurring, we would like to keep it occurring, it can and should be a great engine room of the Australian economy and it’s great way to increase family wealth and prosperity."
The quotation in that headline comes from the transcript of an interview of The Hon. Christian Porter
M.P. (Federal Minister for Social Services) on Sky News on October 22, 2015, downloaded from Mr. Porter's Ministerial website:
http://christianporter.dss.gov.au/transcripts/sky-news-pvo-newsday
(That transcript is also available
here, at Mr. Porter's electorate website.) See also
- the official webpage of the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Payments Structural Reform and Participation Measures) Bill 2015
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Family_Payments
whence you can download, among other things, the inquiry report and the official submission of the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (the latter is especially worth reading for the historical perspective which it provides).
Labels: economic rationalism, economics, family, tax, work
Reginaldvs Cantvar
St. Andrew's Day,
A.D. 2015
