Weep for Australia. Weep
Australia was once a country that led the world in human rights law, and where racist comments were simply laughed out of court. Its "femocrats" were world-famous for their influence.
Now:
AUSTRALIA could become a Muslim nation within 50 years because "we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence", a Government backbencher says.
The former minister Danna Vale is one of five Coalition women proposing an amendment to the private member's bill that seeks to remove ministerial veto over abortion drugs such as RU486. At a news conference called by the five yesterday, she said it was important politicians considered the ramifications "for the community and the nation we become in the future".
"I have read … comments by a certain imam from the Lakemba Mosque [who] actually said that Australia is going to be a Muslim nation in 50 years' time," said Mrs Vale, MP for the southern Sydney seat of Hughes.
"I didn't believe him at the time. But … look at the birthrates and you look at the fact that we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence by 100,000 abortions every year … You multiply that by 50 years. That's 5 million potential Australians we won't have here."
Oh, but the opposition to the drug is purely on health grounds, the religious lobby says. It isn't about abortion at all, really, really.
What went wrong with Australia? I really don't know any more. I used to have theories, but it has now gone so from bad to worse they no longer seem adequate.
posted by Natalie Bennett at 2/13/2006 07:04:00 pm
2 Comments:
Very timely programme indeed Em.
I interviewed Tim Flannery many years ago, and he reckoned then that Australia's ecologically sustainable carrying capacity was about 3.5 million.
And while I suspect my first commenter is merely being inflammatory, I will address it. I've no doubt in one, and certainly two, generations, the descendants of today's Muslim immigrants will be indistinguishable from the general population. And their birth rates will be also be comparable.
What's gone wrong in Australia? Well, its been many, many years of conservative government, virtually no media diversity and a steady Americanisation of the political discourse. I'm not sure how permanent all this is but the opposition Labor Party is in a state of total and utter intellectual bankruptcy. The centrist Democrats have almost vanished and the Labor Left is deserting on principle with many preferring the Greens.
But the interesting bit about this debate is that it's about an arch-conservative (failed priest) Health Minister being stripped of his authority to control this drug by the women in his own party.
The "Pro-Life" faction really wanted to turn this into a debate about abortion only to discover that abortion is immensely popular (!) even with the conservatives. Thankfully this appears to be one wedge issue out of Karl Rove's playbook that didn't work here so well.
As for the anti-Muslim bigotry, well, I presume you're aware of that Australia's long history with its racist undercurrent. It waxes and wanes but in this current political climate, I'm sure that the Vietnamese and Chinese are feeling a bit relieved that its not being directed at them for a change.
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