NCC and AFA present to NSW inquiry into Bill banning gender fluidity in schools
Last Tuesday, April 20 2021, the National Civic Council’s Patrick J. Byrne and the AFA’s Terri M. Kelleher appeared before the Committee of Inquiry into the New South Wales Education Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill. The NCC and AFA had presented an extensive submission to the inquiry. The Bill, tabled by Mark Latham, aims to ban…
Could a government grant replace this?
‘No government grant could replace this’ – Our guest blogger shares why, as a parent, she supports the role of parents and the #FairFamilyFunding campaign. Passing on a skill does more than keep a handicraft alive. It assigns value to the recipient in a much deeper way than viewing that same skill on a YouTube…
Pain, Suffering and Euthanasia: what is a good death?
by Jean Westbury “Euthanasia” has its roots in Greek, eu meaning “good”, and thanatos meaning “death”. In the 1600s, it meant simply “a gentle and easy death”, such as a peaceful passing provided with good palliative care. Only in the late 1860s was the word co-opted to refer to legally sanctioned mercy killing. Death is…
Fair Family Funding – Campaign Kickoff!
Beginning the journey with experts…. On Friday, 10 October 2020 we kicked off our campaign on Fair Family Funding with a roundtable discussion featuring experts from all areas relating to fair funding for families. We looked at three main areas…. 1. Fair family taxation – income splitting so that families can make their own choices…
Qld Labor set to criminalise more than just ‘conversion therapy’
The AFA expects that tomorrow (Thursday 13th August) the Labor Palaszczuk Government to rush forward the 2019 debate about their proposed ban of so-called ‘conversion therapies’. Section 28 is the problem and we have been activating voters to lobby the LNP opposition to oppose since late last year. ACTION: email or call your state…
Homeschooling during COVID-19: What do parents say?
Coronavirus. COVID-19. Lockdown. Isolation. Homeschooling. All these phrases have become second nature to parents worldwide who are living an experience not seen for over a hundred years – and perhaps not even then, since the world is a very different place today to what it was during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. With the news…
Crashed Websites and Cracked Eggs
As Australia faced its first day of official online education today, disaster befell multiple families as Queensland Education’s online education websites crashed. This happened in our house too – happily Year 6 kicked into gear after several attempts. But even if it hadn’t, it would have been ok. Why? As parents we worry so much. …
Coronaschooling
My own homeschooling journey began a quarter of a century ago. I was a young mum, with a gifted first born, a pre-schooler, a toddler and a newborn. I endured judgement and ridicule, especially from interaction with various nurses as I delivered and established the feeding of baby number four. However the journey proceeded smoothly,…
Who Let the Kids Out: The stay at home parent in the age of Coronavirus
Among memes, elbow bumping and toilet paper stockpiling, Coronavirus has led our society to ask: Should we send kids home from school? The simple answer is yes. School closure will most likely significantly decrease the spread of the virus. It seems pretty obvious: close the schools and let everyone chill at home, away from festering disease,…
Musings of a Failed 50’s Housewife
“Man will work from dawn till dusk, but a woman’s work is never done.” The above was a favourite saying of my mother’s. I don’t remember her quantifying the statement either… all I remember really is my tightly-run home, and how beautifully in order it was. Though poor, we were organised and clean, everything was…
ScoMo’s Handout and the Welfare Bludgers
Dismantling the myths around Family Tax Benefits The Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a stimulus package of $750 for eligible Australians has been met with criticism — most vocal is the cry that ‘dole bludgers’ do not deserve another handout. “What about the people who actually work hard?” “Why give it to people who will…
Raising children: a worthwhile investment?
“Raising children is a worthwhile investment into society” The key word here to consider is ‘investment’. Dictionary definition: The act of putting money, effort, time into something to make a profit, gain an advantage, or the money, effort, time, used to achieve this advantage or profit. We can see from the definition above that for…
Aunt Emmie, the motorbike and having it all
In a day and age where family structure and roles are becoming increasingly fragmented, and where the cost of living is rapidly increasing, we can ask: How do we ‘have it all’ (a phrase now so overused it has been parodied)? My younger sister, who is now 11, once wished to be a bikie, or,…
My Grandmother’s House
My grandmother goes through her life with a sense of purpose, which is served every moment of the day. Whether she is paying a bill or attending a concert, it is what she is doing. Nothing will distract her from her task. From rising at 5.00 am, whereupon she immediately sets to work doing paperwork…