Can the PM get any more ridiculous?
After yesterday announcing a $4.7b package to tackle domestic violence, Anthony Albanese asked the media pack if they had any questions.
When a male reporter began to speak, the PM sharply cut him off and said …
“I’m deliberately going to women before blokes.”
Er, would that be biological women or biological men dressed as women who have a legal right to be pretend woman?
Anyway, Albo rolled his eyes in obvious annoyance that the male reporter hadn’t figured out he should let the ladies go first.
If it was inappropriate for a bloke to ask a question about the government’s domestic violence policy, isn’t it inappropriate for a bloke to be announcing the policy?
Using a press conference on domestic violence to shamelessly virtue signal is just pathetic.
Apparently Karen still reads The New York Times.
The Climate Change Authority has advised the Government Australians should eat less red meat to help us reach Net Zero.
In the interests of transparency, why don’t those on the Climate Change Authority release details of every taxpayer funded meal they have enjoyed.
What are the odds that we’ll discover these climate Chicken Littles are enjoying steak whilst tut-tutting the rest of us for not being vegans?
In July the Yarra Council recommended all ratepayers switch to plant-based diets in order to lower global temperatures, as if the dinner plates of people in Yarra were that consequential.
Anyway, we learned that the Yarra Council members were being served ratepayer funded steaks for dinner before every council meeting, including the one at which they voted residents should go vegetarian!
We know where the flatulence is coming from, and it's not the cattle!
Consider these two stories …
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is contemplating whether it will block a copper mine in Lake Torrens because Indigenous people say the area “entails a number of Dreaming tracks and Songlines”.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has said she will not block a gas project in the Timor Sea despite concerns it will endanger a rare sea snake.
So we’re moving heaven and earth to protect mythical Rainbow Serpents while endangering actual serpents.
What a time to be alive.
Has any word in the English language been more demonised than the word “discrimination”?
The principal of Liverpool Boys School in southwest Sydney has referred to single-sex education as “a discriminatory structure” and promised to merge with a neighbouring girls school.
Principal Michael Saxon said the merger with Liverpool Girls high school would be a “positive step towards diversity and anti-discriminatory practice”.
He said …
“Single-sex schools are really a discriminatory structure, not sure how they comply with discrimination laws.”
Other discriminatory practices include purchasing a Ford over a Holden, eating Thai rather than Italian and preferring women without penises to those packing a bit extra, if you know what I mean.
Of course single sex schools are discriminatory. But discrimination is not always a bad thing and it’s not always wrong.
Seems to me the principal is just another wokeling, tootling on his PC flute.
The US Justice Department has accused Vladimir Putin of orchestrating a covert claim to influence the upcoming presidential election.
They allege Russians were manipulating social media to try to help Trump win in November.
Who knows if that’s true.
But the Biden-Harris Administration was pressuring Facebook to suppress a news story about Hunter Biden’s laptop just prior to the 2020 election.
Might the US Justice Department take action on that confirmed act of election interference?
You already know the answer.
Hamas executed six Israeli hostages this week.
Where were the Greens? Our righteous betters, devoted to human rights and justice?
Where was Amnesty International?
Where were the activists who march every other weekend insisting that “the killing must stop”?
Our human rights activists don’t get out of bed for murdered Jews.
The Australian Government was almost mute. They issued a single tweet condemning Hamas but omitting anything about the need to bring them to justice.
The final line of the tweet said …
“Every innocent life matters.”
Does the Australian Government seriously think most of us value the life of a Jew over the life of a Palestinian, or vice versa?
What grates about that inane “every innocent life matters” line is that it insinuates some kind of moral equivalence between hostages being shot at point blank range in the back of the head by terrorists with the unintended deaths arising from Israel’s pursuit of terrorists using human shields.
"Using a press conference on domestic violence to shamelessly virtue signal is not just pathetic" - it’s downright insulting and degrading.
Warning: Rant ahead. Forgive me for launching into this, but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and here’s my opportunity to put thought into words.
What will $4.7 billion actually achieve?
What has been done in the last 10 years since Rosie Batty's story went global?
Who wins in the current family law system? I can tell you now, it’s certainly not the children, and it’s not the innocent party in the divorce.
First, what is domestic violence?
Is it really only the extreme physical assaults, near-death experiences, and actual deaths of women and children at the hands of men that define domestic "violence"? These extreme cases are just the tip of the iceberg, often the culmination of a long, drawn-out process of abuse. ABUSE is the key word here.
Abusers don’t usually start with threats or physical violence. Instead, they slowly turn up the heat. It begins with love bombing and promises of eternal love and commitment. Then come the subtle suggestions: "Your hair would look better a different way," or, "Why don’t you wear this instead?" Financial control follows, with promises of saving all the money "we" earn—don’t spend too much, and we’ll retire young—while he spends freely, and you’re left with a limited grocery budget. You’re made to feel stupid for any choice you make, and you mustn’t dare contradict him—he’s always right. This cycle of manipulation isn’t constant; it comes and goes. And even though the abuser never apologises, they’ll tell the victim, "I love you. I’d never hurt you."
This goes on for months or years, with the victim questioning their sanity, walking on eggshells, and even allowing themselves to be raped to avoid days of silent treatment, followed by an explosive episode where the abuser blames them, telling them they’re defective.
Externally, the abuser may be well-liked and respected, possibly hiding behind Christian beliefs or a position of authority. But behind closed doors, they are cruel and toxic to the person they claim to love most.
Abuse is often unrecognised by the victim. This is where the real damage starts—it’s subtle, hidden, and couched in "love," slowly eroding the victim’s sense of self. It’s only when the victim has a moment of clarity—often when their child is threatened—that they realise they’re in danger. By then, their ability to think clearly has been diminished by the abuser’s tactics.
This is the most dangerous stage. When the victim attempts to leave, the abuser’s fear of losing control escalates, and extreme violence can occur. As we saw in the case of Hannah Clarke and her children, the worst can and does happen.
If we could address the root causes of why abusers abuse, we could save many more lives. But we can’t just focus on the violence. The system doesn’t protect victims who take out Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs) - a piece of paper can’t stop someone who is hell-bent on destruction. It’s too late by then. We need to intervene before it reaches the point of violence.
While the known statistics of women and children dying at the hands of violent men are significant, I believe the true numbers are far higher. If we were to include the suicides of women and men driven to the edge by their partner’s abuse, the PTSD experienced by victims and children, and the ongoing legal battles that weaponise children against the other parent, the scope of domestic abuse would be much larger than what we currently acknowledge.
No one wins in this situation, only the system, the lawyers, the psychologists, and the abuser who often moves on to find another unsuspecting victim, while the surviving victim endures ongoing pain and suffering.
The fact that we only hear about the extreme cases, where abuse escalates to its peak, means that many abusers remain undetected. They are charming and quickly move on once they are caught out. The system will never catch them or hold them accountable unless they do something extreme and news worthy. And even then, the hidden abuse they inflict is far more damaging and harder to recover from than any physical violence.
Any policy related to or inquiry into domestic violence must focus on all forms of domestic ABUSE. The abuse that leads to the violence we actually hear about. Addressing only the physical violence is like saying the preceding abuse that leads to the violence isn’t important. While emotional and psychological abuse may not cause immediate physical harm, it’s just as damaging and debilitating - if not worse - for everyone involved.
We need to stop labelling everything as "domestic violence" and start looking holistically at why people abuse, what drives men or women to control, coerce, and destroy their partner to the point of mental or physical harm, and how can we prevent this starting in the first place.
The system is designed to enable abusers, enrich lawyers and psychologists, while the victims suffer endlessly.
$4.7 Billion wont do anything to stop the rising scourge of narcissistic domestic abuse that leads to violence.
It is my firmly held view that each and every supporter of Hamas, whatever their nationality, whatever their background and status in life, has blood on their hands. By definition they represent a security risk to their host country. The odious cohort of same in this country should be identified and categorised as contemptible fellow travellers in murder.