Menzies House

MUST READ: A Health Warning For Liberals

Medicine is pressured by a radical socialist transformation. Some of this is top down. Much of it is bottom up, writes Dr Grant N Ross

For 2 years I was the Melbourne University Liberal Club’s token doctor. Turning up late, or never, I would always be out of kilter with JSM, political theories and fights of the day and somewhat under the impression that Kroger was a kind of cheese. Luckily, being a stereotype got me over the line.

I would like to redeem my standing by attempting to write about the direction of health under Labor and the alternative policy direction the Liberal Party should choose when in Government.

TV ban for Dick's jokes

Good morning comrades! Welcome to communist Australia.

The thought police now come directly from our media. The quintessential Aussie larrikin, 200 years of taking the mickey and the ability to laugh at ourselves in good natured spirit has been flushed down the dunny -  by whom? Probably a single, very naive, PC twit.

Surely the control freak that orchestrated this madness would know the offending ad has already gone viral around the world? Wouldn't they know that a six-year-old could explain every word in the ad? I guess not. Is this where we are headed? Do speak out on this one, leave a comment while it is still allowed. GC.Ed.

Dick Smith is furious that a television advertisement he filmed for Australia Day, which is saturated with "Dick" jokes and innuendo, has been deemed too offensive to air during prime time television.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/tv-ban-for-dicks-jokes-20130123-2d6pq.html#ixzz2IpdnC6BL

The tyranny of tender feelings and the war on free speech

The ramifications of Labor's proposed anti-discrimination laws are being exposed as the fine print is examined. First cab off the rank to sue could be Trish Crossin who was dumped in Gillard's "captain's pick" to push Nova Peris into parliament because she is Aboriginal. Is this a race based decision? GC.Ed

Put it all together, and Labor is presiding over the greatest assault on Australians’ free speech in our lives:

- it has held an inquiry into what the Greens dubbed the “hate media” - particularly critics of the government

- it is promising new privacy rules affecting the media

- it is threatening new laws to control who owns the media - a response to conservatives such as Gina Rinehart buying into media assets

- it is considering tough new laws to regulate “bias” and reporting, applying tougher controls - back by threats of jail - on everything from big newspapers to even small blogs.

- it has punished News Ltd for its critical coverage by twice over-ruling the decision of an independent panel to award News the tender for the Australia Network.

Read more:http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/

the_tyranny_of_tender_feelings/

Free speech test in Australia - FAIL!

This affair is a dangerous,travesty of democracy. The numbers simply don't add up to support genuine concern for social unrest. Immigration minister Chris Bowen late last year sat on Dutch MP Geert Wilders' visiting visa for two months forcing a cancellation of speaking engagements.

However, Labor's tentacles of control are long and coercive. Wilders' visa for his planned February engagements has been obtained but not so for venues.

What is Labor so afraid of? Muslims in Australia edge 2%, militant trouble makers being a small fraction of that. If this is driven by Gillards guru John McTernan, a foreigner far more socially divisive to Australians than Geert Wilders could ever be, the real fear for Labor will be realised when freedom loving voters prove their numbers at the polling booth later this year. Perhaps then the proven agent provocateur to our social harmony will have their visa cancelled and sent packing, without a taxpayer funded bonus. GC.Ed.

''In Sydney, venues that were initially available were cancelled or would not take the booking when they realised who the speaker was,'' she told me. She provided a list of rejections: the Hilton Hotel, North Sydney Leagues Club, Sydney Masonic Centre, Wesley Convention Centre, Luna Park Function Centre, the Concourse at Chatswood and the Sir John Clancy Auditorium at the University of NSW.

''I offered a church-based venue in Sydney a donation and their reply was, 'You could offer $4 million and we would not accept your booking'.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/free-speech-dogged-by-politics-of-difference-20130120-2d13b.html#ixzz2Idhnwuh9

Free speech is a double-edged sword

As Muslims in particular use our anti-hate laws to their best advantage under the orchestral arrangement of multiculturalism, "fools rush in" like Barry O'Farrell and Nicola Roxon to establish a greater Nanny State making it easier to lodge complaint. With The Australian Human Rights Commission adjudicating, and vying for relevance, biased findings are surely a forgone conclusion? GC.Ed.

In the week before the Cronulla riot, Jones described the young Muslim men who for years had been sexually harassing women on the beach as ''vermin'' and ''mongrels'' who ''rape and pillage''. That was the context of his comments, a context which dropped away entirely as a prosecution for hate speech by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal dragged on for seven years. No mention was made in Sunday's news reports of the far more sinister and contemporaneous example of public hate speech on September 15 last year.

During a demonstration that turned violent in Sydney, some protesters carried provocative placards including one infamous message, ''Behead those who insult the Prophet''. Many wore headbands with Arabic script exhorting jihad. Among the chants was, ''Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell''.

 Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/racial-hatred-bill-offers-open-slather-to-obnoxious-20130113-2cnf1.html#ixzz2HtIAA6CI

Here's one for Nanny Roxon.

Attack of the killer bananas: Posters put up around BBC's £1bn headquarters warning of the dangers of the fruit.

Posters have been put up at the BBC's new £1bn headquarters warning staff to stop eating bananas after a colleague warned the fruit could killer her.

The posters feature a picture of the fruit with a cross scrawled over it, with the directive telling staff not to peel or eat it anywhere near the colleague, according to The Sun.

 A spokesman for the BBC said: 'The posters placed in specific areas of the newsroom have been put up by staff out of courtesy for a fellow colleague who has a strong medical sensitivity to bananas which can lead to severe symptoms.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257907/BBC-asks-staff-stop-eating-bananas-amid-health-fears.html#ixzz2HECRr11F 

Let's Get This Party Stunted

Siobhan Harris discuses how a proposed ban on nightclubs closing at 1am will lead to more irresponsible drinking and alcohol-fuelled violence:

Melbourne Mayoral candidate John Elliot is calling for nightclubs to close at 1am. He argues that this controversial move will put an end to street violence and keep Melbourne CBD residents safe. This ill-conceived promise will make street violence worse and ensure that residents feel less safe.

Nightclubs in Melbourne typically open around 9pm or 10pm, so if this measure were to come to effect, nightclubbers would only have 3 or 4 hours to enjoy themselves. But of course, nobody goes to a nightclub as soon as it opens (unless free entry before 12pm is offered) because girls and boys are busy getting ready or travelling from suburbia. Plus everybody knows the vibe peaks around 12pm.

When I was a receptionist at a restaurant I used to finish my shift at 2am every weekend. No matter how tired I was I wasn’t going to let another weekend pass me by without hitting the dance floor. So I would head to the nearest club, dance my legs off, drink and head home. It was the perfect system, all of my friends would be there and we shared some very memorable moments.

If I wasn’t able to do that, I’d take the party home. House parties would flourish, and what’s more, there’d be no legally responsible person telling you you’ve drunk too much or no security guard to boot you out. You’d just drink until you spewed and probably drink some more. House parties are so much more dangerous than nightclubs, underage drinkers aren’t asked to present identification and the booze is usually a rocket fuel concoction of spirits and soft drink.

MyChoice Australia: Help Fight The Nanny State

It's been a tough few weeks for those of us who believe in individual freedom and personal responsibility in Australia. As if the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco wasn't bad enough, our nanny state industry now wants plain packaging for food, and government mandated 'regulated portion sizes'  ID scanners have been proposed for bars, the AMA wants to raise the drinking age to 25, and in Victoria, John Elliott wants all bars to close at 1am, because apparently forcing everyone onto the street at the same time with no public transport which will inevitably lead to violence as it has everywhere else is something they want in Victoria. Not even our children are safe: kids have been banned from playing ball games after school as well as cartwheels (two months ago hugs and high-fives were banned for violating a 'no contact' policy.  I could go on, but you get the idea.

This is why last month, our parent group, the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance, started MyChoice Australia as Australia's first dedicated activist group committed to fighting the nanny state, and restoring our long-lost liberties.

I would encourage everyone here to visit the MyChoice website, sign up, and take part in this campaign.

The official MyChoice launch was held in Melbourne last month, with Tim Wilson from the IPA, Dr. Michael Keane from Monash University, and Cassandra Wilkinson from The Australian. Please watch the video below - it's 40 minutes, but well worth the time to watch - promise!