The fight over equal pay continues to rage in Texas, and the head of a Republican political activist committee, targeting women voters, doesn’t support equal pay because ‘women are too busy.’ During an interview with local news WFAA, Redstate Women Executive Director, Cari Christman said that the GOP doesn’t support laws that address the gender…
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If you heard out-and-proud ‘feminist’ Tony Abbott’s speech this International Women’s Day, you would think that – bar room for improvement in parental leave – ladies across the nation should be cheering. ‘Anyone who is an Australian has won the lottery of life and if you look at our country and the deal that it…
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Bernie Finn, a member of the Victorian parliament’s upper house, made some comments about abortion this week that shocked even his own party. Mr. Finn was speaking to his local newspaper, the Werribee-Hoppers Crossing-Point Cook Star, when he reiterated to the paper, and all of its unfortunate readers, just why he is anti-choice. ‘In…
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Speaking on International Women’s Day, Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick said that the lack of women in parliament will directly impact on policy issues effecting Australian women. According to Broderick, women make up just one third of Australian parliamentarians, a statistic that needs to change if we are to see real action on women’s…
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During the International Women’s Day Breakfast in Canberra yesterday, Tony Abbott claimed that his wife and three daughters have helped him become a feminist. ‘My views on policy towards women have changed and evolved in response to watching friends of mine, watching colleagues of mine and in particular looking at my daughters grow up and…
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Deputy Leader for the Opposition, Tanya Plibersek, introduced a private members’ bill last Tuesday morning aimed at legalising gay marriage in Australia. This bill was an effort designed to pressure Prime Minister Tony Abbott into deciding on whether Government MPs will be allowed a conscience vote. A conscience vote (or free vote) is where legislators…
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An injunction has been issued in the American state of Texas to stop a law banning gay marriage from coming into effect. The voter-driven ban has been deemed unconstitutional by US District judge Orlando Garcia, who wrote that its ‘state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in [the] United States Constitution’. ‘These Texas laws deny Plaintiffs…
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As part of the Abbott government’s plan to slash around $1 billion of red tape, small Australian businesses can soon expect more relaxed reporting requirements concerning gender equalities in their workplaces. In a new system being considered by Employment Minister Eric Abetz, the plan proposes that only companies with over 1000 staff members would need…
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The ABC has released a report stating that a pregnant Rohingyan refugee couple decided on an abortion rather than have their child face the conditions at the Nauru detention facility. Mamun and Silima Motiur arrived on Christmas Island in early December, and were quickly transferred to Nauru. A damning report issued by the United Nations…
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Another day, another story about asylum seekers that are not receiving humane treatment in Australian offshore detention centres. If you haven’t already heard the latest – here’s a round up: On Monday, 17th February, a riot broke out on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island detention centre, which has resulted in 62 injured asylum seekers and…
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Controversial new ‘anti-protest’ laws have passed the Victorian lower house by one vote. The summary offences and sentencing amendment bill will now go to the upper house, the Legislative Council for approval. If the laws are passed, police will be able to issue ‘move on directions’ ordering a protesting individual or group to leave an…
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The Federal government will put $4.2 million into two programs aimed at helping empower the women of Vietnam. Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop announced during her visit of the country that the money will be distributed equally between Vietnamese Women’s Union projects to end gender-based violence and for agricultural development. The funds for ending gender-based violence…
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Thirty-five asylum seekers escaped from Manus Island detention centre on Sunday, after a violent clash with security forces. Following a meeting on Sunday evening, asylum seekers attempted to shatter windows and created weapons out of their beds and fencing, before fleeing the compound. The asylum seekers had been told by immigration officials that if they…
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Just as we thought things with the newly appointed Abbott government couldn’t get any worse. News has broke that the government’s initiative to bring ‘to bring indigenous policy under the PM’s control,’ by employing ‘260 Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander bureaucrats’ into the Department of the Prime Minster and Cabinet, is going to be paying…
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