The ACL compiles a daily media monitoring services of stories of interest relating to children, family, drugs and alcohol, marriage, human rights, religious freedom etc. See here to read what's in the news today.



 

 

Abortion

Move for abortion drug RU486 here

Adam Cresswell - The Australian

Medical abortion drug RU486 could be widely available from GPs in most states within months, following what is understood to be an application by a drug company to market it in Australia for the first time.  The unnamed company is believed to have applied to the Therapeutic Goods Administration for permission to supply the drug, which is also known as mifepristone, to doctors.  If approved, GPs in most states would be free to prescribe the drug to women for the purpose of inducing an abortion of a fetus at up to nine weeks.

Texas court blocks ultrasound abortion law

News.com

Texas Governor Rick Perry has slammed a court ruling that invalidated parts of a law he signed that would force doctors to conduct an ultrasound for women seeking an abortion.  "This important sonogram legislation ensures that every Texas woman seeking an abortion has all the facts about the life she is carrying, and understands the devastating impact of such a life-changing decision," Mr Perry, who is a Republican presidential hopeful, said in a statement.  He called the ruling "a great disappointment to all Texans who stand in defence of life."

Children & Family

Law change a better bet for fathers

Sue Dunlevy - The Australian

Five years after the law was changed to encourage shared parenting when couples separate, one in six children are spending between 35 and 65 per cent of nights with both mum and dad.  But only 7 per cent of children are in an equal care arrangement, spending 48-52 per cent of nights with each parent, says a study to be published today in the Australian Institute of Family Studies' journal Family Matters.

Discipline not to smack

David Penberthy The Daily Telegraph

TO smack or not to smack? There are few questions more hotly contested in the world of parenting.

Education

Gonski review pitches for new school funding model

Justine Ferrari, The Australian

SCHOOLS would receive a minimum level of government funding based on the cost of educating students to a desired standard, under a model proposed to the independent review of school funding.

Warning of two tier education system

ABC

The WA Auditor General has found the State Government's independent public school program could create a two tier education system.  The report found that independently run schools could poach sought-after teachers. The scheme is designed to allow public schools to apply for independent status, giving them greater control over their staff and budgets.

Gambling

Salvation Army pulls its support for the Gillard government's controversial poker machine cap

Joe Hildebrand - The Daily Telegraph

The Salvation Army has pulled its support for the Gillard government's controversial pokies cap, putting Labor at odds with the nation's most iconic anti-gambling group.  The turnaround - which follows suggestions that clubs were prepared to bar Salvation Army collectors from their venues - will have major ramifications for the ALP.

Homelessness

Housing can be a matter of life and death

Toby Hall - SMH

Like most Australians, I was horrified to read about the violent death of a homeless man on a train between Sydney and Newcastle last week.  That such a vulnerable person – a 76-year-old – was preyed upon while seeking the basic human needs of shelter and warmth is just heartbreaking.

Marriage

Affairs no longer main cause of UK marriage breakdowns, lawyers say

Herald Sun

In years gone by the extramarital affair has been unrivaled in the UK as the prime reason for divorce. But in this postmodern age, it has been replaced by something more prosaic: falling out of love.  An annual survey on divorce has found that "growing apart/falling out of love" is the most common reason for a marriage breakdown, pushing the affair into second place for the first time, The (London) Times said.

Vote against gay marriage

Christopher Pearson – The Australian

DAYS before he was elected Pope, Joseph Ratzinger attributed the crisis in modern Europe to "the dictatorship of relativism". It was an interesting choice of words for several reasons.

Overseas Aid

Somalia: How did it get to be like this?

ABC

The United Nations has declared an official famine in parts of southern Somalia, as the country suffers the worst drought in more than half a century.  In war torn Somalia almost four million people are in crisis from the worst drought in decades. One million children are facing starvation.

Refugees

Labor's asylum solution all at sea after High Court vetoes Malaysia Solution

Paul Maley, National security correspondent  The Australian

LABOR has been forced to consider reopening the Howard-era detention centre on Nauru and reinstating temporary protection visas, after the High Court destroyed its plan to deport asylum-seekers to Malaysia.

Refugee law experts say High Court decision will have significant impact

Timothy McDonald - ABC

Refugee law experts say the High Court's decision doesn't completely close the door for the Government to make a refugee-swap deal with a neighbouring country. But it does make it very difficult, because the decision expressed no view about whether Malaysia meets the relevant human rights standards. That means it could apply to most agreements to send asylum seekers to any third country. 

Put that in your regional pipe and smoke it

Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor – The Australian

THIS High Court decision is a disaster for the Gillard government, and for Australia's standing in Asia.

Humane decision as Malaysian plan springs a leak

David Marr - SMH

IT'S about fairness. For a long time the High Court has ticked off on the remarkable difficulties Australia puts in the way of asylum seekers who come here by boat. Even mandatory detention for life has been given the nod by the court. But lately the judges have ruled boat people must at least be dealt with fairly while they are caught up in the system.


Duty of care for refugees

EDITORIAL - SMH

WITH the High Court ruling against the Gillard government's plan to send asylum-seeking boat people to Malaysia, a scheme that was morally and legally dubious from the start has been scuttled.

Sexualisation of Society

It's official: You can be a porn star and teach high school students

News.com.au

A teacher who led a double life as a porn star and stripper has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct - but has still been allowed to keep his job in the classroom.  Benedict Garrett, 31, was head of sex education at Beal High School in east London, but outside work he was known by his stripper stage name Johnny Anglais.

Seven’s Jersey Shore breasts breach ad rules

Mumbrella

Seven has been found guilty of breaching advertising rules on sexual imagery in an outdoor poster to promote Italian-American reality show Jersey Shore featuring a large breasted woman in a bikini with the message “100% guidette”.

Further

NSW Premier bows to Reverend Fred Nile and returns Queen's portrait and oath of allegience to State Parliament

Kate Sikora - The Daily Telegraph 

God save the Queen. Or in this case it's God's representative on Earth, the Reverend Fred Nile, doing the saving.  After a decade of being hidden away, the Queen's portrait has been returned to the walls of state parliament.  And, in a move sure to have monarchists waving their Union Jacks, the oath of allegiance to the Queen will also be returned. Premier Barry O'Farrell has bowed to Mr Nile's wishes and will restore the oath, taken by new MPs upon entering parliament, which was abolished by the previous Labor government.