Minister Hunt lacks reason for opposing inquiry into trans youth treatment surge
The Australian Christian Lobby has consistently called on the Federal Health Minister Hunt to support a full independent inquiry into a recent spike in children undergoing irreversible gender treatment and surgeries.
Read moreEuthanasia backers should come clean on where to draw the line
Media Release
Those pushing for Parliament to hold a euthanasia debate should tell politicians where the line should be drawn on whether or not to euthanise a patient, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said today.
ACL Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton said proponents of euthanasia such as Dr Philip Nitschke have suggested that troubled teens should also be able to access the so-called ‘peaceful pill’.
Mr Shelton said Australians who voted Green on August 21 thinking they were signing up to an environmental agenda must be perplexed that Greens’ Leader Bob Brown has nominated euthanasia as his top priority and that one of his Senators, Sarah Hanson-Young, says gay marriage is the Greens’ top priority.
“I wonder how many of these people realised that the Greens’ true priorities lie in a radical social agenda?”
Mr Shelton said Dr Nitschke told a Parliamentary Inquiry in Tasmania last year that he favours the Swiss approach where people who are not terminally ill are allowed to be euthanised.
“It is one thing to talk about so-called voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill, but this is not the experience in the small number of jurisdictions around the world who have gone down this path.
“In Holland where euthanasia is legal more than 1000 people a year are euthanised without their consent and a protocol, the Groningen Protocol, has been developed for euthanising babies.
“Dr Nitschke and Dr Brown need to be clear with the Australian people about where they see the euthanasia debate heading.
“Doubts remain over whether some of the patients Dr Nitschke has euthanised were terminally ill and he is on the record saying that euthanasia should be available to troubled teens.”
Mr Shelton said several State Parliaments had recently considered Greens’ euthanasia bills and rejected them.
“It is not a reflection on the competency of the people in the Territory Assemblies to say that an issue as grave as euthanasia should be considered in the larger State and Federal Parliaments where a larger number of peoples’ experience can be brought to bear and where there are checks and balances such as a house of review.”
Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan 0408 875 979
Those pushing for Parliament to hold a euthanasia debate should tell politicians where the line should be drawn on whether or not to euthanise a patient, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said today.
ACL Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton said proponents of euthanasia such as Dr Philip Nitschke have suggested that troubled teens should also be able to access the so-called ‘peaceful pill’.
Mr Shelton said Australians who voted Green on August 21 thinking they were signing up to an environmental agenda must be perplexed that Greens’ Leader Bob Brown has nominated euthanasia as his top priority and that one of his Senators, Sarah Hanson-Young, says gay marriage is the Greens’ top priority.
“I wonder how many of these people realised that the Greens’ true priorities lie in a radical social agenda?”
Mr Shelton said Dr Nitschke told a Parliamentary Inquiry in Tasmania last year that he favours the Swiss approach where people who are not terminally ill are allowed to be euthanised.
“It is one thing to talk about so-called voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill, but this is not the experience in the small number of jurisdictions around the world who have gone down this path.
“In Holland where euthanasia is legal more than 1000 people a year are euthanised without their consent and a protocol, the Groningen Protocol, has been developed for euthanising babies.
“Dr Nitschke and Dr Brown need to be clear with the Australian people about where they see the euthanasia debate heading.
“Doubts remain over whether some of the patients Dr Nitschke has euthanised were terminally ill and he is on the record saying that euthanasia should be available to troubled teens.”
Mr Shelton said several State Parliaments had recently considered Greens’ euthanasia bills and rejected them.
“It is not a reflection on the competency of the people in the Territory Assemblies to say that an issue as grave as euthanasia should be considered in the larger State and Federal Parliaments where a larger number of peoples’ experience can be brought to bear and where there are checks and balances such as a house of review.”
Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan 0408 875 979
ACL welcomes youth violence inquiry’s call for classification review
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) today backed the call of a Federal Parliamentary inquiry into youth violence for a review of film and TV classification categories, saying the classification system is out-of-touch with community standards and needs a major overhaul.
ACL Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton welcomed the Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth’s recognition of the contribution violence in the media is making to youth violence, although he said it was disappointing that greater inroads weren’t made by the inquiry into tackling the negative effects of drugs and alcohol on Australia’s young people.
“The committee’s recommendation on classification issues adds to the rising tide of concern over Australia’s classification system, which has effectively become a toothless tiger in safeguarding the community from an onslaught of sex and violence on our television screens, in our films, and in video games.
“There are very serious concerns over the effect the media environment is having in terms of sexualising young people and contributing to growing levels of youth violence,” Mr Shelton said.
“However we are well past the stage of tinkering around the edges. The classification system is broken and is in need of a complete overhaul.
“Stronger government regulation should be a priority – putting an end to a situation where the commercial interests of the media industry are being put ahead of the best interests of children.”
Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979.
ACL Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton welcomed the Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth’s recognition of the contribution violence in the media is making to youth violence, although he said it was disappointing that greater inroads weren’t made by the inquiry into tackling the negative effects of drugs and alcohol on Australia’s young people.
“The committee’s recommendation on classification issues adds to the rising tide of concern over Australia’s classification system, which has effectively become a toothless tiger in safeguarding the community from an onslaught of sex and violence on our television screens, in our films, and in video games.
“There are very serious concerns over the effect the media environment is having in terms of sexualising young people and contributing to growing levels of youth violence,” Mr Shelton said.
“However we are well past the stage of tinkering around the edges. The classification system is broken and is in need of a complete overhaul.
“Stronger government regulation should be a priority – putting an end to a situation where the commercial interests of the media industry are being put ahead of the best interests of children.”
Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979.