Comments from abroad...

Due to hectic work commitments the frequency of my posts may drop off a little. I'm now overseas for work, but am still monitoring Australian politics from afar. Beattie calling the election on the day I flew out will see me vote as a registered overseas voter for the first time - it will be an interesting election. QLD politics is slowly approaching a change of government - I don't think the Coalition will succeed this time around, but in 3 years it should be another story. My tip is for the balance of power within the Coalition to begin to change for the first time. The Liberals will win more seats from Labor than the Nationals will - the next time the Coalition is in power, it will be because the Liberals control Brisbane. The next Coalition leader will be a Liberal, not a National.

This week also saw Howard forced to withdraw his controversial border protection legislation. Steve Fielding did what I hoped he would, and made a decision based on Christian fundamentals that Family First lays claim to standing for. I would have feared to see the reaction if Family First had backed the new laws - this was a decision that Fielding had to make, and he gained good exposure because of the issue. Some commentators on the Left may soon realise that Australia's 'fundamentalist' christians are significantly different to the U.S. religious right that the Fairfax media seems so keen to compare them to. Family First will prove to be a lot more central than right on issues that play on Christian values.

Stem Cell research will be another issue that will dominate the headlines. As a christian, I do not have a problem with allowing stem cell research that does not use a true embryo. What I would like to see is amendments to legislation made to allow this, but at the same time blanket banning research using embryos for good. The ethical line in the sand must be drawn - I find it amazing that some sectors would jump up and down about animal testing for research purposes, but not testing on human embryos. I guess the pro-choice lobby has worked so hard to ensure embryos are not considered to be 'alive', and stem cell research is seeking to take advantage of this viewpoint. Only time will tell if proponents of the amendments can get a movement similar to RU486 occuring in parliament.