Fair Pay Commission lives up to its name...

The first wage case judged by the Fair Pay Commission has seen a sizeable increase in the minimum wage for Australia. While business groups might be licking their wounds, the Coalition is celebrating what will surely be yet another valuable weapon in their arsenal to combat Labor in the Industrial Relations battlefield.

I personally believe that we should fix the minimum wage as it currently stands, and then adjust for inflation annually. The Government should then focus on programs that enable minimum wage workers to up skill and improve their earning capabilities - the minimum wage should be a stepping stone, not a plateau. Full time workers on the minimum wage with a family to support should be particularly focused upon - especially if they are the primary wage earner. A low minimum wage would allow business to create jobs easily, providing young Australians and students the unskilled casual and part time employment that suits their life style and commitment. Full time minimum wage earners should be provided with added incentive to move beyond the initial stepping stone of minimum wage unskilled labour.

What is most interesting about this development is that it further degrades the Labor and Union scare campaign about Industrial Relations. The election is still at least six months away, and if jobs continue increasing the average Australian is going to be a lot more sceptical about buying the Labor scare campaign. It is difficult to convince the electorate that this legislation is so bad when all the signs are so good. No mass sackings, no decreased wages - instead increasing wages, increasing job opportunities and few legitimate scandals. Labor may even find itself defending its scare campaign in the light of nothing but positive results from Work Choices.

Death comes calling for the Democrats...

Today Natasha Stott Despoja announced that she would not stand for re-election in the next election. With this development, it appears extrememly unlikely that the Democrats will return a single senator to the federal parliament after the next election. There will be many theories as to why the Democrat demise occured - most would stem from backing the GST and leadership battles. One I believe to be the most accurate is the fact that the Democrats have slowly but surely traveled from the centre of spectrum to the left, to the point where they resemble more closely the Greens and Labor's Left. Once their new 'identity' was assumed, it became very clear that voters prefered the Greens as an alternate Left wing voice. The rise in votes gained by the Greens mirrored a slow but steady decline in the Democrats. When policy mistakes (such as the GST) and cut throat leadership battles raged, the Democrats began to resemble some of the worst aspects of the bastards that they had pledged to keep honest.

The new political stage is an interesting one - an increasingly powerful and popular far left Green Party, and a supposed far right Family First Party. Somehow I think that both Labor and the Coalition will be much more inclined to work with Family First - and this fledgling 'pentecostal christian' party will find itself increasingly powerful in the Senate.

Fairfax's bias against Hillsong...

A short article today reminded me of a campaign by several media outlets in Australia to make Hillsong out to be some sort of cult. Alex Mitchell could bairly disguise his bias against Australia's largest church in his article in today's Sydney Morning Herald. He tried very hard to remove the christianity from the story - no where in the article did he let the reader know that Hillsong was in fact a church - and with the reference to Hillsong's church buildings as 'stadiums', you would be forgiven to come away from the article thinking Hillsong was some sort of sporting team. Many left leaning commentators have their sites trained on this church - in the past few years, I have noticed an increasing tendency to attempt to liken it to a cult or a far right dangerous fundamentalist organisation.

Heavens forbid that Australia's largest church should actually want to build churches that can cater for the several thousand christians that attend each week. $23 million might seem like a lot for a church to own in property and facilities... until you take a look at our older denominations. The catholic, anglican and uniting church organisations hold hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars worth of property and facilites throughout Australia. Hillsong, a church of some 15,000 christians, should expect to be able build churches that can accomodate and cater for its worshippers without cheap criticism from the likes of Mitchell.

Mitchell is yet another journalist that also ignores the fact that Hillsong is but one church of the Assemblies of God (AOG) - an Australian born and bred pentecostal denomination. This isn't a 'lone cult', but the largest of thousands of AOG churches that are in every corner of our nation. Pentecostal churches have more worshippers each Sunday than any other denomination bar the Catholics.

It really is another case of the left being so keen to paint pentecostal and evangelical christians in Australia as a religious right. Family First has been branded a far right political party, despite its support for refugee rights and disapproval of Howard's industrial relations reforms. The left is keen on beating up on a religious right that just does not exist. Hillsong, AOG and Family First all adhere to christian values and beliefs - a belief structure that can neither be pigeon holed in either the right, centre or left areas of politics.

North Korea joins the Nuclear Club

Confirmation today that one of the world's most dangerous rogue states has joined the nuclear club. Despite depending on world aid several times in the last decade to save its people from starvation, North Korea has found the resources to develop a nuclear capability. Unfortunately it also shows the inability of the international community to control nuclear ambitions of sovereign states. Do we really expect to succeed in Iran where we have failed in North Korea? Is it a realistic expecation that further tightening the sanctions against this rouge state won't see their new found nuclear capability on the market for other states and even non-state actors?

Today's development delivers a raft of questions - questions that have seen markets tumble in both Japan and South Korea. For the first time, a true rogue state has attained nuclear capability. North Korea is ruled by a regime that is happy to put its own interests above the lives and welfare of their own people - the road to nuclear capability was carved on the backs of millions that died of starvation and disease. These commoners paid the ultimate price for Kim Jong Il's nuclear ambitions.

We will soon see a international strategic situation where 'Pax Americana' is no more. The days are numbered where powerful nations can influence middle and small powers without fear of ramification. Middle and small powers who are nuclear capable will command a disproportionate influence, one that will encourage many other nations to also pursue this freedom of action in the form of nuclear capability.

Rudd's real reason for speaking out...

In the analysis of 'Faith in Politics' - Rudd's essay in the Monthly calling for more christian support of Labor, a few things have become clear. One of the best reviews of the essay came from the Australian's Christopher Pearson in his article 'Play for God and Country'. This quote, in particular the section in bold sums up best what worries me about Rudd:

There are other matters on which Rudd should be taken to task. I'd have thought it incumbent on his party's spokesman on foreign affairs, when deploring Australia's record on foreign aid, at least to have the grace to mention in passing that its forward funding commitment has more than doubled during the past four years. But that would be to misread Faith in Politics as a serious invitation to debate. Instead, I think it has to be seen as a vehicle for its author to assume a range of positions outside his portfolio in the arena of domestic politics, when his leader is registering a net disapproval rating of 16 percentage points and seems to be the main obstacle to a Labor victory at the next federal election.

Rudd most definitely seems to be seizing the 'Labor's Christian' mantle in order to establish himself in the media and allow leeway to comment on a wide array of issues without being seen as undermining Beazley's leadership. If I was Kim Beazley, Kevin Rudd is one man I would never turn my back to - Christian or not, he seems to be waiting in the shadows for his moment of opportunity.

Rudd's approach to 'Christian' politics

Kevin Rudd has for some time now been actively establishing himself as Labor's Christian spokesman. His essay has called for Christians to avoid becoming like the religious right in the US - seen as staunch Republicans, and therefore powerless to truly influence either party. A short quote from his essay below;

What, for example, is a Christian view on the impact of the Americanisation of our industrial relations system on family living standards and family life? What is a Christian view of global climate change, given Christian teachings on the proper stewardship of creation? And what is a Christian view of asylum seekers in the tradition of the parable of the Good Samaritan?

Rudd has raised some good points here - but unfortunately has ignored some other points that interest christian voters greatly - what is for example, the Christian view on abortion? what is a Christian view on Gay Marriage? What is a Christian view on Theraputic Cloning and Stem Cell Research? It is all well and good for a Christian politician to take a stand on social justice issues, but Christian voters expect people like Rudd to also take a stance on the issues I have just metioned, despite the political cost. Tony Abbott would no doubt be aware that his Catholic values cost him dearly, perhaps even to the point of missing a potential leadership opportunity. He still spoke up from a Christian perspective in the RU486 debate, despite the ridicule in attracted from both sides of parliament. Rudd seems ruthlessly opportunistic in his forays into the realm of Christian politics.

Rudd also has to examine his own party's approach to dealing with Christians, particularly Pentecostal Christians. Hillsong Church, the largest of the Assemblies of God churches ( An Australian born Pentecostal Denomination ) has been the target of several assaults from Labor politicians, most notibly Ian West in NSW. Penetecostal Christians are taunted as 'fundamentalists' - comparing them to extremist Muslims. Victorian Labor's Victorian Racial & Religious Tolerance Act has seen two Pentecostal pastors treated as criminals for 'daring' to criticise Islam (whilst Christianity seems to be fair game from all sides). This has forced the two pastors to fight a very costly legal battle in higher courts that is continuing to this day. Labor's close links with both the Greens and Democrats is also of a concern, given the anti-christian platforms that both parties represent. Much is to be done by the ALP to build themselves as a credible alternative to Christians, and Pentecostal Christians in particular (the fastest growing denominations in Australia, and second only to the Catholics in Church attendance).

The welfare trap...

Noel Pearson wrote an excellent op-ed piece in the Australian about the dangers of absolving those on welfare of their resonsibilities, both to their children and the community as a whole. While Pearson focuses primarily on the damage being done to Aboriginals because of the welfare trap , this is an issue that is just as much of a concern to Australians as a whole. We are lucky enough to live in a nation that provides welfare and services to the poor and disadvantaged, but as Noel points out, the method in which we currently do that may well be counter - productive.

Providing welfare that creates a situation where parents feel absolved from their parental responsibilities is something that we must correct. Welfare payments should definetly be linked to issues such as school attendance, school readiness (which Pearson describes as children being fed, clean and well rested for the school day), maintenance of the condition of government housing and other such issues.

This is most definetly not just an Aboriginal issue - a break down in a sense of responsibility also gives rise to a sense of entitlement and decrease in motivation ('why do it for yourself when you can have it done for you' mentality). Pearson continues to prove to be one of the most significant leaders in the Aboriginal community. He offers more hope and drive towards a better life for Aboriginal Australians, and offers solutions to the problems - not just criticism.

Turnbull continues to rise...

Malcolm Turnbull has chosen an excellent issue to rise through the ranks with in water. Given the serious problems around the nation with water usage, Howard created the Office of Water Resources this week and an expected new Junior Minister position that Turnbull will fill. It gives Turnbull the opportunity to gain further press coverage on a national stage - the issue of water usage will increase as the drought continues. Turnbull continues in his role as Parliamentary Secretary to Howard, and arrangement that seems to suit both men well. There has been speculation in both the Fairfax and News press that Turnbull is being used by Howard as a pawn in his chess game with Peter Costello. The longer Howard stays as Prime Minister, and Turnbull continues rising through the ranks, the more the whispers will grow of his potential as an alternate leader to Costello...