i’ve bitched about the quality of the morning tv shows before but this morning the today show actually discussed 2 topics i haven’t heard anything about before (of course they did a shit job but at least they highlighted it).
first, on friday a new law went into effect. i hadn’t heard about this before but
comlaw shows it was passed in mid 2005. this amendment to the criminal code act makes it illegal to discuss euthanasia (via fax, phone, email or internet) if you are discussing the practical side of how it occurs. (age article here where this is called a modern day book burning). the amendment states it’s safe to debate euthanasia in ‘is it right or wrong’ way but debating the best way to do it seems to be illegal.
the second troubling story concerned people getting a divorce. currently, aussies file for divorce but have to wait a year after filing for the divorce to be final. during that time they need to attend a counseling session to see if the marriage can be saved. this morning they reported this concept is being expanded by developing gov’t family relationship centres. the article i just pointed to seems to indicate the family law act has been changed already but the today show did not state if this was a plan or already law – just that these centres will be private & there’s currently a tender process for people wanting to run them.
it seems couples would be required to go to a 3 hr session and possibly seminars where the emphasis is on saving the marriage. i find it interesting there will be 65 of these centres around the country and wonder what sort of problems that will cause people who live in the middle of nowhere (reminds me of the recent article in ny mag re: nyc being the abortion capital of the states because of other states restrictions like waiting periods making it too hard to get an abortion in their state). for example, the article tells where the first 15 of the centres will be and there’s one in all of tasmania which means some people could be forced to drive possibly 4 hrs (and possibly more, i’m estimating based on driving times listed at a car rental website) one way.
the interview on the today show (and i didn’t catch the guy’s name) indicated that divorce is already a govt issue since the govt grants the divorce and since many divorced families find themselves on govt support like welfare. ah ha! so if we keep them together, there will be less people on welfare. i wonder how long til the govt figures out a way to decide how many kids each family should have (cause you know… after x number, they end up on welfare and need support for all those kids….) or begins a govt approved dating service so we don’t end up with the wrong person to begin with (starting the slippery slope of possible divorce, too many kids and ending up on welfare).
argh! i guess this is what i get for waking up early. morning rage.
btw, in trying to find a good aussie politics website, i found this listing of senate abuses btwn july and dec 2005 (july is when howard began controling the senate) but not a great politics website. anyone know of one?