not the motorcycle diaries

1. Parliament passes electoral law changes which include closing the electoral roll earlier, banning prisoners from voting and increasing the threshold for disclosing donations. This will disenfranchise thousands of citizens (such as prisoners, young people, people living in rural and remote areas) and loses Australia the definition of a democratic government.

2. The Government also changes the Senate committee system, which is one of the key checks and balances in a democratic parliamentary state. Not only are the number of committees reduced but they are all now to be headed by a member of the Government. We edge closer to dictatorship.

3. Howard refuses to shift on his draconian proposals to disallow all refugees in Australia who come by boat, whilst Amanda Vanstone spouts some sickening hypocrisy on World Refugee Day, and backbenchers remind the Government that they owed their seats to the racism, fearmongering and other such lying behind the Government’s ‘tough’ stance on people coming to Australia in the hope of being able to live without daily fear of persecution, violence and death.

4. Keith Windschuttle has been appointed to the ABC Board.

On a slightly funnier note:

5. On Neighbours last night, Lou asks Mishka not to confess her fake passport to the authorities. Mishka is Russian and living in Australia on fake documents. When I flipped over last night she was tearfully telling Lou that ‘immigration department in this country has a reputation for being so strict … they will send me to prison on that island ….’

6. In Parliament Question Time, John Howard says that “wages will always be higher under a Labor Government”.