AFA state conference

Family Forum 2005 on Re-Building the Culture of Life 25 September 2005 @ Parliament House Annex, Brisbane:

• Out of Africa: Winning the war on AIDS - Sister Miriam Duggan  (slide version of the talk may be obtained on request)
  
• Caring if not Curing: Protecting Society's Vulnerable against Euthanasia - Pastor Ruth Limkin
• Changing Public Opinion Through the Mass Media: A Look at an Exciting New Pro-Life TV Initiative - Paul Herring
• Pro-woman, Pro-life: The Woman-Centred Approach to The Abortion Debate
• True Love Waits - Jim and Faye Lyons

Bioethics, culture of life, culture of death

"UN backs ban on all human cloning" Peter Westmore, Newsweekly, 26 March 2005

"The real meaning of genetics" Eric Cohen, The New Atlantis, Summer 2005 issue

"Abortion's elusive truths" Ron Boswell, The Australian, 4 February 2005
Are we letting down women who face crises pregnancies, asks National Party senator Ron Boswell.

"Warning to conservative politicians" Katharine Betts, The Australian, 4 February 2005
According to Australian Election Study surveys on abortion just after elections since 1987, the trend remains the same: Australian voters support on-demand abortion, and Labour candidates are more pro-choice than Liberal and National candidates.

"Religious leaders join forces to fight abortion" Natasha Robinson and Samantha Maiden, FreePublic.com, 1 February 2005
A joint memento from religious leaders and doctors opposing abortion has called for deferring abortion when a fatal abnormalities. The argument, familiar in the euthanasia debate, says that we do not have the right to actively bring about the death of a patient, regardless of whether death is inevitable.

"Mother who died for her unborn child may become saint" Richard Owen, The Times (reprinted in The Australian), 28 January 2005
Testimonies - saintly testimonies - hold the key to a cultural turnaround on abortion. An Italian mother who was diagnosed for cancer during pregnancy, refused treatment and died three months after delivering her baby.

"What choice does 'pro-choice' support" Rachael Patterson, OnlineOpinion.com, 29 November 2004
Following a Newspoll survey which found that younger women (18-34) least support abortion, a young, single woman here argues that the debate on abortion needs get beyond Germain Greer and Eva Cox, and onto real solutions which best support how a woman can still have a child, whether she is studying, working or caring for a home.

Education

"Benchmarking Australian Primary School Curricula" Kevin Donnelly, federal government report, 29 September 2005
A damning study by the federal government found that Australia's students are being left behind due to "new age curriculums". The study assessed primary school curricula in mathematics, science and English (the intended curriculum) across all Australian education systems as well as a selected number of overseas countries.

"Cardinal Pell slams English Syllabus" Jill Rowbotham, News.com, 22 September 2005
In a speech to the National Press Gallery, Cardinal Pell warned that schools abandoning traditional English programs in favour of "critical literacy" were trying to make students agents of social change.

"Enforcing the gender agenda" Kevin Donnelly, Newsweekly, 26 March 2005

"Cannon fodder of the culture wars" Kevin Donnelly, The Australian, 9 February 2005
Education guru airs out an editorial from the latest edition of the journal English in Australia by a NSW education union chief. His conclusion: the Englisgh classroom was once a place to learn how to read and write - now it's where teachers are supposed to instruct tomorrow's adults on how to vote.

Parenting and child-care

Health / Medical

"Mental health policy 'is dead'" Simon Kearney, The Australian, 30 July 2005
Australia's peak mental health body has withdrawn its support for a new national plan calling for deinstitutionalisation of the mentally handicapped. The Mental Council of Australia says a new model is needed, and one which is not asylum based.

"Psychology in recovery" Paul Vitz, First Things, March 2005

"A lot on their plates" Clara Pirani, The Australian, 21 January 2005
Childhood obesity could cause more death and illness than smoking, and could lead to the first fall in life expectancy, according to latest research.

"Suicide link to drugs for toddlers" Clara Pirani, The Australian, 29 January 2005
The use of anti-depressants for children is increasing, with the age of children lowering, according to latest figures from the Health Insurance Commission.  Concerns are being raised by pediatricians about the subsitution of drugs for  pychological treatment. Even more alarming is the link to suicide with some of the latest anti-depressants.

Media / Internet

"Guarding our kids from a perverse twist" Clive Hamilton, The Australian, 31 January 2005
Plans to regulate internet pron make moral and political sense says Australian Institute chief, Clive Hamilton

Society and culture

"Policies praised for birth book" Clara Pirani, The Australian, 9 April 2005
The Howard Government's family-friendly policies such as the baby bonus, coupled with the strong economic outlook, have created the first baby boom in nine years.