John Spooner.

“Polygamy has been demonstrated throughout Australia’s history amongst certain Indigenous Australian communities and certain Muslim migrants,” Ivanov explains.

“The normalisation of monogamy across most parts of the world has been influenced by labour, class, religion — particularly Christianity — and the inheritance and transfer of property.”

In the lead up to the Waffen SSM referendum I would ask my interlocutors what the next campaign would be, and offered lowering the age of consent or polygamy. Which seemed frightfully naive in light of the safe schools/tranny thing that rolled out a week or so after it got up.

The sickness of half of the USA at every level of society is now being demonstrated on a daily basis.

Sicktoria leads the race to the bottom. Free speech there is officially dead. RTWT, but only if you don’t have high blood pressure.

In Victoria, Free Speech is Dead

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the Victorian Parliament passed the Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion) Act 2025. The law amends the Crimes Act 1958, the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, and the Bail Act 1977 to lower the onus of proof and increase the penalty for alleged vilification offences that previously carried a maximum penalty of just six months.

?The law confidently states that ‘The diversity of the people of Victoria enhances our community and Victorians embrace the benefits provided by this diversity and are proud that people live together harmoniously.’ However, a careful reading discloses the precarious position of free speech in Victoria (and Australia) and challenges the expectation that all people be treated equally before the law. We argue that the law is yet another instalment in the fight against free speech and Australia’s Christian and socially conservative silent majority.

The newly adopted law now increases the protected attributes to include disability, gender identity, race, religious belief or activity, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and personal association with a person who possesses any of these attributes. It criminalises conduct that is likely ‘to be considered by a reasonable person with the protected attribute to be hateful.’ It also increases the penalty to three years imprisonment (for serious vilification) or five years (for harm or damage to property). It does not matter that the alleged conduct, which includes any form of communication, occurs on private property or land, or at a place not open to the general public.

Two new serious vilification criminal offences with higher maximum penalties have now been introduced in the Crimes Act 1958: an incitement offence and a threat offence. These offences will prohibit not only intentional but also “reckless” behaviour that occurs in private or public (including online). In determining whether a person committed or incited vilification, it is irrelevant whether the person who allegedly committed a “hate crime” had the intention to do so or to offend anyone.

I’m interested in gaining a better understanding of the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on Australia’s trade with other countries particularly China and India. Does anyone know if this has been discussed or written about yet? Or maybe a Cat can give some pointers.

Starmer is reported to favour agressive punitive responses against Trump’s tariff policy.

Um!

And Fuhrer von der Leyen has announced that the EU has always been willing to negotiate on tariffs.

Um!

The Wall Street led panic concerning the threat of Trump’s tariffs to their globalist corruption diguises the underlying principal behind Trump’s international relations policy. He is returning to the traditional conservative policy of favouring bilateral or limited scope arrangements over multilateralism.

Multilateral arrangements rely on participants being good actors, but rarely have any means of constraining bad actors which is why the Left love big unwieldy arrangements. WTO, WHO, Human Rights Agreements, and endless climate arrangements are all engineered to constrain good actors while allowing criminal regimes to run wild. Trump is right, the US has been nothing more than carrion to these thugs, none more so than the German EU.

Keating, Gillard and the ABC overwhelmed Australian conservative’s preference for bilateral arrangements and wise scepticism for UN, UNESCO NGO or EU sponsored arrangements. An incoming conservative government would have to sack the whole of DFAT down to the cleaning staff if it wishes to exert Australian interests in foreign affairs. Trump is showing the way.

Lots of ignorance based squeaking last night on Sky about Trump’s unfair 10% tariff imposition upon Australia.

None of the experts bothered to note that Trump is focused on both tariff and non tariff barriers.

Australia’s non tariff barrier GST is, surprise, 10%.

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/333718a4df62bf71731a78320fbeea0a?s=64&d=identicon&r=g
johanna
April 5, 2025 10:13 am

Reply to  mem

We have the lowest tariff – 10%.

India has sensibly entered discussions, and Modi is a pal of Trump. I don’t think it’s a big deal there. They will work something out.

The big picture is blowing up the many cosy cartels and supranationals (principally the WTO) that have dominated trade policy across the world for decades.

I think it’s awesome. As I mentioned in the OT, I know someone who has made a successful and lucrative career out of being an expert on the Byzantium maze of of internatonal trade. She has spent her life flying around the world (first class, of course) from one gabfest to another where they argue about regulations.

A self-licking icecream, like the COP, a job for life with plenty of perks.

It’s a paradigm shift.