It’s a week, so probably something.
Labor questions PM Malcolm Turnbull’s commitment to tackling discrimination against women.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s commitment to tackling discrimination against women is being questioned, with the position of Sex Discrimination Commissioner left vacant for four months.
Elizabeth Broderick left the post in early September, but her departure was long expected after Attorney-General George Brandis extended her term by a year in 2014.
Senator Brandis told Parliament in early November, in response to Labor’s questions, that an announcement would be made “very soon”.
Other things No Award questions about Turnbull: his judgement; his friends (cf Dutton).
Had some brown person issues
The Government has proposed legislation that would end a program that provides funding for services specifically tailored for Indigenous children.
It wants to move these services into the mainstream funding system but Indigenous communities fear some centres will be forced to close as a result.
In a statement to other media outlets, Defence said the @navyislamic account was shut down in an attempt to “consolidate” the navy’s social media platforms.
However, a list of social media accounts published by Defence shows multiple official navy accounts still in operation, including that of Warrant Officer Martin Holzberger.
In a later statement provided to the Canberra Times, a spokesman for Defence said the use of social media by the navy was “continuing to develop”.
“Some individual accounts will remain active due to the site not being solely managed by navy or branding arrangements such as with some sporting bodies such as the Australian Surf Rowers League, Team Navy as well as Navy Rugby Union,” the spokesman said.
To be fair this is probably ableism as well: Sri Lankan crisis centre worker wants ‘fair go’ for Down Syndrome daughter.
In 2014, the Immigration Department approved a temporary work visa for nine-year-old Eliza Fonseka’s parents, but not for the girl, because of concerns her condition could incur significant health care costs.
Last year Eliza’s father Angelo Fonseka moved to Shark Bay, 800 kilometres north of Perth, to use his visa to work at a Christian crisis centre.
His wife, Shanoline, stayed behind in Sri Lanka with their daughter.
Mr Fonseka has been separated from his partner and child for nine months and says it has been hard to concentrate without them.
“It’s so sad when my daughter says ‘Dad I miss you, come soon’,” he said.
“Eliza is the only immediate family member left in Sri Lanka, all the immediate family members are Australian citizens.”
Hated on women
(wrt: Welfare recipients should be forced to take birth control, says ex-Labor MP)
Penny Wong asks Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to explain ‘mad witch’ text from Peter Dutton
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton called The Sunday Telegraph’s political editor Samantha Maiden a “mad f***ing witch” in a text message sent on Sunday.
…
“He needs to explain to people why it is that Mr Dutton’s behaviour and this sort of language is consistent with the standards that are expected of ministers,” she said.
“Any woman knows what’s meant by those words.”
ANY WOMAN SURE DOES.
The government claims that an increase in costs after the removal a rebate for pap smears and other pathology work won’t be passed on to patients. Do we believe them? AHAHAHA NO.
Only half of Medicare savings will go towards listing new procedures. Surprise!
Not this week
Hawke government considered carbon tax in 1991 to curb climate change
A cabinet submission from 1991 mentions a “carbon tax for energy use” as well as a “carbon tax-type” tax based on “all greenhouse gas emissions, for all source activities, including industry, energy, agriculture, transport”.
The ideas, along with other schemes designed to curb carbon emissions through government incentives, were rejected because of a lack of information about their effects on the economy, which was then in a year-long recession.
The documents also reveal detailed policy plans to introduce detention of asylum seekers, and the introduction of a new visa class that would deny refugees automatic protection in Australia.
Drive-by reminder from Liz that it was Keating who introduced mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
no-award.net 
The non-visa for the disabled kid doesn’t surprise me, unfortunately. A similar thing happened to a friend of a friend. The father was a European scientist who had had a temporary contract in Australia and had been offered a permanent one, his wife got pregnant and had the baby IN Australia, something went slightly wrong during delivery (apparently in a way that wasn’t anyone’s fault but also wasn’t a pre-existing condition) and the baby became slightly brain damaged. Their permanent residency application was refused because of that. All the ableism. 😦