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Opinion/Commentary

Little Charlie Mullaley’s death is a good reason for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be suspicious of authorities

TW: this post deals with extreme child abuse and death

*Quick note: Warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander – names of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait people wilk be mentioned. However, the perpetrator will be referred to as ‘scumbag’. It’s what he deserves

Charlie Mullaley was a darling little boy. Devastatingly, in 2013, his life was cruelly cur short by his evil stepfather.

The little boy was raped and tortured for fifteen hours. He sustained injuries all over his body from head to his feet.

Before the horrific attack, his mother, Tamica Mullaley was bashed on a street in Broome, Western Australia. The perpetrator was the same scumbag who took Charlie’s life.

Encounter with police

Things went from bad to worse. Police officers found Tamica sheltering in a neighbour’s carport. She was covering herself with a sheet and was bleeding.

As she was calling out for her father, the officers pressed her for a statement. Tamica spat and swore at the officers and was apprehended and put in the back of a paddy wagon.

Her father, Ted Mullaley begged police to take Tamica to hospital. The officers finally caved and Tamica was taken to hospital.

Ted Mullaley told SBS’ See What You Made Me Do, that Tamica would have died from her injuries without immediate medical intervention.

Despite pleas from the Mullaley’s, Charlie was left with his stepfather’s cousin.

Ted went to the hospital to pick up Charlie. But he was gone. He’d been taken by his stepfather.

That’s where little Charlie’s fate was tragically sealed.

We Mullaley family offered an apology

Nearly a decade later, Tamica and Ted finally received an apology.

Justice John McKechnie said that Charlie’s murder was one of the worst he’s encountered.

Attorney General, John Quigley offered an apology to the Mullaley family:

On behalf of the government, of WA, to Tamica and Ted, I am sorry for the way you were treated by the government and the WA police, both before and after losing baby Charlie.

Charlie Mullaley and Cleo Smith: two completely reactions from police and media

The Mullaley family contrasted the treatment of Charlie to Cleo Smith, a then – four – year – old who was kidnapped in WA last year.

Cleo’s disappearance got both national and international coverage. Police were on the case immediately and no resource was spared.

Was Cleo’s disappearance in the headlines because she’s white? I can’t say that for certain. But, I can’t blame the Mullaley family for feeling that way.

How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suppose to trust institutions?

Often, Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are howled down for bringing up racism.

Experiences of ATSI people are too often dismissed. We like to think racism – especially institutional racism – doesn’t exist.

But it clearly still exists. There seems to be still racial prejudice within law enforcement. This needs to be dealt with and snuffed out.

The media isn’t without fault, either. Where was Andrew Bolt when Charlie Mullaley was kidnapped and murdered? Rita Panahi?

To their credit, Sydney Morning Herald have at least written about the case. So has news.com.au.

And SBS should also get credit for their episode of See What You Made Me Do. But I think everyone else needs to do better. Much better.

We need to treat all missing children and domestic violence victims the same. All victims deserve justice.

Rest in peace Charlie. 💙

Categories
Opinion/Commentary

Roe vs Wade has been overturned

US Supreme Court
Image: iStock

It’s happened. The Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe vs Wade on Saturday (Friday in the US).

The ruling means states have a right to restrict or outlaw abortion. Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota have ‘trigger laws’ that came into effect straight after the ruling.

A further twenty -three states are expected to outright ban or severely restrict abortion within a month.

Public reaction

The ruling has caused celebration and outrage.

Conservatives like actor, Kevin Sorbo and commentator Matt Walsh see this as a victory:

However, it’s also caused a lot of outrage. TikTok content creators in particular have been vocally outraged about the ruling. People are worried that this is only the start (more on that later). They have also pointed out pro – lifers’ hypocrisy.

Protests have taken place in Detroit, Michigan and Washington D.C. Protests erupted outside the Supreme Court straight after the ruling

Pro – lifers have celebrated.

Former president, Donald Trump told Illinois pro- life rally attendees:

The Court handed down a victory for the Constitution, a victory for the rule of law, an$ above all, a victory for life.

Donald Trump at Illinois rally

What else is at risk?

People are still fearing the fate of interracial and same – sex marriage. My stance hasn’t changed.

I believe that interracial marriage will always be safe. If SCOTUS tried to overturn it, they would become an unfunny joke around the world. Plus, there are African – American justices that are in interracial marriages.

However, like I said in an earlier post, I think Obgerfell vs Hodges may be on shaky ground. There’s even some fears that anti – sodomy laws will come back.

While I think the latter is absurd, I think LGBTQ+ Americans’ rights are at risk. It wouldn’t surprise me if Obgerfel vs Hodges is reversed. Next of kin laws, family laws (adoption, etc) will be vulnerable.

And what about trans and non – binary people who seek gender – affirming treatment? Given the endless debate on trans issues, it wouldn’t surprise me if their rights end up beibg infringed upon.

If SCOTUS is pro – life, how about rethinking the Second Amendment?

Text reads Second Amendment
Image: iStock

The overturning of Roe vs Wade was about control, not lives. If it was about lives, how about sensible gun regulations? How about preventing primary (elementary) school children from being massacred?

How about buying back AR15s and other semi and automatics? I’m sorry, but abolishing Roe vs Wade and doing nothing about endless gun violence doesn’t make sense to me.

What about health care, social safety net, etc?

The covid pandemic hit the US hard. More than one million covid deaths have been recorded. Approximately 300,000 have been directly linked to covid.

Furthermore, thousands die each year due to not having access to healthcare. So, what about universal healthcare? I mean, it’ll save lives. So, taxes should fund universal healthcare, right? 45,000 a year die from a lack of healthcare, (I think. Don’t quote me on that).

We’ll have to wait and see the full impact of this ruling. But to me, it’s clear, this is largely about control, not preserving life.

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Opinion/Commentary

New South Wales and Victoria’s premiers promise free pre – K

Children eating at a table in childcare
Image: Pexels

In two Australian States, early childhood education could get a shake up.

The Premiers of New South Wales and Victoria are promising free Pre – K for four – year – old children. It will take place five days a week.

Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews plans to implement the change by 2025. However, NSW Premier, Dominic Perrotet won’t implement the change until 2030.

In a joint statement, the premiers said:

It will mean that, in the next 10 years, every child in Victoria and NSW will experience the benefits of of a full year of play-based learning before the first year of school.

The premiers also claim that free Pre – K will not only benefit children, but also working parents.

Pre – K will take place in preschools in both states.

NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning, Sarah Mitchell said the policy was… “the right thing to do for our kids”.

Australian children need better in education

According to Sydney Morning Herald, Australian children aren’t doing well in education.

Australia ranks 32 out of 38 OECD countries in child well – being. Australia ranks 39 out of 41 European Union (EU) and OECD in education outcomes.

Standards in literacy, numeracy and science have been declining over the past decade.

Early childhood education is shown to improve education outcomes. Children can experience these benefits across their schooling.

Education psychologist, Claire Rowe expressed concerns to Andrew Bolt about making Pre-K compulsory.

However, she did point out one positive. Children who come from dysfunctional families will be able to find security and attachment with early childhood educators.

Children who live in poverty will benefit greatly from free Pre – K.

The economic burden early childhood education had on parents

One reason why there’s a push to make Pre – K free is to release the burden from parents. Too often, the cost of early childhood education cancels out any financial benefit of working.

So offering some relief to parents makes sense.

Will it be compulsory?

According to the ABC, neither premier is planning to make Pre – K compulsory. Of course that can change in the future. Frankly, I doubt it ever will be.

Good start, but more needs to be done

I think this announcement is a vote grab for next year’s state elections. Having said that, I don’t have anything against free Pre – K. If it helps children and unburdens parents, then great.

However, I think there are bigger issues facing early childhood centres nationwide. Like children left hungry or given poor quality food in early childhood education centres.

So, let’s get the standards of quality early childhood education up again. Make sure that all early childhood education centres are properly staffed.

The governments need to make sure all early childhood education centres have the resources – including funding for food – that they need.

Let’s not have early childhood educators buried in endless paperwork. Just allow them to nurture and educate the children. And, of course, they need to be paid properly.

What are your thoughts on free Pre -K? Good idea? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Categories
Opinion/Commentary

More people choosing to study humanities despite price hike

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More Australian students are applying for humanities degrees, despite price hikes that the Coalition government implemented in 2020.

Sydney Morning Herald reported a nine per cent rise in admissions for humanities. Some people choose these courses simply because of personal interest.

Australia National University (ANU) higher education policy professor, Andrew Norton criticised Coalitions’ push toward certain courses:

Why would you do something that doesn’t interest you, just to have (A)$10,000 to $30,000 [debt] over a lifetime? Even though it hasn’t changed the choices of prospective students it does mean they’ll have many extra years of HELP [Higher Education Loan Program] repayments.

Coalition raised humanities fees during pandemic

In response to COVID in 2020 – 2021, the Coalition Government shook up university course fees.

The (supposed) aim was for future students to choose ‘job ready’ courses. As a result, degrees fees for courses, including teaching, clinical psychology and nursing decreased 42 per cent.

However, other courses’ fees skyrocketed. Humanities and Communications went up 113 per cent. Law degrees went up 28 per cent.

One of the reasons why fees to degrees like Arts rose so drastically was because Government contribution to the fees had plummeted.

How did universities view the changes?

Opinions on these changes varied among universities. Regional universities favoured the changes, largely because the Coalition Government dedicated 3.5 per cent increase in funding. As a result, more student places were available.

Many universities showed mild concern. However, no university wanted to rock the boat by protesting, due to wanting the funding increase.

Was this an attack on free speech?

Were these changes simply about funding courses based on need? Maybe. I think it was a bit more sinister.

The hikes in fees aimed courses that often explore sociology, culture and politics.

And, university politics are seen as far left-leaning. I can’t help this was part of the reason why humanities and Communications wer hit so hard.

Universities have been pressured by the Menzies Institute to be more ‘balanced’ an$ promote Western values.

Now, I can’t say for sure the pressure from the Menzies’ Institute is directly linked to the rises in some fees, but I still wonder. I mean, why not just decrease some fees, but leave the others? This is why I get a niggling that culture wars were a factor in this decision.

Young people already have enough debt

Man holding master credit card
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It’s almost universal that young people in the West will have debts. It might be a car loan, credit cards, and later, house loan and mortgage. Unfortunately, university fees have become another massive debt.

Financial adviser, Max Phelps told news.com.au that while HELP debt was important, so were others. He said that credit cards and personal loans should be given priority over HELP debt

So, what if HELP loans are never paid back? This would backfire on students, universities and the government, wouldn’t it? It’s a no – win situation.

Going back to what Professor Andrew Norton told Sydney Morning Herald, of course students – school leavers and mature – aged students – are always going to choose courses that would interest them. So, the fee rises on Humanities and Communications were for nothing.

What are your thoughts on the fee changes? Fair? Unfair? Let me know what you think below.