Duty to deliver healthcare
ABORTION SERVICES
I WAS in the parliamentary gallery during the abortion debate. I was very disappointed by Sue Hickey’s decision to vote with the rest of the Liberals. I found Minister Ferguson’s response to the motion to be out of touch, at times disrespectful and often, frankly, insulting. His amendment will do nothing to alter the facts. The Government has had many months to gather evidence while so many women are forced to go interstate and will continue to for who knows how long. We expect better of our public servants who we pay to deliver basic services including health services. Abortion is legal in Tasmania and our government has a duty to deliver this in an affordable, accessible and safe manner in the public health system. Ms Hickey’s statement that she supported the amendment because it referred to a statewide service is incomprehensible. Is not the public health system a statewide service? Shame on you minister. I and the women of Tasmania expected much better from you. volving serious risk to the mother’s mental or physical health in public hospitals in Tasmania, have been reasonable decisions. What is needed is well funded pregnancy support services to provide for those in difficult situations who need help, whether they raise the child themselves or find suitable parents to adopt the child as their own.
Pregnancy support
EVERY year hundreds of vulnerable Tasmanian women need pregnancy support. They wonder who will help care for their child, who will help pay the bills, and who will help put a roof over their heads. They need a loving arm to lean on — and generous practical support. How instead is our Parliament thinking to respond to this need? Not by providing critical funds to pregnancy support services, but by funding yet more abortion. “We will give more help, but only to end your pregnancy.” There is something blindly heartless about this. Come on Tasmanian parliamentarians, you can do much better: Help our vulnerable women and their babies.
Already legal
THE debate over the motion for the provision of termination services through Tasmania’s public health system on Wednesday in Parliament brought out the Liberal Party’s inability to put aside politics to represent the needs of the people. It was incredibly disrespectful that Minister Michael Ferguson was absent during the de- A new way to have your say themercury.com.au readers have a new way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website. bate. How is he meant make informed decision if he can’t listen to the concerns raised? Is this not his job? He says improving accessibility will lead to abortions on demand. No women can demand an abortion like no one can demand any surgery without requiring it. As the health minister he has let the women of Tasmania down. He admitted to being informed of the clinic’s proposed closure several months before it closed. What has his department done to address the issue they have known about for close to a year? Nothing. It was disgusting that no member of the Liberal Party stood up for women including the Speaker Sue Hickey. Why are we still fighting for a right which is already legal?
Unwanted
RESTRICTING abortion effectively forces women to bear children they don’t want. That is wrong in terms of religion, morality and society. Jesus never spoke about abortion. Even the Old Testament of the Bible, which for example says people should be stoned to death for working on the Sabbath, does not explicitly condemn abortion. Morally, if a child is born unwanted then than child is likely to be unloved, and is likely to have an unpleasant life. Anti-abortionists certainly won’t pay to raise those children. Society has to pay for child welfare benefits, and has to take responsibility for the effects of child neglect and abuse. Restricting abortion is also likely to lead to higher rates of crime in future years.
Apes and devils
THE devil is traditionally named the “ape of God”. No wonder, then, that Dark Mofo’s parody and mimicry of Christianity — inverted crosses, re-emergence from a three-day entombment, mock masses — amount to so much monkey business.
Pushbike worry
PEOPLE concerned about mobility scooters, I’m more worried about the amount of pushbikes. Won’t be long before all walkers will have to confine themselves to the gutters!
Enjoy GST while it lasts
PETER Gutwein basks in the glow of a succession of surplus budgets. But look deeper. Budget $5.9 billion. GST redistribution $2.4 billion, of which 40 per cent is provided by the rest of Australia. To put it another way, shoppers in the rest of Australia pay every Tasmanian man woman and child $2000 annually. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Fishing, but different
SEEING all those fishing off McGee’s bridge at Sorell reminds me of what it was like 50 years ago, only the clothes are more fashionable and they weren’t catching salmon.