RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Good morning ,

Hope to see you at the Secular Conference in December!

Lead stories

Preferential access (for RSA members and subscribers) to early bird tickets are closing soon for the inaugural Secularism Australia conference. Featuring the Prof. Luke Beck, Fiona Patten and Leslie Cannold (Vic), Alison Courtice, Chrys Stevenson, Ron Williams (Qld), Jane Caro, David Shoebridge, Van Badham (NSW), Chris Schacht (SA), and RSA Patron and former High Court judge Michael Kirby.

David James argues against the federal govt's proposed law to combat mis- and dis-information: "By targeting variants of the word ‘information’, the government is doing something that does not stand up to logical scrutiny and which is an attempt to cover up a much darker agenda." Mmmm ... not sure about this.

The awful Maui fires prompted social media speculations that they were the product of arson: "a plot to clear the land for billionaires" or, most bizarrely, "space lasers". Creative.

Hannah Barnes is a BBC journalist who has written an account of the "inside story" of the collapse of the UK's Tavistock gender clinic. In this interview, she is a great pains to be fair to the psychologists and counsellors who worked there ...

For the next census

Read the submission made by a coalition of freethought groups to the ABS on why they should change the Religion Question to: (i) Do you follow a religion - Yes/No; (ii) If so, which religion?

Other stories of interest

4 reasons echidnas really are remarkable

This is such a charming article - you can sense the author's enthusiasm for her topic. Did you know baby echidna are called "puggles"? Sooo cute!

France bans abayas from being worn in state schools

The education minister said, "Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school .. the abaya is a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute.” Large crosses or Jewish kippas are also banned.

The public Catholic hospitals refusing abortion access - podcast

"The devastating impact when religious views override the right to medical care .."

RACGP response to RANZCOG Clinical Guideline for Abortion Care in Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand

The RACGP supports the RANZCOG evidence-based clinical guidelines on abortion care.

Got a comment on any of these stories? 

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au

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