RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Good morning ,

Some of you might know that I have been secretary of Dying With Dignity Victoria for a number of years and though it was gratifying to be part of the latter stages of the fight for voluntary assisted dying, obstacles remain. One of these obstacles is the absurd ban on doctors using telehealth to support their patients going through the process of applying for VAD. 

Now, WA Teal Kate Chaney, supported by Vic Teal Monique Ryan, have introduced a private member's bill to change this ridiculous provision - which is in the Cth Crimes Act, for goodness sake!

Unfortunately, private members' bills rarely get much time in parliament but please do consider dropping a short note to Kate (kate.chaney.mp@aph.gov.au), thanking her for taking up this issue and indicating your support.

Lead stories

The independent MP Kate Chaney will push to amend federal laws that ban telecommunications services from being used to incite suicide, so that patients wishing to access voluntary assisted dying appointments can do so via telehealth.

NSW has been one of 2 Australian states that does not include 'religion' in Anti-Discrimination legislation. Now, they are probably going to go overboard to compensate. As the Opposition leader said, "there hasn’t yet been any court outcome showing any need for reform .. we have to be careful not to allow the law to be weaponised against controversial free speech which doesn’t justify a criminal sanction."

Australia's 'social cohesion' is the lowest it's been for 16 years. What was happening 16 years ago that was worse than a divisive referendum, 2 wars and crippling cost-of-living pressures? A: I misread the article! It's the lowest since the index began 16 years ago. And, reassuringly, support for multiculturalism is holding up well, and we are "still connected on many levels, within our neighbourhoods and local communities."

In this podcast episode, Sam once again urges people to realise that religious fanaticism - particularly in the form of Islamist 'jihad' - is a real and present danger. If you've never listened to Sam's quiet but relentless logic, this is a good one.

Other stories of interest

An Excerpt from Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society

From the very interesting Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN), in which the authors counter the argument put forward by some religious scholars that religion is undergoing "change, not decline".

The Return of the Creationists

Lawrence Krauss asks, "How can we expect political sense or reason from people who cannot distinguish empirical reality from ancient myth?" (He's talking about new US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, an avowed creationist and Christian nationalist). His last line is particularly pithy: "We can only hope that he heeds the admonition of St. Augustine, who wrote two millennia ago, “We must be on our guard against giving interpretations which are hazardous or opposed to science, and so exposing the word of God to the ridicule of unbelievers.”

The Maniac, Benjamin Labatut examines the troubling dawn of the digital age

Worrying. Not this fictionalised account of the madness of genius but the hagiographic account of the author.

Got a comment on any of these stories? 

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au

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