Muslim leaders must do more as ‘hard line’ Islam moves to our doorstep
Ross B. Taylor AM The events in Sydney last week have been rightly condemned by not only western leaders, but also many leaders in countries where Islam is the predominate religion. Here in Australia, most people saw this shocking siege by Man Haron Monis as the actions of a madman rather than a reflection of Muslim values and beliefs. Muslim leaders are right to point out that in many recent cases the religion of Islam has been ‘hijacked’ by despot groups and individua…
Indonesia's President Jokowi shows Abbott the way in recognising women.
Ross B. Taylor Indonesia’s new president Joko (‘Jokowi’) Widodo has this week, announced his new national cabinet that will have the responsibility for over 245 million people, including 205 million Muslims, to our immediate north. Whilst the new line-up may not initially attract much attention here in Australia, it may just raise a few eyebrows in diplomatic circles and amongst women’s interest groups. Firstly, the president has appointed its first-ever woman as foreign minister w…
Finding ‘goodness’ from Bali bombing tragedy
Ross B. Taylor This Sunday Australia will pause and reflect upon the lives of 88 of our citizens who lost their lives in a shocking act of terrorism 12 years ago on the streets of Bali. We should also remember that in this attack on innocent people, 38 Indonesia citizens lost their lives, and a further 76 people from all over the World also died in an event that shattered Bali’s image as a friendly, easy-going holiday playground for so many of us. For some people the 12 th October is a time when they need to grieve and to reflect. For ot…
Common sense can resolve ‘Burka’ hysteria
Ross B. Taylor Fanned by national anxiety over the recent terror alerts, the ‘Ban the Burka’ issue is once again causing deep resentment and concern within our community. Last week this issue reached our national parliament with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop banning the Burka from being worn in the open viewing gallery. It was a silly and poorly managed decision. A very simple way of resolving the hysterical debate over the use of the Burka (or Niqab ), by predominately Muslim women, in Australia is t…
Stopping the boats gives our neighbour's kids freedom
Ross B. Taylor T he only news we read these days about asylum seekers is from human rights groups who express concern over the detention of children being held in detention centres in Australia, Manus Island and Nauru. Only last month the distinguished Australian, Alastair Nicholson AO , who is a former chief justice of the Family Court and current chair of the advocacy group Children’s Rights International, expressed his deep concern about the plight of foreign children being held in custody by Australian authorities. These concerns are…
Look north to our greatest ally against Islamic State
Australia is now embroiled in a desperate campaign to stop the feared and brutal Islamic State ( IS ) in its tracks. Whilst the IS war machine and its thugs are currently contained to the Middle East, there are deep, and justified, concerns that the ultimate objective of IS is to create a world-wide Caliphate. Our government is right in embracing the Muslim community here in Australia in an attempt to stop the flow of – in particular – young Australian Muslim men heading off to join the war in Iraq and Syria. But immediately to A…
Keeping Bali safe from another terrorist attack
Next month Australia will pause to commemorate the 12thAnniversary of the first of the Bali bombings that occurred on 12th October 2002. In one terrifying night 202 innocent people died including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians. Since that time the Australian Federal Police have built a strong and lasting coalition with the Indonesian National Police (POLRI) that has seen most of the Bali bombers either executed or sentenced to extended periods in jail. The Jemaaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group has, as a result of the police activities…
Terrorism returns to our front door.
Ross B. Taylor AM August in Bali is almost ‘perfect’. Endless sunny days and every evening thousands of tourists - including many of the 850,000 Australians who now flock to Bali annually – gather at Kuta and Legian beaches to watch the glorious Bali sun sink slowly into the ocean near Java. Yet disturbingly, there are storm clouds also gathering west of Bali as a new wave of potential terrorism returns to Indonesia, and our doorstep. This year has seen the approval for the release of over 100 convicted Bali-bombing terrorists an…
One punch AFL 'thugs' are poor mentors for our young men
Ross B. Taylor AM A few months ago our close family friend-a young man-was 'king-hit' by a thug whilst walking along the street in the Perth suburb of Subiaco. This 'one-punch' attack left Sasha fighting for his life as he lay unconscious on the footpath as his attacker and friends just walked away. Our newspapers around Australia are full of the horror stories like the one about Sasha, and thugs who run up and hit another person, often from behind. Judges are appalled and governments are increasing the laws to s…
Childcare crisis continues as Productivity Commission takes soft options
By Ross B. Taylor AM Treasurer Joe Hockey made it clear: Australia is facing a ‘budget emergency’. Everyone from pensioners to retirees has been told we need to save money. Meanwhile, the government will in the next few years be paying-out in excess of $13 billion annually for parenting support. The Paid Parental Scheme has been widely condemned, and so it should be, as it essentially will ‘feed’ even more middle and upper class welfare. Meanwhile, the government also will ‘fork-out’ an estimate $8.5 billion in child care support…
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