Today's Spray: You are what you think

I saw the following quote on Facebook today: "We can choose to perceive things differently. We can choose to focus on what's wrong in our life, or we can focus on what's right." (Marianne Williamson).

I'm choosing  to look at what is right. And good. And decent.

Another weeks goes by and another week I find myself being absolutely disgusted by our Federal Government. I would

Once again I'm starting to think about how it is we've come to such a dire place with our Federal Politicians. As time goes on, they're trying to shut down any kind of debate. A new law has been brought in starting Wednesday. If you're a teacher, doctor or other worker in an offshore detention centre and you report abuse, you may be prosecuted and jailed for up to two years.

Australia's current government's reaction to asylum seekers since the Abbott regime came into place in September 2013 - and yes, it is a regime, has been nothing short of woeful. I don't want to see people dying at sea, nor do I think people should come here without being properly vetted, however things such as paying crews to tow back asylum seekers back to Indonesia, keeping children in offshore detention centres and having little duty of care for those in detention is just not on. Please tell me, just when is it okay to allow a baby to exist in a shabby tent on an island with little sanitation and even less safety. Seriously.

Anyway, from 1 July, if you find yourself on one of these islands tending to the poor souls who've come to our shores seeking asylum by sea and you report abuse - whether it be the sexual assault of children, or the systematic breakdown of the mental health of these "prisoners", you are breaking the law and you may be imprisoned.

The fact that the current "opposition" voted for these rules is even more alarming. We have a lack of decent opposition. The Opposition Leader is as weak, a union muppet. There are some good people in the Labor Party, but I've rued the day that Anthony Albanese or Tania Plibercek didn't take the reigns. Their stance on asylum seekers was the reason I handed out how to vote cards from the Greens last election.

Turning the other, how you anybody feel if their child, or a family member or friend was being abused or mistreated. On Australian soil, it's a crime not to report it. As doctors and teachers and other aid workers, if you were to find such incidents, you're legally liable if you don't report these things.

This new law is FUCKED.

It's like the ridiculous metadata laws that they've brought in.

Here's our Attorney General explaining why the government should keep the metadata.

This is the same guy who's now dictating where all of our Arts funding is going. Great. (Has anybody noticed that George Brandis is an anagram for Raging Bedsore?)

Of course, this week, there was a great kerfuffle about the Australian Broadcasting Commission, who, oh heavens, had somebody who was once tried, and acquitted on terrorism charges have the gall to say that the current government's views and actions were driving young men to join terror groups overseas (and that joining these groups was a stupid idea). After the program, the government was up in arms. "Heads should roll!" was the cry of the Prime Minister.

This "government" are trying to silence any debate or dissent. There is no discussion or proper debate - that's why this dreadful law came into place. There is no transparency or checks and balances. It's all "Oh, look over there, there's something that's going to kill you."

Making it even harder, the Speaker of the House has ejected over 400 opposition members from parliament in the last 18 months. She's only ejected five members of the government, even though their behaviour has been rather rancid. I don't think it's just me, but I find this outrageously biased.

This fear mongering is detracting from so much important stuff. The fact that the economy is going to shit under this mob. That large corporates pay next to no tax. That our rights are slowly being eroded. That we are being "governed" by a group that appear to want to take away our egalitarian and secular society. (And yes, get on with legislating same sex marriage. If Churches don't want to marry same sex couples so be it. They don't pay taxes, so why should they have the right to abide by a new law?)

I'm just hoping that the general population start seeing what the Tony Abbotts an George Brandises and Joe Hockeys and Eric Abetzs (who thinks that gay marriage will lead to polygamy and has penned a letter the to Tasmanian Parliament to say as much) and the Cory Bernardi's(who believes that gay marriage will encourage bestiality)... the list goes on.

You are what you think. I believe in goodness and kindness and equality. I refuse to accept that this government is good enough. I refuse to think that we can go on like this reneging our international rights. I refuse to accept that this government speaks for me in any way.

I want a government that has some vision and leadership.

And until this changes, I will continue to speak out. I choose to see what is right. And speak out about what is right. I do not subscribe to this regime of fear. And that is what it is.

I just wish Adam Hills would get on his soapbox over here. It seems Britain is doing some of the idiotic things Australia is doing - just it affects more people.

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And on a last thought - why I feel like this?

It's time to wake up, Australia.