Bartlett's Blog

Andrew Bartlett has been active in politics for over 20 years, including as a Queensland Senator from 1997-2008. This blog started in 2004 and reflects his own views, independent of any political party or organisation.

RU486 votes in the House of Reps – updated with full voting list

I rarely pay much attention to most of what is said and done in the House of Representatives, but like many I have been following their debates on the RU486 issue. The Second Reading of the legislation has just passed by 95 votes to 50, which is quite a sizeable margin. There will be some support for the amendments moved by Bowman MP, Andrew Laming, and ...

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The Parliamentary process behind the RU486 Bill

Since the Senate’s decisive vote to pass the RU486 Bill last Thursday, I’ve had a few people ask me in a hopeful tone whether this means we can see more cooperation across parties and a chance for a bit more democracy to grow through the cracks in the concrete cloak of control the Prime Minister has put over parliamentary politics. My short answer is (a) the Bill still has ...

Final Senate votes on RU486 Bill

After the 2nd Reading of the Bill passed by 45 votes to 26, there were 2 sets of amendments put in the Committee stage of the debate - 1 on behalf of Senators Barnett & Humphries, (lost 28 votes to 44) and the other on behalf of Senators Colbeck & Scullion (lost 33 votes to 41). The concluding 3rd Reading vote was called at 4.45pm. The result was announced ...

RU 486 Update/s

UPDATE #4: The Second Reading of the Bill occurred just before 1pm. There were 46 votes in favour and 25 votes against, with 5 Senators not present. There are two different sets of amendments which will be voted on around 4.15, and the final Third Reading vote at 4.45. I believe some of those who voted for the 2nd Reading will not vote for the 3rd ...

RU486 debate to start in Senate

Although there are other Bills being debated in the Senate this week – most notably amendments to the Defence Act to extend the power of the Government to call out our military within Australia in the event of an emergency - the main political and legislative focus is the debate on the drug widely known as RU486.

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Mini Posts

  • Question Time defined

    This line from David Marr is one of the best descriptions I’ve ever read of the farcical sound and fury which is Question Time in the House of Representatives:

    It’s a bit like an RSPCA pound: never free of the spectre of being put down, the dogs bark and howl to attract attention.

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  • Recent data on the climate

    For those interested in basic facts about temperature trends in Australia and globally over recent decades, there is a great post over at Lavartus Prodeo by Brian Banisch, who has been following the data and the various scientific reports on this issue for a long time. Very much worth having a read of for those who are just wanting some facts.

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  • Articles on Indian students, failed UN summits & refugees in our region

    Items on Indian students, refugees in our region and Copenhagen
    Below are links to some recent pieces I have written on other sites:
    - some impacts from the recent  http://asiancorrespondent.com/andrew-bartlett-blog/tragic-murder-puts-spotlight-back-on-safety-of-indians-in-australia murder of an Indian man living in Melbourne;
    - connections between http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2009/12/19/another-failed-summit/ the failures of a UN Summit on hunger and the Copenhagen climate change summit.
    - articles detailing some more mistreatment of refugees in our region here http://blogs.crikey.com.au/thestump/2009/12/29/more-refugee-torment-in-our-region/ and here http://asiancorrespondent.com/andrew-bartlett-blog/dangers-for-refugees-in-region-highlighted-by-forced-deportation-from-thailand
    Below are links to some recent pieces I have written on other sites

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  • Charities tapping into Christmas and social media

    Many not for profit and charity groups have got a lot smarter over the years in tapping into some of the large amounts of money that get spent over Christmas.  Christmas catalogues full of gifts for good cause groups have become widespread. In recent times, that has extended to bypassing a present all together, and giving someone a donation which actually goes direct to the good cause. This form of fundraising is now also tapping into social media, so much so that even my humble blog gets occasional requests to promote a cause from people who specifically target the avenues of social media to widen their reach. Here’s one example I recently received on behalf of World Vision. 

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  • The Hunger Summit

    I’ve posted a piece over at The Stump about the links between global hunger and climate change, and the unfortunate parallels between the less than successful climate change summit in Copenhagen and an even more dismal outcome at the recent Hunger Summit in Rome, which received far less attention.

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  • It was 20 years ago today.

    It was 20 years ago today.
    On 20 November 1989, the international Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) was formally adopted.  According http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/18/us-ratify-children-s-treaty?tr=y&auid=5614841 to Human Rights Watch, the Convention became “the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history.  Twenty years on, only two countries have failed to ratify the Convention – Somalia and the USA.
    In the USA, Presidential action to ratify an international treaty requires the approval of the Senate.  I think this is a good mechanism and one Australia should adopt, even though it would undoubtedly be frustrating from time to time.  But regardless of the distractions of health care reform and climate change legislation, this is one action the USA’s President and Senate should get moving on.
    On 20 November 1989, the international Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) was formally adopted.  According to Human Rights Watch, the Convention became “the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history.  Twenty years on, only two countries have failed to ratify the Convention – Somalia and the USA. Somalia currently has no recognised government, which makes it impossible for it to ratify the CROC.  In the USA, Presidential action to ratify an international treaty requires the approval of the Senate.  I think this is a good mechanism and one Australia should adopt, even though it would undoubtedly be frustrating from time to time.  But regardless of the distractions of health care reform and climate change legislation, this is one action the USA’s President and Senate should get moving on.

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  • Pieces published elsewhere

    Following are links to some items I’ve had published on other sites

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