Probably because a number of the parliamentary Labor members don’t have a big problem with the sorts of conservative views held by many of the Liberals. Yes, they could go after the Libs as they did in NSW, but they’d be going after some of their own base too.

A point obliquely made by Christopher Pearson in Saturday’s Opposition Organ:

Trying to make sense of the Carpenter government’s attitude to mining, I spoke to an old friend, Tom Kenyon. He’s a Labor backbencher in the South Australian parliament, enjoying the patronage of the shop assistants union.

[Emphasis mine - PN]

For some reason or other, in the past Labor parties have been unwilling to push this line.

Probably because a number of the parliamentary Labor members don’t have a big problem with the sorts of conservative views held by many of the Liberals. Yes, they could go after the Libs as they did in NSW, but they’d be going after some of their own base too.

On the Libs/Nats class of 2006, the Labor Govt will no doubt use a version of “extreme religious right nuts running the state” campaign based on these clowns’ voting records – just need a shadowy Opus Dei figure a la David Clarke and bingo bango – another election in the bag.

For some reason or other, in the past Labor parties have been unwilling to push this line. Not sure why as it is indeed a vote-winner.

On the Libs/Nats class of 2006, the Labor Govt will no doubt use a version of “extreme religious right nuts running the state” campaign based on these clowns’ voting records – just need a shadowy Opus Dei figure a la David Clarke and bingo bango – another election in the bag. You gotta be a whole lotta fundie to vote down gay rights and stem cell research in 2008.

As to the Catholic Hospital situation, as Laurelh pointed out on the other thread, there are already cases of third class care being delivered to unsuspecting citizens, which I was unaware of, in terms of emergency terminations, which may become routine if the Archbishop sees this through.

In the interim and while the machinations of Catholic Health is being played out – one practical measure might be for a ‘fact sheet’ to be handed out to every women by their GP, upon confirmation of their pregnancy, along with all the other facts sheets and bibs and bobs your doctor gives you, which summarises the different medical treatments you will receive in Catholic Health operated hospitals compared to a state operated hospital when you are pregnant, in the case of both emergency and natal care.

‘Consumers/client/patients/citizens’ have the right to know exactly what different treatment options are and are not going to be performed by supposedly ‘public hospitals’. The Department of Health should have been providing this information to women if some hospitals were treating patients based on religious beliefs, rather than purely medical and scientific grounds. Do they need a few lawsuits for wrongful removal of fallopian tubes vs the state for not providing this information to concentrate their minds perhaps.