Connect with us

National News

One Nation wants to roll back abortion rights in Australia and is emboldening activists seeking US-style laws

Published

on

The headline act at a Sydney anti-abortion rally being held on Tuesday in support of Libertarian MP John Ruddick’s bill to restrict abortion will not be Ruddick. It will be the One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, who left the Nationals last year, not long after he was rebuked for his statements about abortion.

The dramatic rise in the polls of his new party has given fresh impetus to a loose network of anti-abortion groups trying to chip away at reproductive rights. Since abortion was decriminalised in all states and territories almost three years ago, there has been a slew of attempts to wind back access. Bills have been brought by different parties and independents in several states, aiming to reduce access in a variety of ways, including banning late-term abortions, mandating medical care for babies “born alive” after abortions, and banning sex-selective abortions. They also form part of One Nation’s policy to “seek every opportunity to roll back brutal and extreme abortion law”.

In the US, this incremental approach to tackle abortion rights from multiple directions culminated in Roe v Wade being overturned in 2022 and continues now with states implementing abortion bans. Since then, it has become harder to get healthcare for miscarriages, to access fertility treatments and for obstetrician/gynaecologists to practise, and there has been a rise in infant mortality and pregnancy-related deaths.

Prudence Flowers, a senior lecturer in US history at Flinders University, says the resemblance is not a coincidence. “One of the reasons these policies are similar … is that the Australian anti-abortion movement is explicitly looking at historical measures in the US,” she says. “The reason it seems so coordinated is that there is a playbook people can look to.”

Continue Reading

National News

Government plans crackdown on social media algorithms

Published

on

Labor’s plan to crack down on social media algorithms faces significant opposition in federal parliament, with opposition leader Angus Taylor warning against efforts by the government to “censor” free speech online.

Communications minister Anika Wells is expected to release draft legislation creating a digital duty of care for social media users in Australia as parliament returns this week. Among new rules being considered are functions requiring popular social media platforms to allow users to turn off algorithms controlling the content in their feeds, and to better identify problematic or illegal content to protect vulnerable users including children.

Labor said they want to better protect social media users from being fed content that reinforces dangerous stereotypes and behaviours, including in areas around body image, women’s safety and child protection. Opt-out options for algorithms would give users the choice to make their social media feeds only feature content from friends and groups they choose to follow.

Fines of more than $100m would be created for breaches, with new powers given to the eSafety commissioner and researchers to investigate compliance by big platforms. Prime minister Albanese is expected to spruik the plan at the United Nations general assembly in New York later this month.

But Taylor told News24 on Sunday the government should focus on fixing problems with its under 16s social media ban before taking on new rules like the digital duty of care. The shadow home affairs minister, the outgoing Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, likened the government’s plans to dumped anti-misinformation legislation introduced during Labor’s first term in government, stating that it is going to impede on people’s rights and freedoms.

Continue Reading

National News

AI and virtual interpreters providing on-demand Auslan services in regional areas to replace in-person ones

Published

on

In an attempt to fill the void, virtual services of Australia sign language interpreters, apps and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being used to bring translation services to regions that struggled to find them in the past.

But the move is having an unintended side effect, as the few registered Auslan interpreters living and working in regional areas say they are suddenly finding themselves out of work.

Live captioning is a form of AI software that records and writes out spoken conversations in real time to help users with hearing impairments access these conversations. It does not include translating responses from Auslan to spoken language, which is why captioning is not always appropriate.

Virtual interpreters can work remotely, appearing on a screen to translate what they hear via a live feed, and often working at a lower cost than in-person translators. Many interpreters said having options was good, but the effect on interpreters was not.

One interpreter said the demand [for in-person Auslan interpreters] has always been there, and especially for rural and regional people, but she said agencies were unwilling to pay travel costs and were reluctant to prioritise in-person interpreters over virtual ones.

Many organizations focusing on helping the hearing impaired also explained that not all interpreting jobs are suitable online, and If a customer’s first preference is an in-person interpreter then they will do everything possible to provide one.

Continue Reading

National News

One Nation pushes for early super access for Australians paying rent or mortgage

Published

on

Australians with a mortgage or paying rent would be given a choice to divert a portion of their superannuation to their take-home pay for up to three years under a One Nation proposal.

Under the policy, the full 12 per cent compulsory super contribution would still be paid by employers, but 3 per cent would be paid directly to a person by the super fund if they opt in. The payments would also remain subject to the concessional tax rate of 15 per cent, rather than the higher personal income tax rate.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said the average full-time worker earning about $90,500 would get an extra $2,300 in their pocket each year. That works out to about $44 a week, which Hanson said would provide “breathing room”.

Health Minister Mark Butler said changing those settings would be an “absolutely terrible plan” and pointed to the Morrison government’s experiment with allowing people to access more of their super during the COVID pandemic.

But Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume dismissed the proposal as nothing more than a “headline” and said One Nation had questions to answer about how the policy would interact with a person’s super balance or their concessional caps. Nationals MP David Littleproud also said there was a serious risk of “unintended consequences” of the proposal, including the potential for higher inflation.

Continue Reading

Trending