Bettina Arndt on Heather Mac Donald

Bettina's most recent report below. She opposes the feminist demonization of men, particularly in Australia's universities


Heather

"What a lonely job, working the phones at a college rape centre. Day after day, you wait for the casualties to show up from the campus rape epidemic. But hardly any victims ever show up"

Pretty funny, eh?  That’s the provocative idea which introduces Heather Mac Donald’s chapter on the campus rape myth from her new book, "The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine our Culture".

It’s typical punchy stuff from a woman who has had long, impressive career as a writer and commentator. Heather Mac Donald is currently a contributing editor to City Journal and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She’s an outspoken commentator, for instance taking on lies in the ‘black lives matter’ narrative when speaking out about criminal justice reform and race relations, immigration and policing.

I was delighted to talk to her recently, particularly about her strong views on gender politics and the universities, an area where we have had remarkably similar experiences and similar concerns. Experiences like facing a howling mob of protesters at a university campus. My regular viewers will know the riot squad was brought in last year at Sydney University to remove protesters denying entry to the venue where I was supposed to be talking about the fake rape crisis. Heather was prevented from giving a talk about racial issues at Clairmont University – she ended up speaking to an empty room while the police protected her from the baying mob.

I’m very alarmed about the grip of the campus rape myth in Australia and thought it was timely to have Heather Mac Donald explain how this manufactured feminist scare campaign was used in her country to bully politicians into setting up tribunals where so many young men were falsely accused and thrown out of their universities – with dire consequences for the higher education sector, particularly when many of these students successfully sued over the failure of the colleges to protect their legal rights. 

This is exactly where we are heading in Australia – which is why I wanted Heather to reveal the dire consequences for male students if we fail to stand up to this orchestrated campaign.

I’m sure you will be impressed by her passionate, articulate presentation of this important issue. Please circulate my video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlVI7CpUmSU)



And read Heather’s book. Her detailed description of the armies of diversity bureaucrats now running American colleges will send shivers down your spine.

Don’t let the wicked witches win!

I’m really concerned that feminist campaigners are winning round after round in this battle. Look at our Deputy Opposition leader Tanya Plibersek’s promise to remove funding from universities which fail to promote the rape crisis, or the Union of Students promise to provide funding for activists opposing my talks on campus. Most recently we have seen our notorious feminist domestic violence organisation, OurWatch, in league with the universities to promote this nonsense.

We need to get active on this issue. Please write to your MP’s, contact people you know in universities, talk to students, write comments on online newspapers, contact editors over articles promoting the rape crisis. I’m going to attach a few documents to help you, outlining recent events in Australia. I’ll include evidence regarding university regulations which have recently been introduced to adjudicate rape cases – without proper legal protections for the accused and using lower standards of proof. Plus a list of articles outlining recent key events.

I’ll soon be announcing the first of my campus tour stops this year. I hope some of you will be able to come along and support me. I have big plans for Sydney University. It’s infuriating that we have heard nothing about the progress of my complaints about the protesters. Clearly, they hope I will just go away – but they have another think coming.

Finally, my YouTube Q&A is happening this Wednesday, February 13.

Yes, I know this was supposed to take place last week. I’m so sorry I didn’t manage to let you all know we’d been forced to postpone it. Here’s the link for the YouTube session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zapPx8JaHOU 

Subscribers can visit this page now to receive notification when the Q&A goes live.

Via email from Bettina: bettina@bettinaarndt.com.au






Bill Shorten in backdown on borders

Bill Shorten has secured support from the Labor caucus for a retreat on the refugee medivac bill, amid ­concerns the draft laws championed by Kerryn Phelps could lead to the dismantling of offshore processing and allow Scott Morrison to fight the next election on national security.

After backing the laws through the ­Senate last year, the Labor caucus last night endorsed key amendments, aimed at strengthening ministerial oversight of doctor-ordered refugee medical transfers.

But the Prime Minister moved to set up a parliamentary ­showdown for today, ruling out government support for the medivac legislation backed by independents and the Greens “in any form”, making clear he would not be concerned by a historic defeat on the floor of the House of Representatives.

He warned the bill would compromise government control over who entered Australia, take the nation “backwards” and risk thousands of lives at sea. “It’s not who wins or loses a vote,” Mr Morrison said. “The only test is: will Bill Shorten cave in and undermine our border protection by passing this bill in any form?”

The possibility of a split ­between the major parties over tough new terrorism laws also emerged last night.

Penny Wong told Labor MPs that the opposition was “likely to issue a dissenting report” against a bill that would strengthen the government’s ability to cancel the citizenship of dual nationals who had been convicted of terrorism offences. The bill would remove the requirement for a person to be sentenced to at least six years imprisonment in order to be eligible for the stripping of their Australian citizenship.

The government’s legislation was referred to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security last November. This would be the first time Labor members of the committee have issued a dissenting report, setting up another pre-election battle with Mr Morrison over national security.

Labor’s backdown on the medivac bill has reopened factional splits over border protection after it passed through the partyroom without a vote.

The Australian understands left-wing MP Andrew Giles spoke out against the amendments, saying that Labor should not support leaving sick people on Manus and Nauru, and back the medivac bill without further changes.

The Coalition will oppose all of Labor’s amendments, meaning the opposition will need six of the seven crossbenchers for the overhaul to succeed in the lower house. North Queensland MP Bob Katter has said he will vote against the bill.

Greens MP Adam Bandt voiced his disappointment at Labor’s change in position.

The Greens will meet this morning to discuss their position but are understood to be concerned that Labor’s changes, which could be debated in the lower house as soon as today, will render the shake-up ineffective. “I am angry that Labor is once again caving in when it comes to refugees,” Mr Bandt said.

Following security briefings from the Department of Home ­Affairs and Australian Border Force, Mr Shorten yesterday ­settled on three principles aimed at toughening the medivac bill. They included broadening the definition of national security — which presently includes ­espionage, sabotage and attacks on defence assets — to cover ­serious crimes.

Despite claiming that ministerial oversight of refugee transfers was guaranteed, Labor last night agreed to give the minister greater discretion to reject proposed medivacs on character grounds. Advice to government from ­intelligence agencies and the ­Australian Government Solicitor has warned that the minister would be powerless to prevent medical transfers for those convicted of serious offences, including rape and murder.

The ALP caucus last night also agreed that the new medical transfer laws be limited and apply only to those currently being held on Manus and Nauru. It would not apply to new arrivals. Labor sources said this was a non-negotiable position that would be a key factor in addressing concerns that the medivac bill would restart the people-smuggling industry.

Labor would also either abolish or extend the 24-hour period for ministerial consideration of candidates for medical evacuation.

In December, Labor senators supported the medivac bill through the upper house. The bill was designed to hand doctors ­vastly enhanced powers to decide which asylum-seekers or refugees could be brought to Australia

Mr Morrison yesterday used an address to the National Press Club in Canberra to criticise the medivac bill as a step that would take Australia “backwards” and compromise government control over borders by empowering doctors. “The Australian government will run our borders,” Mr Morrison said. “That’s who will run our borders under our government and that’s how it will always be under our government.

This is the problem with Bill Shorten on national security, on borders or anything else. He thinks it’s something you trade on. He says; ‘Oh, let’s find the middle ground.’ No, no, I’m going to stand on the right ground.

Crossbenchers including Dr Phelps did not rule out supporting an amendment to give the ­immigration minister complete discretion.  “Until we receive anything we can’t consider (it),” Dr Phelps’ spokesman said.

SOURCE  







NSW Greens push for mandatory solar and batteries for all new homes

As if new house prices were not unaffordable already for average workers

The bidding war among NSW political parties over solar panels has been joined by the Greens who want photovoltaic systems and batteries to be made compulsory for all new dwellings.

The Greens would also introduce a $2000 rebate for the introduction of panels plus storage for half a million homes as part of $1.25 billion boost over four years for the sector.

All public housing and government buildings would get panels too at a cost of $250 million, with 110,000 public housing tenants in line to receive electricity rebates, according to the Greens' policy aimed at the March 23 state election.

“It is negligent that in 2019 we have over 70,000 new dwellings in NSW every year and no requirement for solar panels on these developments," Cate Faehrmann, the Greens environment spokeswoman, said. Owners of new dwellings would pay into a renewable energy offset scheme as an alternative to adding panels or storage.

The Greens' policy follows Labor's launch on Saturday of its plan to support 500,000 households get solar, with a rebate capped at $2200 for households with annual income of $180,000 or less.

The Berejiklian government followed a day later with the release of a scheme offering no-interest loans for solar energy and batteries for as many as 300,000 owner-occupied households.

For those living in flats or renting, the Greens would set up an offset scheme to buy credits for solar arrays on their building or offsite. Some 20 per cent of all private dwellings in the state are apartments, while about 32 per cent of residents are renting - people who are currently "locked out of the benefits of roof top solar,"  the Greens said.

SOURCE  







Outback oil Australia's 'best immediate prospect' for domestic production

That's according to Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan, who has declared the NT's Beetaloo Basin as "the best immediate prospect" for a major new national oil and gas hub.

"Twenty years ago we had 96 per cent of our petroleum produced domestically in a raw product form," Senator Canavan said in Darwin.

"Now we can only meet about half of our petroleum needs from domestic sources of production, and in a continent as large as ours I hope we can find another oil and gas province to replace [Tasmania's] Bass Strait.

"The best immediate prospect we have, across all of the onshore and offshore areas, is in the Beetaloo Basin, and that's fantastic news for the Northern Territory."

It follow's briefings to investors in December and January by some of the oil and gas companies with exploration permission in the huge area, stretching from Mataranka to Elliott, that they intend to target "liquid-rich" shales.

'Important for national security'

Senator Canavan said there were "a lot of people excited about the potential for liquid production in the shale fields of the Beetaloo Basin".

"And that could help return us to self-sustainability in oil, which is very important for our national security," he said.

In December last year Origin Energy told investors that this dry season it would carry out an appraisal "targeting liquids rich gas" in the Kyalla and Velkerri rock formations in the Beetaloo Basin in the middle of 2019.

Falcon Oil and Gas last month said that along with dry gas, it would assess the potential of the liquids-rich Kyalla and Velkerri formations.

Origin Energy said it is not drilling for oil, but that it expects to produce "ethane and propane which is LPG or bottled gas, butane which is used as fuel in lighters, or condensate".

"The rigorous processes and controls we have in place — including those being applied following the Pepper inquiry — are also no different whether the source is predominantly natural gas or 'dry gas' — or liquid rich," a spokesman for the company said.

NT minister to seek briefing

New Northern Territory Resources Minister Paul Kirby said he was not sure why the Pepper inquiry did not consider liquids.

"I'm not sure about the detail of some of that. Obviously I'll get up to speed with issues that are going on in the Beetaloo as quickly as I possibly can, but as to the exact detail of that, I'll have to get a brief around what people are exactly exploring for," he said.

He did not expect new regulations to be any impediment to the resumption of exploration within a few months.

"There won't be any regulation that will impede people's progress, the companies will be able to progress, and start exploration over the coming months, as long as they have met all the requirements that they need to meet," he said.

The Australian Petroleum Production And Exploration Association said the risks and mitigation measures for fracking for gas and oil were the same, so the inquiry's recommendations on gas could also be applied to liquids.

"There are no risks associated with producing either oil, or some of these liquid forms of gas that differ from the production of dry gas," APPEA's Matt Doman said.

He said liquids could be a cherry on the cake of a gas operation.

"Liquid-rich gas brings with it additional revenue streams, and increases the royalty streams that would go to the Government. We're keen to ascertain whether that is a potential here," he said.

SOURCE

 Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).    For a daily critique of Leftist activities,  see DISSECTING LEFTISM.  To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup  of pro-environment but anti-Greenie  news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH .  Email me  here