Drag queens teach preschool children about 'inclusion and diversity' at local libraries - as critics slam the 'storytelling' sessions as 'inappropriate'

I find drag queens disgusting.  They are just men mocking women and I like real women very much. Drag queens  are offensive.  Are conservatives allowed to be offended?  It seems not

Drag queens are reading story books to pre-school children in public libraries to promote 'diversity and inclusion' among the new generation.

The controversial storytelling events - which have previously been met with strong opposition in Melbourne - have been scheduled across Sydney in the past year.

While supporters claim the public readings promote open-mindedness, critics such as New South Wales Upper House MP Mark Latham have hit out at their 'inappropriate' nature.

One event due to be held earlier this year in Kogarah, southern Sydney, billed itself as a chance for children 'to experience positive and inclusive role models in a fun environment'.

Another in Erskineville last year fronted by high-profile drag queen Hannah Conda encouraged attendees to bring their own dresses and wigs along.

Fellow entertainer Charisma Belle, another well-known proponent of the scheme, told The Daily Telegraph the events were there for children 'unable to express themselves properly'.

'Drag story time is about opening a dialogue between parents and their children,' she said.

'Part of my job as a drag performer is to educate and challenge the misinformation that is spread about my community.'

Georges River Council said the event at Kogarah Library had kept its place in their calendar due to its high popularity.

But Mr Latham, One Nation's NSW state leader, has expressed his concern the events serve as a 'backdoor' for the Safe Schools campaign - which pushes for greater inclusion for LGBTI students.

'Given the way the drag queen program is pushed in municipal libraries, it's highly appropriate for the Education Minister to issue a general directive through NSW schools they must not be part of school libraries,' he said.

Last year, the Drag Storytime with Miss Roxee drag queen reading in Wollongong attracted the anger of social media commenters.

Negative feedback ranged from those who accused the central library where it was held of spreading 'propaganda' and 'sexualising children'.

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How good is ScoMo? Popularity for the Coalition SURGES as PM enjoys post-election boost following tax cuts and help for drought-stricken farmers

Scott Morrison is squaring for a fight against union thugs as the Government's popularity surges ahead following the federal election.

The coalition's primary vote has increased 2.6 per cent since its May victory to 44 per cent, according to the post-election Newspoll published by The Australian.

Mr Morrison has also seen the best results for a prime minister since 2016, with approval ratings shooting beyond 50 per cent for the first time in four years.

The boost in popularity comes as the Government delivers on its tax-cut promise, which saw millions of Australians receive up to $1,080 in relief when they lodged their tax returns this year.

Mr Morrison's continued support for drought-stricken farmers has also been tipped as a key factor in the surge.

The Government now leads Labor 53 per cent to 47 per cent on a two-party preferred vote.

And with four sitting days left until the long winter break, the prime minister wants to pass laws making it easier to kick rogue officials out of the union movement.

Mr Morrison also wants more power to de-register misbehaving unions and put checks on union mergers.

He has seized on John Setka's refusal to step down from the Victorian construction union as apparent proof the crackdown is needed.

This may be enough to clinch crucial Senate crossbench support for his union-busting legislation but Labor claims the industrial relations laws expose the prime minister's deep-seated 'hatred' for unions in general.

The opposition will this week try to launch an inquiry into meetings between Energy Minister Angus Taylor and environmental officials about endangered grasslands. Labor is pursuing the cabinet minister over his interest in a family company linked to an investigation into alleged illegal land clearing.

But Mr Taylor says his interests have been widely declared and has accused the opposition of waging a 'grubby smear campaign'.

The government has so far managed to fend off an investigation.

But key crossbench senator Rex Patrick has flipped his position, and is now willing to back an inquiry.

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison heads Labor leader Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister 48 per cent to 31 per cent, according to Newspoll, while Labor's primary vote remains largely unchanged at 33 per cent.

The findings come after many pollsters took a hiatus following the May election result which they failed to predict across the board.

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Universities’ research focus is leaving students unprepared

It’s nearly a year since US online recruiter Glassdoor shocked the global university and tertiary college world by revealing that major US employers no longer require a degree for top new employees.

Google, Apple, IBM, Penguin Random House, Bank of America, Starbucks, Cisco, and Hilton were among the groups that had changed their recruiting policies, partly because too many graduates did not have the skills they required.

Subsequently, at least in Australia, nothing much has happened in the university sector.

But the US-China trade war is suddenly raising alarm bells in our third-largest export industry. Australia’s education sector is in a dangerous position and that danger puts our entire tertiary education sector in jeopardy.

Universities live in an academic world and are rarely looked at from a business point of view. To date, that academic approach has worked. But the post trade war world is likely to be very different.

Basically, in the words of education analyst Kee Wong, universities offer their students the choice of a series of “hampers” covering areas like law, engineering, commerce and arts.

We have all received Christmas hampers and on most occasions we find things in them that we want but many things that are of no use. And so it is with most university degrees. But too many university hampers have not fundamentally changed in 30 years.

I know my university friends will dispute that statement, and I recognise that some universities have become much more flexible and have modernised their subjects. But too many have not and that means too many students are coming out of a tertiary courses totally unprepared for the workplaces of today, let alone the future.

Many students understand this and they scramble to join large organisations (both private and government) that have training courses that will make them “work ready”. Those organisations take the best students available, so the rest go into the workforce unprepared. Many fail and I run into countless medium sized business people who shake their heads when they describe how unprepared most graduates are for the modern world.

So the universities have a product problem. But it gets worse.

Universities are funded by taking in foreign students who pay full fees. Many of these students come from China. Chinese universities have adapted their courses to fit the modern world, with a particular emphasis on databases and artificial intelligence: the area where China seeks superiority over the US.

In other words, in business terms, we face a rival which has updated its product. In the past, Chinese universities have not had the capacity to meet the demand, but they are catching up.

And just to make matters even more dangerous for Australia, relations with China are poor, so returning to China with an Australian degree might not carry the same advantage that existed in previous decades, particularly given the rise in the standard of Chinese universities.

On this front, Australia is helped by the fact that the largest education state, Victoria, was smart enough to join China’s belt and road initiative.

Of course the student market covers many other countries. We must also recognise that a proportion of the total student market has come to Australia seeking long-term residency. If Canberra tightens the visa requirements, it will be a disaster for the education sector because without visa seeking students, the tertiary education sector could not be funded.

In normal businesses, the chief executives know they must adapt their products to meet the market. But in the tertiary sector attracting both local and overseas students currently requires a good ranking.

An important part of securing such a ranking is producing research papers that often have very limited relevance to today’s challenges. So large sums are spent to produce such papers to gain ranking, and therefore more overseas students. In an ideal world that money should be spent improving courses and flexibility to match our rivals in China and elsewhere.

I do not claim to have the answers but Australia’s third largest export industry has not recognised that the game has changed. Nor have the federal and state governments, who blame each other. We have to change the debate or we will lose this industry because if overseas students fall then it will go into a downward spiral. Now is the time to recognise that the new situation and to act. It’s not too late.

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'We don't want there to be no air travel': Qantas boss warns climate change panic could devastate the industry and take the world 'back to the 1920s'

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has warned that global warming panic could bring the aviation industry to a halt, saying additional airline taxes could take the world back to the 1920s.

Speaking at the Centre for Aviation summit in Sydney this week, Mr Joyce hit back at climate change hysteria and 'flight shaming'.

Mr Joyce referenced an increase in the amount of global warming rallies being held globally and a rise in activists criticising travellers who fly, The Australian reported. 

'We don't want to go back to the 1920s and not have air ­travel. We need to make sure that we keep the baby, because it is important for the world economy to have connections,' he said.

He pointed out that the airline industry had made a difference to the world in terms of economic trade and job creation. 

'We know there's an environmental impact, but the things we're doing as an industry are fantastic. We have targets by 2050 to reduce our CO2 emissions to half the levels of 2005,' he said.

Just last month, the French government announced an 'eco-tax' on all flights out of airports in France, which would rack up $300 million per year.

Passengers in The Netherlands have are now being slugged a levy of $11.60, amid calls for the European Union to enforce taxes across the whole continent.

Mr Joyce said the aim of the new tariffs is to limit commercial flights by slugging customers and airlines more.

The amount of passengers flying the prominent flight routes between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have remained stagnant, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg has launched a staunch against airlines and their customers, and has even vowed to travel to the US by boat to spread her message.

As well as ruling out flying on a plane on the trip, Thunberg also refuses to travel aboard a cruise ship as they're notoriously big polluters. Meanwhile, sailors rarely brave the Atlantic in August because of hurricane risks.

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 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