Australian Politics
Andrew Tate is flooding Australian schoolboys with an aggressive ideology contemptuous of feminist correctness
Tate has shown the emperor to have no clothes. There is no considered guide to healthy masculinity. There is nothing to replace his message. Masculinity is simply attacked by elite writers
A prominent principal has warned schools are contending with a “tsunami” of misogynistic digital trends and revealed they are tackling the problem with in-house education programs to specifically address the rise of so-called ”mega misogynist” Andrew Tate.
Tate, the former professional kickboxer turned king of “toxic masculinity’’ has amassed a huge global following on social media sprouting his extreme anti-feminist, alpha male views.
Youth workers say Tate, currently in a Romanian jail under investigation for human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group, has emerged as a key influencer of 11-17 year old boys.
St Joseph’s Nudgee College principal Peter Fullagar, 62, said Tate had been on the school’s radar for the past 12 to 18 months and discussions about him had been incorporated into its educational programs.
“There is a tsunami working against us to be fair. It is relentless,’’ Fullagar said.
“We do talk to boys about Andrew Tate and rather than say, ‘Don’t go there’ and try to shut it down, we want to learn why boys are attracted to his message.
“As schools, as educators, we are working really hard to give boys an opposite message.
“We are dealing with young boys‘ behaviour all the time through mistakes they make in and around misogynistic behaviour, homophobic language, racial comments, bullying and harassment. It is part of young people’s landscape today.
“The power of social media has come at us in a rush over the past 10 years so schools are continually responding and refining responses. If it’s Andrew Tate currently, it will be a bigger name in a couple of years time.’’
Fullagar said his school’s established Student Formation Program covered a range of issues including respectful relationships, the definition of masculinity, mental health and wellbeing, risk taking, drugs, issues of consent, social media and being safe in the online environment. Andrew Tate was discussed in the context of social media and what it means to be a young man in today’s world.
St Paul’s School, a coeducational private school north of Brisbane, is also aware of Tate’s influence. Headmaster Dr Paul Browning said young people were bombarded with negative social media messages.
“The temptations are right there in their face, in their bedroom at night time. Unfortunately, undesirable influences follow them into that space,’’ Browning said.
“You can’t ignore it and we have strong programs at the school to help with social and emotional development of young people and the development of their character. We’re not just interested in a child’s academic achievement but also the type of people they are becoming.’’
St Paul’s executive director of Faith and Community Nigel Grant said he first became aware of Tate about a year ago when year nine boys “tried to shock me’’ during a school wellbeing program called The Rite Journey. “We are trying to be on the front foot on this,’’ he said.
“We were having a conversation with year nine boys about what it means to be a man, asking who they respected and who were their heroes. It was in that context that Andrew Tate’s name came up.
“The boys had heard all about him and were aware of the power to shock adults. Some had been impressed by some of the stuff he was saying.
“I was suitably naive but quickly became well informed and, as a group of teachers, we addressed the issue directly and tried to produce a suitable counter message.
“We are regularly shocked but rarely surprised at the content young people see. The internet is like the wild, wild west. Even the best filters can be worked around and children are particularly vulnerable.’’
QUT Professor of sociology Michael Flood, an expert in engaging men in violence prevention, men and masculinities, said schools must be proactive in dealing with toxic social media influencers.
“Schools have an absolutely central role to play particularly through respectful relationships education in inoculating young people against the sexism and the misogyny that Tate and others preach,’’ Flood said.
“Conversations about influencers like Tate should be going on in schools and certainly growing numbers of teachers are forced to have those conversations whether they want to or not because boys and young men are repeating some of the things that Tate claims.’’
A Department of Education Queensland spokesperson said the Respectful Relationships Education Program has been available in Queensland schools since 2017.
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Voice to Parliament is expensive and unnecessary
Poor Anthony Albanese. How was he to know he already has a Voice to Parliament, telling his ministers what to do for Aborigines?
With all his engagements at the Australian Open, the cricket and the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, how could he know he’s already paying $160m a year to 1200 people in 39 offices around the country to do exactly that?
How embarrassing, because Albanese keeps insisting we need his Voice in the constitution so “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a say in the policies and decisions that affect their lives”.
Yet the National Indigenous Australians Agency is doing that very thing, claims its head, Aboriginal woman Jody Broun: “We lead and influence change across government to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a say in the decisions that affect them.”
That’s its job, under the government order establishing the NIAA: “to build and maintain effective partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people … and enable policies, programs and services to be tailored to the unique needs of communities”.
So we can now add the NIAA to all the other groups already telling the government what to do for our 810,000 Aborigines – more than 30 land councils, 3000 Aboriginal corporations, 11 Aboriginal federal politicians and the Coalition of Peaks, representing around 70 big Aboriginal agencies.
At the very least, the Prime Minister should say which of them we can scrap if he still goes ahead with his Voice, plus its 35 regional Voices.
After all, this NIAA does not come cheap, and nor will the Voice. The NIAA’s leaders are collectively paid $2.5m a year, and last financial year spent nearly $2 billion.
But its boss says it’s doing a wonderful job: “The NIAA works in genuine partnership to enable the self-determination and aspirations of First Nations communities.”
So who needs the Voice?
The NIAA also assures us it’s got the government’s ear. It doesn’t just report to Albanese’s Indigenous Australians Minister, his assistant Indigenous Australians Minister and his special envoy for “reconciliation”, but last year gave advice to 12 parliamentary committees.
So, again, who needs Albanese’s Voice?
News of the NIAA’s existence, raised on social media by Voice opponents, has created panic in the ABC. “No, Indigenous Australians don’t already have a Voice to Parliament,” shouted its “Fact Check Unit” on Friday.
For evidence it consulted two pro-Voice academics – Dr Dylan Lino, a senior lecturer in law, and – ha ha ha – Asmi Wood, an Australian National University law professor on Albanese’s Referendum Consulting Group.
Yes, well. Wood’s expertise in constitutional law may be judged by the fact he keeps repeating the ludicrous myth that our constitution once “regulated ‘Aboriginal natives’ as fauna”.
So why do these experts deny the NIAA is already doing the work of the Voice?
One, because they claim the NIAA’s public servants aren’t independent of government, but the Voice will be.
But the government’s blueprint of the Voice, written by Marcia Langton and Tom Calma, says its members will not be elected, but mysteriously selected. By whom, exactly? The government will set those rules, determine powers and decide who gets paid what. How independent is that?
Two, Wood admits the NIAA is actually “meant to give free and fearless advice”, but complains the minister still “makes the final decision”.
But wait! Albanese claims Parliament will still make the decisions if we get a Voice. Or are we being conned?
And three, Lino says that unlike the Voice, the NIAA isn’t all-Aboriginal. Only a fifth of its staff identifies as white, even if two of its three top executives and both its ministers are Aborigines and calling the shots.
But whites could be on the Voice, too, or choose who is.
Aboriginal activists such as Suzanne Ingram claim as many as 300,000 of our 810,000 Aborigines are actually fakes, and the Langton-Calma report says it doesn’t want direct elections for the Voice because “confirming Indigeneity … has historically been divisive in some communities”. Aborigines would complain of white fakes voting and running, and they must be shut down.
I guess that leaves the big difference: that unlike the NIAA, the Voice – being in the constitution – cannot be sacked, even if it’s totally useless, or worse.
No, let’s stick with the NIAA and save the grief and the cash. After all, it’s doing what Albanese says he wanted, right? Or is there something else he isn’t saying?
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Old king coal riding high again
About two million tonnes of coal left Australian shores for China last month in signs of growing confidence Beijing’s unofficial ban on the resource is coming to an end, according to market experts.
It comes as trade data shows Queensland’s trade with China rise by $3 billion in the past year, compared to the previous 12 months.
Commodity market data agency Argus Media said shipping data showed more than 2 million tonnes of coal left Australia for China in February, and of that about 700,000 tonnes of that came out of Queensland.
Chinese Communist Party state-owned news the Global Times has indicated “the full resumption of Australian coal” trade could start from as early as next month.
Before Beijing implemented an unofficial ban on Australian coal in November 2020, among a range of other trade restrictions and sanctions on the back of rising diplomatic tension at the time, Queensland’s coal trade to China was worth $10 billion a year.
Argus Media spokeswoman Jo Clarke said the 2 million was a significant increase compared to the 140,000 tonnes which left Australian shores in January.
While the first shipment of Australian thermal coal was unloaded in China’s Guangdong port on February 5, Ms Clarke said coking coal had now also been successfully unloaded at China’s Zhanjiang port on February 10. “No coking coal cargoes have been turned back on account of customs clearance processes in China,” she said.
“But the availability of domestic coking coal at a significant discount to Australian cargoes means that Chinese buyers are not looking to buy Australian cargoes at the moment.”
Coal from Queensland’s Moranbah North mine, previously expected to arrive in February, has been delayed until March due to logistic issues, Ms Clarke said.
Last week the Global Times claimed Chinese companies were “regaining confidence towards Australians goods” in light of improved diplomatic relations.
“There is a speculation that the full resumption of Australian coal may take place in April,” it reported.
Meanwhile, Australian Bureau of Statistics Trade data showed there was $16 billion in trade between Queensland and China in the 12 months ending January 31, up $3 billion on the previous 12 months.
Trade Minister Don Farrell has been in India as part of the Prime Minister’s trade trip, but is understood to be seeking to follow up his recent virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart with an in-person visit.
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Australia Post recommences mail delivery to Alice Springs homes after meetings with NT Police
Australia Post has recommenced delivering mail and parcels to hundreds of homes in Alice Springs, almost a fortnight after halting the service due to staff safety concerns.
Following multiple allegedly violent attacks against a veteran postie, some residents in Sadadeen were notified that their mail would be redirected to the town's post office for collection.
A spokesperson for the government-owned postal service confirmed deliveries would recommence from Monday following "close consultation with local police and relevant authorities".
"We thank our customers for their understanding and appreciate the support of the community and local authorities to ensure the safety of our team members," the spokesperson said.
The ABC understands a federal government minister's office was involved in meetings with NT Police to find a solution for impacted residents.
The incidents that led to Australia Post's extraordinary decision allegedly involved rock-throwing and the use of a knife and occurred over a period of several months.
It comes as NT Police report a significant drop in crime and anti-social behaviour in the central Australian town in the weeks following the implementation of strict new alcohol restrictions.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Martin Dole said the force was now working with Australia Post management to ensure posties could safely carry out deliveries throughout Alice Springs.
"The management of Australia Post made that decision to withdraw services without any consultation with NT Police, without asking us what we were doing in that space," he said.
"After some meetings with our management team and Australia Post, I think we've reassured them that we are actively doing some proactive stuff in that space, and it should be a lot safer for their postal delivery workers."
Assistant Commissioner Dole said there were additional "concentrated efforts" in the Sadadeen area, and police were working to identify those responsible for the alleged attacks.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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