warning: heavy topics ahead! sort of, depending on you, really. i have a really casual style of speaking, so some of what i say may be a little insensitive. i mean no harm!!

living in australia, my cousins overseas believe i'm living the best damn life possible. i suppose in terms of education and healthcare, yeah, i am. but people, especially australians themselves, like to think our country is on a somewhat higher moral ground than other nations like the united states or russia. but the reality is, we are very alike. we're just much better at hiding it from the international audience.

australia's 'one nation' party, led by pauline hanson, used to be... let's say not too beloved across australia. but this year, the electoral divison of farrer, a place on the border of regional victoria and new south wales, had a by election. for those of you who don't know, a by election is when a seat for a district opens up in parliament, and the political parties of australia have a sort of mini election to see who gets that spot.

everyone believed the liberals, one of the biggest parties, would get it. the most shocking results came out instead. one nation had won by a landslide. and it was their first seat in the house of representatives. one nation is basically like australia's version of the republican party trump is a part of. they have tried to pass the most disgusting bills in parliament, but thankfully majority of them have gone ignored. but after that by election in farrer, they began gaining more traction and popularity across australia.

here's a website if you're interested in some of the policies she's voted FOR and voted AGAINST: https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/queensland/pauline_hanson

now, let me give you an example of what she and her party supports and disagrees with. she voted for, 'prioritising religious freedom'. sounds nice, right? except, under this very policy, mind you, the only division she voted on FOR was about protecting people observing the 'day of the unborn child', who mourn the 'lives of children lost to abortion' in regards to religious freedom (quoted directly from the catholic archdiocese of sydney). while i don't mind people that are pro-life and believe abortion is bad, to be pushing your beliefs onto people and telling them they 'cannot be good' is an atrocious thing to say. will you say the same to your loved ones if their pregnancy cannot achieve its' full term due to complications? will you say the same to them if they get raped and terminate the pregnancy out of shame?

lets look at what else was under the banner of religious freedom. anti discrimination laws to protect students and staff at independent schools. preventing discrimination against lgbti+ staff and students. and she voted AGAINST on these.

Table 1 Exemptions from New South Wales anti-discrimination laws specific to private schools (https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/WP59_8.pdf)

Area of discrimination

NSW

Age or age group ¸ ¸

Disability/impairment ¸ ¸

Homosexuality/sexuality ¸ ¸

Marital status ¸ ¸

Pregnancy or potential pregnancy ¸ ¸

Race X

Sex ¸ ¸

Key:

X - No exemptions

¸ ¸ - Specific exemptions for private or religious school

noting that private and religious schools are classified as independent, that only makes matters worse. the normal anti discriminatory laws do not apply to these schools. this is the kind of reality one nation wants to push on australia. i go to an independent school, and i have seen firsthand reasons why children have been expelled. the table above from a survey of nsw and victorian laws are just some examples of why staff and students, whether lgbti+ or not, deserve the right to be safe from segregation.

this is all i can say for now, its pretty late for me at the time of writing. i really needed to go off on a tangent and put my thoughts out there. if you wanna hear more on how fucked up australia is, let me know!

thats all folks