day 7 Tutorial Task

Task 1- sign an e-petition

E-PETITIONS CONFIRMATION
Thank you Ms Kellerman
Your name has been added to the Supporting the decriminalisation of altruistic surrogacy in Queensland E-Petition as specified below
TO: The Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House that under current legislation Queenslanders are at risk of fines and imprisonment for undertaking altruistic surrogacy arrangements. This is despite the fact that altruistic surrogacy is a long held tradition of some Queensland cultural groups and is not a criminal act in the majority of Australian States and Territories. The current laws do not allow Queenslanders with medical and fertility issues to make their own decisions about accessing current medical methods to have a family. It discriminates against those women who, for medical reasons, are unable to carry a child to term and therefore cannot use other legal methods of assisted reproduction (eg. IVF and AI). The current Queensland laws send surrogacy practices underground, force families to move interstate to access the treatments legally, and place children born of these arrangements in precarious legal and guardianship situations. The laws also restrict the rights of women who wish to be a surrogate, for no monetary gain or personal benefit. Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to implement the unanimous recommendations of the investigation into altruistic surrogacy committee tabled on 23 April 2009.

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_QLD/CurrentEPetition.aspx?PetNum=1290

Task 2.

Task 3. What is Barack Obama up to today?
http://blogs.america.gov/obama/

Changes to Afghanistan strategy in store
— By Michelle Austein Brooks, 30 November 2009
President Obama plans to speak to Americans via a prime-time address December 1 about new plans for the war in Afghanistan, which has now lasted about eight years.
His top political advisors and military commanders are aware of the upcoming changes, as President Obama met with them Sunday evening in the oval office. This comes after months of reviews of current Afghanistan policies and meetings with top officials.
The new strategy will likely include an increase in troops and plans to further strengthen the Afghan and Pakistani governments’ involvement. Before announcing it to the American people, the president plans to talk to leaders of some of its greatest allies, including Great Britain and France.
For more on the upcoming speech, see “Obama Addresses Afghanistan Strategy December 1.” What role should the United States continue to play in Afghanistan?

Task 4.
Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.

Federal:
May, Mrs Margaret
MP



+ adam asks: What do you think of the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")???

I think that that the QLD government's plans to censor the internet is outragous. It seems that this is just another blatent attempt to monitor people's use of the internet and remove any negative remarks about the government. It is taking away people's right to free speech!