Government Submissions, Social Gatherings, and Miscellaneous

[tcpip]

This week I wrote or submitted three contributions to various government agencies. The first was a draft for Linux Users Victoria, on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with particular attention drawn to intellectual property issues. The second was for the Victorian Secular Lobby, which was submitted to the Victorian parliamentary committee on end-of-life choices, based on last week's draft. The Isocracy Network is also considering a submission. The third was a submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, to the Cultural Diversity Review, specifically on the classification of Unitarians as "Christian (Other)" in the Australian census. For the Victorian Secular Lobby, it's been a particularly good week with Special Religious Instruction taken out of the education curriculum.

I've had a busy end-of-week socially; on Thursday night strangedave and doctor_k_ were visiting Melbourne, so we organised dinner and a tour at the asylum for them and mortonhall and Trevor (LJ name?). Great conversation and a pleasant walk of the grounds. Did the same for visiting Westalian nephew Luke from Muzzle and his friend Nick on Saturday night. Also on Saturday went to see ser_pounce and hathhalla for the grand final of the cheesequest; a contest between (substituted) white stilton, epoisses (fantastic soaked in champagne), and a small mountain of the garlic-and-herb boursin, made by yours truly, plus a few others just to complement. We also played Mice and Mystics, a cooperative storytelling boardgame, where we were seriously defeated twice. Also had an interesting political and plotting dinner on Friday with Anthony and Daye.

The final social activity of late this week was a session of 7th Sea where the PCs are increasingly coming to to terms with the scale of the political danger they've put them in; it's a fantasy version of a resource course. Apart form all this I've been playing house a fair bit, after purchasing a big antique sideboard, rearranging a variety of furnishings (especially bookcases) in the process. I don't really live in a house; it's more like a small library and museum. Or at least that's the plan.

Comments

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

For the Victorian Secular Lobby, it's been a particularly good week with Special Religious Instruction taken out of the education curriculum.

Excellent news. Props for Victoria!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

It is good news, as is the replacement course. A challenge now exists for the other states to follow suit.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

Apropos of nothing, what's the direction of Australia's immigration policy these days? I'm continually frustrated by various European developments and I'm wondering if there's any good news from elsewhere.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Australian immigration isn't too bad at all for people with the right qualifications. Just don't even think about turning up on a boat fleeing persecution and ask for humanitarian asylum.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

Just don't even think about turning up on a boat fleeing persecution and ask for humanitarian asylum.

I think we might be doing significantly worse in that regard.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

In the EU it's a case of not enough funding. "The EU is putting only a third as much money and less than a tenth of the manpower into maritime rescue as it did last year."

In Australia, we're putting more money in ensuring offshore detention that we're providing to the regional UN Refugee Agency