Category: Current Affairs

It has been 18 months since America elected Barack Obama to be it's president. His presidency began with a lot of excitement and anticipation, partly created by his inspiring messages about "Yes we can!" It has not been an easy run for him, with many complex challenges and problems ...  Gallup reported last week that … Continue reading Approval Ratings of President Obama

A Florida pastor by the name of Terry Jones plans on hosting a Koran burning event at his church to commemorate the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the USA - 9/11 (this coming Saturday). He is doing this to target Islam extremists. Protestors are rallying in various countries around the world and their are … Continue reading Pastor Plans on Burning Koran

Finally, after two and a half weeks of speculation and negotiation, we have a government - a Labor government led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Support from a few independent MPs has given Gillard the narrowest of margins. Labor's position on broadband and climate change were influential in the final decision. This has been Australia's … Continue reading Labor Wins the Australian 2010 Federal Election

While those of us who live here in Australia wait anxiously to see who is going to become our next Prime Minister after such a close federal election, let's be sure to lift our eyes and realise that we are only one small part of what is now a global village. We live in a … Continue reading Thinking Globally …

The voting is over and the 2010 Australian federal election has turned out to be the closest election result in our short history as a nation. No out-right leader has emerged yet and we may end up with a hung parliament.  A few observations are clear:  1. The Labor Party has had a large swing … Continue reading Some Post-Election Observations …

The Liberal Party of Australia has been the opposition party since losing the 2007 federal election. Prior to that, it had held power since the 1996 election. At the state and territory level, the Liberals hold government only in Western Australia. The Liberal Party was founded after the 1943 federal election to replace the United … Continue reading The Australian Liberal Party

The Australian Labor Party has been the governing party in Australia since the last federal election in 2007. Labor currently governs all states and territories other than Western Australia. Labor is the country's oldest political party, having been founded in 1891. Julia Gillard is the current leader of the Labor Party and the Prime Minister of … Continue reading The Australian Labor Party

 The Family First political party was founded in South Australia in 2002 and spread nationally in 2004. The Family First party has not sought to promote itself as a Christian or church-based party but rather as a party with a primary focus on looking out for families.Family First currently has four members in parliament, two in SA, … Continue reading What about Family First?

The Australian Green's Party is gaining more and more interest here in Australia, especially amongst the younger generation who seem to be looking for an alternative to the Labor and Liberal political parties. It is estimated that the Greens could win anywhere between 10-16% of the Australian vote. There is also a high probability that they … Continue reading What about the Australian Green’s Party?

The Australia federal election is just under two weeks away (Saturday, August 21st). Every election is a very important time in any nation and as followers of Christ we should take our responsibilities as citizens seriously. Voting is a privilege and we should be diligent in our research of each candidate and the various political parties … Continue reading Preparing to Vote …

Last week I received a phone call from Barney Zwartz, a journalist from the Melbourne AGE newspaper. He wanted to get my pulse on the upcoming federal election. We had a 5-10 minute conversation together and talked about a range of issues. In his actual article, I ended up with one quote ... "Mr Conner, senior … Continue reading Does the Prime Minister need to be a Christian?

Julia Gillard became the 27th Prime Minister of Australia on June 24th, 2010. This occurred after the resignation of Kevin Rudd. Julia had served as the Deputy Prime Minister in the Rudd Government. She is the first woman Prime Minister in Australia and the first to have never married. She is also a red head - … Continue reading New Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Kevin Rudd was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia. Under his leadership, his party won the November 2007 election against former Prime Minister John Howard. As the new leader, he made major announcements about climate change, education, a national broadband network, and health. He will be remembered for a number of things, including his reading of … Continue reading Kevin Rudd

Last week saw the swearing in of the 44th leader of the United States of America as Barack Obama officially began his role as president. President Obama's inauguration and speech can be viewed on You Tube by clicking here. A full transcript of his address is available from the New York Times web site (click … Continue reading President Obama’s Speech

Today is Australia Day- an annual celebration, held every January 26th, of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, marking the colonisation of Australia by Great Britain. Having just read the book The First Fleet by David Hill, it is amazing that our nation, as it is today, even got started. England was sending convicts from … Continue reading Australia Day 2009