National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program

Posted on 18 July, 2013 by kencooke

How many schools in the electorate have a chaplain under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program?

Only four!!! and only two of these are government schools. None are mainstream government schools!!

They are:

The Beach School, Allambie (a special government school with an enrolment of 28 students).
Saint Pauls Catholic college, Manly (Private)
Sydney Church of England Co-Educational Grammar School, Redlands, Cremorne (Private)
Stewart House School, Harbord (government school providing two weeks respite for disadvantaged rural students).

Its time this scheme was scrapped.

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Tony Abbott agrees that Carbon Tax will work.

Posted on 2 July, 2012 by kencooke

On ABC Radio National Breakfast show this morning Mr Abbott has agreed that the Carbon Tax will achieve its aims. He said…

“The whole point of a carbon tax is to use less coal, less gas,less oil. the whole point of a carbon tax is to make coal, gas and oil uneconomic.

Well if the Carbon Tax will succeed in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions then why would he repeal it when he comes into government, unless of course he is in denial about the cause and consequences of man made climate change.

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Same Sex Marriage

Posted on 15 August, 2010 by kencooke
There is no particular reason why marriage should be regarded exclusively as being between a man and a women.
In addition, it has not always been the case that there were any laws that governed marriage. In Europe up until 1545, marriages were by mutual consent without the involvement of either the church or the state. It is only in 1563 that the Council of Trent decreed that a Roman Catholic marriage would be recognized only if the marriage ceremony was officiated by a priest with two witnesses. The state did not become involved in England until the Marriage Act of 1753 which required a formal ceremony. In 1837 civil marriages were recognised as an alternative to church marriages.
There is also a long history of same sex unions around the world including in ancient Greece and Rome, in certain regions of China and in ancient Europe.
In short the institute of marriage is not something that is fixed in stone. There have been many variations in the customs and laws around marriage and there is no fundamental reason why Australian law should not recognise same sex marriage. It is only because of the desire not to offend religious groups that the major Australian political parties are resistant to change.
The state should be neutral with respect to religious sentiments and should allow same sex marriage as a matter of equal right without discrimination based upon religious sentiments.
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This is Your Opportunity

Posted on 8 August, 2010 by kencooke
This is your opportunity.
The result for Warringah on election day is a forgone conclusion, Tony Abbott will win. The conservative parties have always won Warringah. So on the face of it it would seem that your vote is a meaningless formality. But no, there is more! I am standing to provide electors with an opportunity to make their opinion known on matters of concern which you might share with me: the essential principle that government should be neutral on matters of religion. If you support my sentiments and the sentiments of the Secular Party of Australia, don’t waste your vote on a meaningless ritual. Vote 1 for Kenneth Cooke and then give your second preference to the major party that you would be least unhappy to see governing Australia.
This is your opportunity to say no to governments who treat children of non religious parents as second class by providing them with meaningless alternatives to Scripture Classes. The existence of the School Chaplaincy Program and Special Religious Education (Scripture)  classes in public school implies that the Government has decided that citizens who have a belief in a god, and more specifically a belief in a Christian God are more worthy than those who do not  It is not the place of government to decide on matters of morals where the morals held do no harm to others in the society. It is governments role to protect the person and to facilitate the right to food, shelter, good health and education. Beliefs are personal. Some chose to congregate in a shared belief in a supernatural father figure. Others do not. It is not for government to decide that one system of belief is better than another.
This is your opportunity to express dismay at the $31 billion in tax concessions and government grants which go to support the non religious arms of religious organisations; money which would be better spent reviving our moribund state education system or providing for the needy in our society.
It is an opportunity to say that education and a basic understanding of the natural sciences is more important than belief in dogma handed down to us in a bronze age text. The world faces serious problems of environmental degradation and overpopulation while an archbishop tells his congregation that humans are more important than the environment and that all we need do is trust in God to provide. Humans are an integral part of the environment and we will suffer as the environment suffers. The ALP sold its soul to Senator Fielding when they made a preference deal with him at the 2004 election. Australia is paying the price in terms of delayed action on climate change. We need to take advice from our scientists and not from an archbishop or from a fundamentalist christian senator who believes that the world was created six thousand years ago and then goes on to claim that the science on climate change is still undecided.
Make your dismay known. Vote for government with a true separation of church and state and government decision making based on reason not a desire to curry favours with religious groups. Vote 1 for Kenneth Cooke, your Secular Party Candidate for Warringah. Then give your second preference to the major party of choice to form government.
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Kenneth Cooke (Secular Party of Australia) runs for Warringah

Posted on 29 July, 2010 by kencooke

I have nominated as the Secular Party of Australia candidate for the NSW electorate of Warringah.

There is of course only one person who has any chance at all of winning this seat and that is Tony Abbott the present incumbent member for Warringah and Leader of the Opposition. So why bother standing? (This is a question which could be asked of all the other candidates in this electorate.)

My intention is to offer my self as a means by which electors can make known their agreement with the principles for which the Secular Party stands – in effect it provides a “claytons” referendum – a referendum you have without having a referendum. By voting “1″ for the secular party and then giving your 2nd preference to the major candidate who you wish to actually be in government you are effectively voting for the major party of your choice while at the same time taking the opportunity of letting the major parties know your feelings about the lack of true separation of church and state in Australia.

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