Summing up the way in which each of the four commented on the Sex Party, Matt Abraham’s comments were all negative. David Bevan’s and Chris Pyne’s were roughly evenly divided and Chris Schacht was pretty much defending the rights of the party all the way through. Chris Schacht was a champion of free speech and civil liberties during the Hawke and Keating administrations, so its not surprising that he would be positive about a new civil liberties party no matter where its roots lay.

Matt Abraham made four comments during the segment – all of them quite negative. Shouldn’t he be even handed on issues like this you ask? Not on your life…. Abraham has an agenda here that he’s not telling his listeners about. He’s one of an increasing number of political journalists in this country who are also very committed Christians but who fail to declare their personal bias when commenting on sex, censorship, abortion, euthanasia etc. I am certain that Michael Atkinson feels safe when interviewed by Abraham especially on R rated computer games.

Not only is Matt Abraham one of the Catholic church’s main media men, he was also instrumental in bringing Contempt of Parliament charges against myself and Robbie Swan in 1996. Abraham sought out an interview with us in that year over comments we had made elsewhere about a Coalition backbencher and his wife who had been caught on a security camera in a Canberra adult shop purchasing X rated films. Nothing wrong with that you say, except that the next day, the backbencher was due to vote in a Joint Party Room meeting to endorse a ban on X rated videos. Knowing that he was going vote for the ban, we cried hypocrisy and called on the MP to resign or risk being ‘outed’. Our rationale was that elected members had no right to tell the electorate one thing via their policies but to do the opposite in their own lives. If every MP did this the nation would soon become so cynical of politicians that the institution of Parliament would be severely damaged. We had no intention of naming the politician ourselves but wanted to put pressure on him to out himself.

During the interview on Matt Abraham’s radio program, he was much more aggressive and combative about the issue than you would normally expect from an ABC interviewer. Through a series of cleverly orchestrated questions he finally got Robbie to say that he thought it would be in the public interest for the backbencher to be identified and to account for his behaviour. Not long after this we received a summons from the Privileges Committee of the federal parliament stating that the comments made on Abraham’s program were enough for two Contempt charges to be laid against us. The specific charge was ‘threatening a member of parliament in the line of their duty’ and if found guilty, we could be placed in custody ‘at her Majesty’s pleasure’.

How was this was possible when we had not even identified the MP in question?  Apparently this didn’t matter. The fact that we had said we might out any MP over this issue was enough to scare all of them and put them off their game and that constituted a contempt.

In the end we were found not guilty of the contempt but in summing up, the Priviliges Committee found that if we did the same thing again then we would be found guilty. Work that one out if you can.

However the most galling point of the whole episode was that we felt Abraham had set us up by not declaring his strongly held religious affiliations and beliefs - which clearly included a profound dislike of X rated films and an even greater dislike of the industry that produces them.

We were recently honoured to be part of the inaugural Melbourne Leather Pride Fair. Our fabulous team of Sarah and Michelle were some of the first women to grace the hallowed halls of the Laird Hotel in quite a few years. They said that it was a bit of a novelty to begin with but after a while they blended in like they were old regulars. Thank you to the other fab volunteers Mickey, Amy, and Greg.

The day was well organised and we had a very bright, fun-filled stand and our little giveaways proved quite popular (they were men’s accoutrements and they vibrated!). The crowd was particularly well educated in the forked tongue nature of politics and they gave us some good feedback. I think we picked up a few more voters and a couple of people even joined the Sex Party on the spot.

We ran a ‘leather quiz’ which seemed to interest and educate even the most proud ‘leatherites’. Do you know how long it takes for leather to bio-degrade or what ‘leathering’ is? Well those that attended the Leather Pride Fair do now and one lucky leather expert won a framed, limited edition, Julian Murphy B&D print.

I wonder if any other political parties have ever had a stand at a Leather Pride fairs? Let me know if you’ve have heard of one. Fiona

A TV ad promoting the Hepburn Shire has been causing controversy in Dalesford over the ways it depicts it's residents - as miserable peasants.  But the controversy that has been generated here in the Sex Party office has been over it's overtly religious tone. 

Some of our staff and members think that the churches, baptism scene and the good ol' boy Southern Baptist song "Down by the River to Pray" are highly suspicious and that the ad should be blasted as having no place in a secular society.

Others think it is highlighting the hypocrisy of religion - by night she is the saucy epicurean minx, by day she cleanses her sins away (with the knowing look at the end that she is going to do it all over again).  Is it the Christians that should be upset by this ad.  What do you think?

Eros Association writer Elton Craig reckons its a shocker!

If we are not careful there could develop an insidious, perhaps unconscious threat to subliminally deliver Gospel messages to the Australian populace! Let’s not be too laid back about this people. First let’s consider the VTC campaign for Daylesford using a Southern Gospel song .
Not only it is an assault on our secular senses but also our cultural heritage !! Why do we need to import music from some Baptist bayou instead of finding some local, Australian tune ?
Far from trying to create a satire on religion I am sure the agency hack who put this together theorised that the pleasures of Daylesford, could supplant re-born Christianity, which is what is promised in the song. It is a very powerful message, delivered by very powerful lyrics and music.
That being so Daylesford will be long forgotten as the unsuspecting public who sees this ad keeps humming its incessant tune.
Like many Gospel songs its rhythm is the mother of all brain worms.
One might think picking on this ad is a little petty. Let’s consider a perhaps not too unbelievable extension. Gospel music is a great inspiration for advertising people for many reasons, not the least being that they are ready-made, off-the-shelf advertisements (albeit for religion).
And the power of the message! How can even the hardened Athiest not be moved (just a little) when Elvis dives into a rendition of “How Great Thou Art”?
Without vigilance and we could have the Daylesford campaign pumping out alongside “Ave Maria” pushing Cunard cruises and “Amazing Grace” selling weight loss programs. Imagine being assailed by a Johnny Cash number selling breakfast cereal ! They can’t get Gospel on the Charts but the more it sneaks into our daily lives the more it threatens to corrupt our youth !
Take this (perhaps already ridiculously stretched) notion and add to that a state sponsored Gospel radio programme ? How much are we going to take people ?
Gospel is the heroin of the re-born Christian. It is the hook upon which susceptible youths are disarmed and wake up in the clutches of the Baptists !
People may be unconcerned about the use of one Gospel song, but it is the thin edge of the wedge !
Trust me (said the priest to the widow)

John Della Bosca’s affair with a 26-year-old woman has caused him to resign as a Minister of the state of NSW. Both the morality and probity of this issue would be much easier to ascertain if the general public knew the real extent of extra marital affairs in all the parliaments and even local governments in Australia. But this will never happen because of the stranglehold that Irish Catholicism – and to an increasing extent, US style evangelism and ‘High’ Anglicanism - have on the governance of this country.

Politics in Australia is incredibly compromised by the fact that MPs cannot be honest about their sexuality. There are about 20 gay and lesbian politicians in the federal parliament and probably another 20 who have been or are bi sexual. How many of these people are ‘out’ – which means they are being honest? Bob Brown, Penny Wong…..OK, that’s two. Who are the rest? They don’t have to shout it from the roof tops of even declare it formally but because a heck of a lot of legislation is affected by sex and gender, people have a right to know whether their local member is being compromised on an issue because he or she cannot be honest about their sexuality.

How many state MPs have had affairs or have seen sex workers? That figure is likely to be at least 50% for men and women on the first count and as high as 80% for men on the second.

Della Bosca’s actions in resigning over his affair are ludicrous and undemocratic. There was much more reason for him to resign over his and his wife’s behaviour during the Iguana gate affair. That involved allegations of brutish behaviour, disrespect for service staff and an inflated opinion of one’s rights due to being an MP. Journalists are complicit in this because they fail to discriminate between bad behaviour and what is natural sexual behaviour. Most adults will have an affair in their lifetime but how many of us will abuse and belittle restaurant staff because we think the service doesn’t meet our station in life. Not many. If John Della Bosca had had his affair in France or Italy, most people would have shrugged it off without even thinking about it. And while many media outlets led with the story that Della Bosca had an affair with a woman half his age, would it have been more acceptable if she was older than him. Probably.

And how many of those who are lining up to point the finger at him have had affairs themselves? Most of them. It’s tempting to get all biblical about this and let those who are ‘casting the stones’ write their own disclaimers before they comment or go to print. However, none of them would do this. Can you imagine a crusty old Liberal backbencher or a moralising Labor Minister saying, “First of all, I have had three affairs in my life that I’d like to own up to but notwithstanding that I think Della Bosca is a shameful excuse for a decent, upstanding member”! Not likely. They just blew themselves away. But that’s the effect of honesty in these sorts of debates. It cuts through the politics, the irrelevant comment and the lies, so the people of the state can see exactly what is up for debate.

State opposition leader Barry O'Farrell told reporters outside NSW Parliament that the Della Bosca affair was like an "X-rated soap opera". He should be very careful. The NSW Liberal Party has hundreds of unwritten manuscripts that make Della Bosca’s affair look like Home and Away. In September 2005, Sydney Morning Herald journalist, Paola Totaro wrote an extraordinary story about an attempt to frame O’Farrell from within the right wing of his own party using ‘pornography’ that had allegedly been found in his bottom drawer some 12 years earlier! (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ofarrell-a-target-of-whisper-campaign/2005/09/02/1125302746405.html). The story involved senior Liberal Party MPs, staffers and even the moralizing crusader in the federal arena, Bill Heffernan. Although O’Farrell denied that the allegations were responsible for him pulling out of the NSW Liberal leadership race in 2005, not many people believed him. Most people thought Brogden had been pushed by the same shadowy figures that were trying to frame O’Farrell. It was clear that the fingerprints of certain Da Vinci Code figures in the Liberal Party were all over the smear campaign on O’Farrell and rather than fight the allegations, he decided to wait for another day. In the same way that the people of NSW have been dudded by the hype over the Della Bosca affair, they were dudded by the fact that O’Farrell did not run for the Premiership in 2005. Again, because sexual material is so demonized by politics to the point that NSW parliamentarians send people to jail for selling it, it becomes the bête noir of moral crimes. And like adultery, it has become the weapon of choice for religious parliamentarians and their staff when character assassinations are needed.

This sad episode is enough reason for the Australian Sex Party to convene a NSW branch and to run candidates in the next NSW election. In exposing the scandal of scandal-making in the NSW parliament, both Labor and the Liberals will have a lot to look forward to. Not.

Few comments from our Facebook page:

The worst one can say for the allegations, is that he breached security protocols -and maybe put the office cleaners at risk of 'biohazard' exposure! :) In the neo-conservativism of corporate/industrial life; you know -"No entry on site without dust mask, goggles, hard hat, dayglo vest..." Yawn!- breaching security is absolutely a sackable offence... Read More. Interesting that the ABC2 "Breakfast" news programme commentators this morning questioned the need for private indiscretions to be cause for dismissal, there is yet hope!

This month I have attended a fabulous variety of events.

The month kicked off with a long 'Alpha-Girl' Friday fundraising lunch for the Australian Sex Party. It was a great afternoon that of course continued into the evening. There was a great and wide variety of women lawyers, academics, town planners and business women.  All sex positive women ranging in age from 25 to 65 who realise that so many government positions are out of step with themselves, their families and their customers. While lunching in Kings Cross and raffling sequined feather whips and silk-tasseled pasties, it seemed incredible that the local adult shops were banned from selling adult films. One woman who was there recalled how her father made some of the first adult sex books in the Cross back in the 60's. If those pictures were on a film they would be illegal to sell now in Australia except of course in the ACT and parts of NT.

While we sipped away in the sun we discussed politics and sex, the economy and sex and the importance of sex in our lives.

On Saturday morning we donned our yellow t shirts and sun screen and headed to theTown Hall to take part in the Day of Action for same sex marriage. It was a wonderful and joyous day as any wedding day should be. The mood was positive and for the most part, people were pretty happy. For me the day was not so much about weddings but discrimination. I mean I don’t want to get married but I strongly believe that Australian laws should not discriminate against people on the grounds of their sexuality. I do have to mention one unhappy camper at the day of action. He approached me and asked me to "move on". At first I thought I was in the way of a photo but then he said words to the effect, “We don’t want your sort around here! You are just here to promote porn and smut". Well I told him that we had moved on from that. I said I was there to show my support for an end to discrimination. He replied that the Sex Party was all about sex and smut. I replied that I thought sex was a very important part of all of our lives and maybe he didn’t realize but the sex party was a political party. This didn’t improve his demeanour so I thoughtfully offered him a brochure. This caused him to nearly spit and walk off! Oh well...you can't keep everyone happy.

To mix it up I joined the mob from Atomicmpc.com.au for a few beers and computer talk. These guys are hardcore, avid gamers so of course we discussed why Australian adults cannot buy adult games in Australia. Of course they can buy any of these games on line at sites such as Amazon. I had to stick to censorship as I know very little about the computer games people play. I got addicted to Tetris 15 years ago and that was the end of computer games for me.

SA Attorney General Michael Atkinson ear’s must have been on fire. It was great to meet such a diverse range of intelligent people with a strong common interest and again just highlighted the madness of laws in Australia. Sure you can play live strip poker - just not on your computer!