AFC's outgoing Director Damian Wyld introduces AFC's new Director Lana Gelonese.

We’re not going to sugar-coat this: you’ve been let down.

We all have.

More than four years ago, our Federal pollies saw fit to legislate what they thought marriage meant.

And we were told that our concerns would be dealt with in due course.

Our fears about anti-discrimination laws being weaponised, about new variants of the infamous “Safe Schools” program emerging, about our basic freedoms being curtailed – all were met with derision or lip service about dealing with it “down the track”.

Well, we’re now years down the track – and a whole electoral cycle has passed with another Federal Election looming.

With only days remaining in Parliament, the Religious Discrimination Package was finally debated this week.

Something astonishing happened in America this week:

Gender ideology and parental rights played a direct role in an election outcome.

Just days ago, the US state of Virginia held an election for governor (like an Australian premier or chief minister but elected by the people).

Surprisingly, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin narrowly defeated former Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe (by a slim margin of 50.7% to 48.6%).

Virginia was a state that Joe Biden won by a large margin only last year.

So, what caused this upset – and how is it relevant to us?

Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles has told the National Press Club that his party wants to assist in finding “life beyond earth”.

Yes, our alternative Deputy Prime Minister wants to find intelligent life somewhere else in the universe.

Couldn’t he find any in Canberra? He would have been hard-pressed if he was looking among his own ranks during a recent Senate debate.

You might recall that, late last year, Tasmanian Senator Claire Chandler was summoned to appear before an anti-discrimination tribunal.

Her crime was daring to suggest that women should have the right to their own sports, toilets and facilities.

At the time, Senator Chandler noted that she was fortunate to have a platform to speak out – something most people do not enjoy:

Tragically, and despite the best efforts of many, South Australia’s lower house of Parliament passed the abortion-to-birth bill in the early hours of Friday, 19 February 2021.

The final vote was 29-15, with several apparent abstentions.

This vote, however, cannot be viewed in isolation as a complete guide to how MPs voted over the course of the debate.

Since her election last year, Tasmanian Liberal Senator Claire Chandler has been a voice for common sense.

Her public contributions on free speech and gender issues have been a welcome breath of fresh air.

But her thoughtful candour has now seen her receive an anti-discrimination complaint (from the same body, incidentally, that oversaw a complaint against Catholic Archbishop of Hobart Julian Porteous).

Last week, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called on over 65s to work longer.

He talked about increased life expectancy, a shrinking number of working-age Australians, and the national debt.

The underlying issue though – that we have an ageing population – seemed to receive less analysis, much less proposed solutions.

End of life issues have taken a turn for the worse in New Zealand, with ramifications for Australia.

This week, New Zealand approved the introduction of euthanasia subject to a public vote.

Approved by parliament, 69 votes to 51, the public vote will be held in conjunction with the coming general election, due next year.

Last year, the SA Greens introduced a radical bill to decriminalise prostitution.

SA is the only remaining Australian jurisdiction to criminalise prostitution (albeit in a somewhat clunky way due to the nature of the laws).

The Greens’ bill would have seen a free-for-all in terms of brothels and streetwalking, with countless unanswered questions about advertising, the presence of minors, and more.