But Danby has been playing it both ways.  In the Jewish media he talks about his Jewish track record, how much the Labor government has spent in the Jewish community over the last three years.  Then at the Jewish News Candidate debate between himself and the Liberal candidate he called the last three years “The Golden Era of Labor and Jewish Schools”.  He’s very proud of that achievment.  Nowhere, to his Jewish voters, has he mentioned anything about gay rights or all the work he has purported to do for the gay community.  He’s strangely silent.

Over at the Melbourne Ports Candidate forum Danby makes no mention of this Golden Era, nor does he make any mention of his strong connections to the Jewish community.  He spoke about his great achievements and that of the Labor Government, but not once did he mention the hundreds of millions of dollars the Labor party has spent on Jewish schools.  That piece of information was kept quiet.

Now in rides Kev Ekendahl, astride the cash cow and promises the Jewish community $15 million for Jewish Schools.  In the loudest “Me too!” I’ve heard in years, the Liberals are bending over backwards to secure the prized Jewish vote.  Nowhere in his advertising in the gay media has Kev mentioned anything about his promises to the Jewish Community, and again, nowhere in his communication with the Jewish community does he mention he’s gay.

These two really do like taking it both ways.

Cut the crap.  Are they really so selective that they want to keep the two demographics of their potential voters apart?

Melbourne Ports deserves better than a couple of party hacks who will play the audience for fools, tell them only the nice bits, and ignore the tough bits in fear that it will cost them precious votes.

When you stand at the polling booth, ask yourself do you really want this sort of deceit from your elected representatives?  No?  Then you know what to do.

Vote [1] Gregory STORER in Melbourne Ports.

Vote [1] Penelope GREEN in Melbourne.

Vote above the line for the Senate and mark the Secular Party as [1] in Group R

We deserve to be represented by people with integrity, not hopefulls who only pander to sectional interest for the sole purpose of getting elected.  You need someone who will represent your views, without favouritism based on  religious lines or party politics. Melbourne Ports needs better representation and I can do that.

On August 13th 2004 the then Howard Government inserted into the Marriage Act a clause that made marriage between one man and one woman, the Labor party supported the legislation.

Gregory Storer - Secular Party - at the Equal Love Rally - Aug 14 2010

The Liberal and Labor Parties have to date refused to make any move on the issue.  At the recent Candidates Forum Danby said that he supported same-sex marriage, and yet the Prime Minister continues to tell us that the policy of the Labor Party will not be changing, Ekendahl also promised to cross the floor to vote in favour of ‘equality’ although he gave no undertaking to vote for ‘marriage’ for all.

Yesterday, where were they?  For all their talk about how important this is, the people of Melbourne Ports are entitled to know why they weren’t leading the charge with their placards of nicely snapped portraits with their “VOTE FOR ME!”   It would have been an uncomfortable march for them, but it really would have shown the community how important they think equality is.  They could have explained their personal position and then explained how they will change the unfair law within their parties.

The Secular Party of Australia is the only party that will deliver equality for all, we firmly believe that the separation of religion and state is needed to stop religion influencing our laws.

The continued attack on the equality of all Australians by the Catholic Church, the Australian Christian Lobby and Family First needs to be kept in check.  Our laws need to be made on secular grounds, with rational reason.  Nobody is asking, or expecting, the churches to embrace ‘gay’ marriage, but the law must be for all Australains, not a law that Christians wish to enforce on everyone.

Click here for more great photos by Michael Barnett

The Australian Jewish News is a very small newspaper that has virtually no readership outside the Jewish community.  I’ve tried to get myself into the paper as they have been heavily promoting the election for Liberal and Labor, and in the last edition included a bit on the Greens (although the editorial was very anti-green).  They have no problems in accepting advertising from the major parties, no doubt this has been a major boost to their bottom line.

I spoke on the phone to Naomi Levin, Deputy Editor (News) who had no hesistation telling me that the AJN was a religious paper and that they wouldn’t be giving me or the Secular Party any coverage.

Strikes me as a bit strange.  I’m aware that there are a number of Jewish people who actually think the separation of church and state is a really good idea.  I’m aware of a number of secular Jews who might have liked to find out more about who else is standing in their local electorates.

The Jewish News has shown it’s bias, has clearly demonstrated that they alone are the guardians on who knows what in the Jewish community, they have deliberately chosen to censor anyone who they think may offend some of their readers.  Levin told me point blank that those secular Jews should just go read this information somewhere else.

This is not a newspaper that wants to report the news, this is a newspaper that wants to direct people to think their way and only their way.

Elections are important times for our democracy in Australia.  This censorship by the AJN is unwarranted, treats their readership like children who are unable to make up their own minds, displays a bias towards those with the money and deliberately sets out to stifle any other information that some of their readership may find useful.

Just for the record, I’ve been reading the Jewish News for two years.  They consistently run a range of stories that are not ‘religious’ in content and that is amongst some of the content that really gets up people’s noses at times.

There were several questions about gay rights, and again I challenged Danby to take that one extra step and support same-sex marriage. He has not come out and publicly declared his position before, but with three gay candidates up on the stage he clearly felt the pressure to say something:

“I’m not saying that at this election that I support changing the legislation for gay marriage but it’s coming and in the next government I will expect there will be serious movement within the Labor party on that issue and I know a number of other people apart from myself will be running with it. “

It’s gratifying to know that the Labor Party is re-examining it’s position on same-sex marriage and if they are returned to government we can look forward to a significant change to the Labor Party policy.

The Liberal Candidate for Melbourne Ports is also in favour of gay marriage, and has stated that he would cross the floor to vote in support of equal rights.

Media Release – Danby Announces Labor Party Policy Shift on Same-Sex Marriage

Gregory Storer at the Candidates Forum St Kilda Town Hall

So many women in our society are still treated as second-class citizens, whether it’s Tony Abbott telling us that a woman’s virginity is a gift, a church organisation discriminating against pregnant single women, or young girls being told they have to find a man within their faith.  Discrimination abounds.

The Secular Party of Australia has a clear policy on personal freedoms. We recognise that faith-based morality frequently seeks to impose it’s religious views on the entire population, especially when it comes to women.

Faith-based philosophies are likely to try to restrict a woman’s access to proper medical treatment for unwanted pregnancy, they are more likely to dictate the terms of marriage and some faiths have specific laws regarding what clothes are unacceptable to wear.

The Secular Party upholds that all men and women are equal and that equality is a fundamental human right.  We will work toward a secular Australia where all citizens are treated equally.

I call on the current Melbourne Ports representative Michael Danby and Liberal candidate Kevin Ekendahl to join me in giving unqualified support to equal rights for all women, regardless of their religious affiliation or personal circumstances.

It’s not too much to ask, is it?

A vote for me will send a clear message that you value equal rights in a fair and secular Australia.