The time has come for all sectors of Australia’s grain industry, from farm to shop, to get on top of GM technology, urges Australia’s former Chief Scientist, Dr Jim Peacock.

Our Green Revolution is near spent. The enormous and lasting gains made in crop yield through conventional plant breeding, mechanization, crop protection and clever agronomy are
slowing.

But the next era for mainstream broadacre farming is already here, it might well be called the Gene Revolution.

More than 95% of Australia’s near 400,000 hectare cotton crop this summer consists of GM varieties. And in only the 3rd year of commercial production, there are some 133,300 hectares of GM canola in NSW, Victoria and WA this spring – an estimated 9% of the total canola crop.

What else is coming over the hill? Well, you name it … GM research underway in Australia covers: papaya, pineapple, sugarcane, grapevines, carnations, rice, white clover, wheat, Indian mustard, bananas, barley, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, corn and roses. Most work is focusing on key traits which lessen production risks and underpin yield.

The big-ticket item, GM wheat, is just 7 or more years away. Clearly, our farmers and their advisors, and the supply chain all the way through to customers and consumers, now need to start appreciating the GM reality, and separate myth from fact. Continue reading →

There are Christian organisations (even one micro political party) which have their future dependent on frightening people in Australia with tales of terrorism and fanatical expansionism of Muslims in Indonesia. They never say anything that presents a balanced picture of Christianity in Indonesia.

The Federal Government’s decision to impose a sudden freeze on refugee claims by Sri Lankans and Afghans is a “betrayal of Australia’s commitment to fairness and humanity”, says the St Vincent de Paul Society. “This is a far cry from the values of compassion and social justice espoused by this Government at the beginning of its term”, said Syd Tutton, the Society’s National Council President. Continue reading →

How should Christians who have a passion for evangelization relate to Islam? For North Americans, the question took on new urgency in the wake of September 11. But Christians in Muslim-majority societies have dealt with the question far longer. Growing up Christian in Syria gave Chawkat Moucarry many opportunities to interact with Muslims and learn about Islam. Continue reading →

An Iraqi archbishop has predicted a new wave of emigration from Iraq involving Christians who have tired of waiting for their situation to improve. Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said many Christians taking refuge in Northern Iraq were determined “to leave the country for good” after concluding that, nearly seven years after the invasion of Iraq by a US-led Coalition, it was still unsafe to return to their homes in the South. Continue reading →

When I was a child, we had to live in our grandmother’s house. My mother, a lone parent, couldn’t get a mortgage simply because she was a woman, even though she had a well-paid job. When I qualified as a lawyer in the U.K. three decades ago, women in the legal profession still had to overcome open prejudice and discrimination. So when we examine the position of women across the Middle East, it’s important not to despair — or forget our own past. Continue reading →

Menzies’ time was the period of the postwar baby boom. Returning soldiers and others confident of their economic future began to put down roots and raise their children. The fertility rate peaked in Australia in 1961, and then began a long and steady decline that lasted right up to the end of the century. Helped by a strong immigration program, Australia’s population grew by more than a fifth during the 1960s. Continue reading →

Couples living together before marrying stand a higher chance of divorce than those who wait until they are engaged or married before moving in together, according to the Journal of Family Psychology.

The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Denver, also found that couples who lived together before marrying reported lower marriage satisfaction. Continue reading →

Optometry practice owner Janelle Macnamara says a chaplain visits her operation each week to chew the fat with staff. Macnamara could have hired a counsellor or a clinical professional but she wanted a chaplain. “He’s got a lot of ability to call on psychological knowledge and counselling knowledge but as well as a lot of spirituality, for want of a better term,” she says. “He’s not a Bible basher but he’s able to touch on a deeper meaning that perhaps a counsellor might not be able to. Continue reading →

As tempting as it is to shut the door on a mess, it does not go away. The extraordinary decisions by the NSW Labor Government to lock the doors of the Legislative Council last week and walk away – leaving the Upper House in limbo – has bought the Premier, Nathan Rees and his team some more time. Continue reading →