“Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has warned that public holidays such as Melbourne Cup Day are no longer guaranteed under the Howard Government’s workplace reforms.” (Age)
Generally I find Howard’s reforms too depressing to comment on but I couldn’t let this pass.

“The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church has published a teaching document instructing the faithful that some parts of the Bible are not actually true.
The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland are warning their five million worshippers, as well as any others drawn to the study of scripture, that they should not expect “total accuracy” from the Bible.
“We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision,” they say in The Gift of Scripture.
The document is timely, coming as it does amid the rise of the religious Right, in particular in the US.”
Times

“Provocation as a defence to murder will be abolished in Victoria and a new offence of defensive homicide introduced under a bill to go before state parliament tomorrow.

“Victoria’s homicide laws have not kept pace with changing social values,” Mr Hulls said.
“The law regarding provocation was developed from times past when it was acceptable, especially for men, to have a violent response to an alleged breach of a person’s honour.

Under the changes, the law will now take into account situations where a person kills in response to long-term family violence.”
(Age)