View James Baker, Independent Senate Candidate for QLD Responses

• Return the focus of the Senate to representing the state, and in my case, that means the interests of Queensland.
• I offer the Christian constituency what I offer all Queenslanders: Conservative values, to be a tough fighter for the traditional Australia we were born into, or migrated to.
• To fight attempts to reshape Australia as a totally secular and humanist society.

• I am a Christian. I am an active member of my local church and my children attend the church school.
• As an independent Senator, I would use the Christian principles I have learned from childhood to inform my decision making.
• Australia should not back away from its Christian heritage.

• Climate change has not been conclusively proven to have an anthropogenic cause. Many hundreds of scientists disagree with many findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• I propose that we do not take radical action such that would be catastrophic to Australia's staple industries, instead working to sensibly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and waiting until proper studies of Australian conditions have been undertaken to find the best way to work with, not against, climate change.
• As a prospective Australian Senator, I feel it is my duty to safeguard the poor in Australia first. The best way to do that is to ensure Australian jobs are not recklessly endangered by political ideology.

• Yes, I would oppose that legislation.
• Additionally, I would support the greater advocacy of alternate options to abortion so prospective mothers know there are positive alternatives.

• I maintain a deep and abiding opposition to human cloning.

• I would vote against such legislation in my jurisdiction (i.e. the Senate).

• I would maintain the ban on the grounds that I support the rights of the unborn child.

• I would maintain the ban on the grounds that I support the rights of the unborn child.

• I support the offshore processing option for illegal arrivals, and, once refugee status has been determined, a fair allocation of those refugees around the world, including to Australia.
• I would bend toward expressing a preference for refugees to come to Australia from like social backgrounds, rather than trying to resettle refugees whose social paradigm is contradictory to the Australian way of life.
• The best way to improve the treatment of asylum seekers is to expedite the assessment, review and appeal processes.

• I support lifting the overseas development assistance/GNI ratio as the OECD average lifts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
• As an Australian Senator, my first responsibility would be to care for the poor in Australia. There is scope for us being generous, but governments also have to remember that they are being generous with taxpayers' money.
• Far better for us to also encourage individual philanthropy as a way to boost Australia's aid contribution.

There are many causes of homelessness that must be tackled on many levels, with policies such as:

• Better mental health services that might help identify people at risk, and helping those who are already homeless where mental health can be identified as a contributing factor.
• Education to reduce family breakdown.
• Drug and alcohol treatment regimes.

• I will support the proposed increased carers' payments, and work with the federal government of the day to decrease 'wrangling about detail and jurisdiction'.

• As for all asylum seekers, I believe Australia should show a preference for taking genuine refugees from countries that have a closer fit to Australia such as democratic, Christian, market economy states (granted – these types of nations do not generally have a lot of refugees seeking to escape) or for individuals whose beliefs in similar values have made them a target for persecution.

• Yes I would reject these HREOC moves and support redress of unreasonable discimination.
• I do not support gay marriage or gay adoption. I wish to draw a line under traditional marriage and parenting arrangements as far as possible.
• While family breakdown is an unfortunate fact of life, parenting should be designed to achieve a loving mother and father for children as the ideal.

• I will certainly work with the major parties to ensure that nothing is done to further dilute the importance of the family unit in raising children into functional, contributing and 'together' young adults. I would also work with other like-minded Senators to thwart concerted efforts to undermine or destroy the role of the traditional family.
• While many single mothers carry an unfair burden in caring for children, and do an outstanding job in difficult circumstances, there must be more incentive for couples to stay together. This would include education in family responsibility to emphasise the duties of parenting as a mother and/or a father.
• Today it is too easy for, in many cases, a father to walk away from his responsibilities without thinking of the long-term consequences on children of selfish choices. The welfare of the child should be the paramount consideration.

• I will endeavour to strengthen the ban on the adoption of overseas children by same-sex couples.
• I believe this is an attempt to 'breed' acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle as normal into the next generation.
• I do not support gay adoption domestically or from overseas.

• The rights of the child should be paramount.
• I would consider proposed amendments on the basis that I do not accept there is such a thing as 'reproductive rights' especially for those who are 'socially infertile'.

• Australia is still a Christian nation built heavily on a Judaeo-Christian heritage.
• I would not seek to prescribe that the prayer should be the Lord's Prayer, however I believe a Christian blessing should be prayed over the Parliament at the commencement of the daily sittings.

• I would be open to working toward appropriate mechanisms to help trafficked women and children break out of their circumstances without circumventing Australia's strict immigration controls.
• While compassion is vital, the system should not be open to abuse.

• There must be some responsibility put back on the community, including the Christian community, to help instil a sense of public decency.
• A great responsibility comes back to the parent. If the parent allows the child to be prematurely sexualised, then there is little that could be achieved in the Senate.
• It keeps coming back to the need for the parents to be encouraged to take responsibility for the protection of their own children rather than an overly regulated nanny state delving into everyone's private homes. The answer is not always more regulation.

• Extending the prohibition on the possession and sale of X18+ films throughout the Northern Territory
• Cutting off the supply of such films at their source through an amendment to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956
• Prohibiting the carriage of X18+ films by a carrier service
• Prohibiting the production and sale of X18+ films in the Australian Capital Territory.

Given the demonstrated harm caused by pornography, would your Party take any or all of these measures to combat pornography?

• I could support all of these measures.
• The overarching consideration here is the demonstrable effect these films are having on children in the Northern Territory.

• Yes. Religious vilification laws are almost invariably aimed to protect religions other than the Christian faith. It is seen as bad form, or even illegal, to insult another religion, however 'artists' for example can insult the Christian faith's most sacred images with complete impunity.
• If the community decides that it is worth protecting minority religious beliefs by curtailing freedom of speech laws, those same laws should apply for the Christian faith.

• I do not support a broad bill of rights for Australians.
• I believe Australian elites are already too focused on rights as opposed to responsibilities. You cannot have one without the other.
• There must be much more weight focused on responsibilities. 

• I would vigourously oppose moves to further liberalise censorship laws. 
• With a number of like-minded Senators I would be able to ensure any campaign to liberalie censorship was unsuccessful, and maybe we would even be able to campaign for more responsible censorship given the level of violence and sex crimes committed in Australia.

• We need to recognise the heroes that are holding together the communities that have been impacted by alcohol, drugs and violence.
• Identify, acknowledge, reward and learn from those parents and grandparents, elders and role models who have shown their commitment to raising happy, healthy children.
• Those profiting from the sale of alcohol, drugs and pornography into communities should be investing into the health, welfare and restitution of damage associated with the destructive impact of their products.  That is in addition to any penalties for criminal behaviour.
• Implement environmental programs that give children incentive to recycle glass, cans, bottles, packaging. Inspire the children to be enterprising, looking after their community, improving their environment and learning skills for the future.

• Encourage more acceptance of using Sunday as family time or a day of rest rather than just another work day.
• Trading hours are generally a state responsibility, so I would have to investigate what could be done to return the focus to achieving a work/life balance on a federal level.
• I would encourage negotiation of incentives for employers not to enforce Sunday rosters in non-essential industries.