The Alannah & Madeline Foundation strike again
The group (with probably just the two members) was formed to back John Howard’s gun laws – but if you read through the story, you would have seen who was behind it.
The AMF rears its compromised head again
The article, which appeared in the SMH website (click here to see it), said:
The group was the idea of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, the charity established by Walter Mikac to honour his daughters, aged six and three, who were among the 35 people killed by Martin Bryant at Port Arthur in 1996.
A letter to all MPs and senators sent on Thursday noted that 80 per cent of Australians support strong gun laws and debate should be “informed by evidence and facts”.
Yes, evidence and facts would be good. They would in fact show why the AMF, while formed for a good reason on the back of a real tragedy, is seriously misguided.
The AMF’s objectives
The AMF has strayed a long way from its original purpose. It’s objectives can be seen on its website:
Our key objectives are to care for children who have experienced or witnessed serious violence; reduce the incidence of bullying, cyber bullying and other cyber risks; and, advocate for the safety and wellbeing of children.
Yet it spends its time running petitions on our lever-actions and writing to politicians on gun laws, which has nothing to do with caring for children. It is acting in the same way as Gun Control Australia.
Why it has strayed so far from it’s original purpose, we do not know. You have to wonder what role the Herald Sun, which has a direct link to the AMF, and John Howard have played in this unfortunate hijacking of the charity.
Backers of the AMF should ask why the AMF has strayed from it’s objectives.
Either that, or demand it rewrites its objectives to ensure they more accurately reflect what the organisation actually does.