Belindas Law

After doing some research on which Sunshine Coast charities provide real support back to the community, Belinda discovered Sunnykids and the work it does to help those who have survived domestic and family violence. Her original plan was to donate a modest amount of household and necessary items to those families facing crisis this holiday period. She hoped that the donation would at least promote some Christmas cheer to those children and their families who are struggling.

The volunteers at Sunnykids were ecstatic over the plan and Belinda decided to let firm partner, Michelle Makela and Queensland State Manager, Mitchell Cavanagh know of her plans. The result was overwhelming, with boxes and boxes of donations made from lawyers across the state. Belinda is still receiving donations on behalf of Sunnykids, and donations can be left at our Gympie and Maroochydore offices.

Otherwise, donations can be given directly to Sunnykids by contacting them on 07 or by email admin sunnykids. Belinda and Partner Michelle Makela wrapping the hampers, right: Belinda and Mitchell Cavanagh. Please call at this time. Guaranteed availability, all Australian courts Simple, upfront rates - no hidden costs Lawyers selected based on their track record and expertise Expert advice and strong representation.

Self-defence has been an ever-evolving common law defence, which was only codified in Victorian legislation in The article also says that Stronach paid for the surgery out of her own pocket. In the Canadian Alliance leadership election , she supported Preston Manning. In his memoir Think Big , Manning recalls Stronach at his second-ballot campaign launch in Toronto delivering "a substantive introduction in which she clearly explained why she wanted the Alliance and my candidacy to succeed", and he later thanked her for "unflagging support" in that campaign.

In , Ontario Premier Ernie Eves had his Minister of Finance , Janet Ecker present the government's budget at a televised press conference at Magna's headquarters rather than before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario , as was the tradition. The "Magna Budget" resulted in accusations that the government was trying to avoid the scrutiny of the legislature and was flouting centuries of parliamentary tradition in favour of a PR stunt.

Furthermore, the expense of this move was condemned as a waste of money considering that the legislative chamber was already equipped with video equipment for televised coverage. Speaker Gary Carr , himself a Tory, ruled that by not presenting the budget before the legislature, the Eves government was prima facie in contempt of the legislature—a ruling that was later overturned by the full chamber.

The episode was a factor in the Tories' defeat in the provincial election held later that year. Throughout the summer and into the fall of , talks were undertaken by officials of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives with respect to a merger of those parties. Vote-splitting between the two right-wing parties had enabled the Liberals to dominate Canadian politics for a decade. Meetings between the parties were overseen by a facilitator, who was later revealed to have been Stronach. In , Stronach contested the leadership of the newly formed Conservative Party.

As a candidate for leadership of the new party, she drew a great deal of publicity to the race. However, many in the media saw her first foray into politics as sophomoric. Some critics accused her of being a "manufactured candidate", dependent on a high-priced network of professional campaign staff and Magna associates. Some of the media reaction to Stronach's candidacy was criticized.

Supporters touted her youth and style, corporate experience, private life as a " soccer mom ", and her potential to win new and swing voters , especially moderate, socially progressive voters in the province of Ontario. On February 11, , she declined to participate in a debate between the Conservative party candidates, leaving Tony Clement and Stephen Harper to debate each other on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast.

She later also skipped a March 14 debate on the Global Television Network. She argued that she ought only to participate in party-sponsored debates, rather than picking and choosing among those organized by outside sponsors. Critics saw this as her way of avoiding a debate with the other two candidates. In her major speech at the leadership convention on March 19, , she promised to serve only two terms if she became Prime Minister, and to draw no salary. She made a major gesture of "throwing away the script", but then undercut this when she was seen referring to cue cards. Before crossing the floor of the House of Commons , Stronach represented the socially progressive face of the Conservative Party.

Along with Peter MacKay , she was seen as giving the Conservatives a more moderate image. Stronach was generally to the left of her Conservative caucus colleagues, supporting abortion rights, gun control and same-sex marriage.

QUT | Staff Profiles | Belinda Bennett

During her Conservative leadership campaign, she called for a free vote in parliament, with votes cast individually and not along party lines, on same-sex marriage. She spoke and voted in favour of same-sex marriage when the issue came before the House of Commons in ; a position she re-affirmed as a Liberal in Social conservative elements in Canada were critical of Stronach, calling her a " Red Tory ".

Stronach is elected as leader of the Conservative Party, social conservatives will no longer have a voice in Canada. During her leadership campaign she said the country needed to consider changes to the Medicare system that would respect the principles of the Canada Health Act "as our standard, not our straitjacket".

In May , Stronach suggested publicly that forcing an early election, especially before passing that year's federal budget , was risky and could backfire on the Tories. The Tories planned to bring down the government by voting against an amendment to the budget that the Liberals had made to gain New Democratic Party NDP support. Since this would be a loss of supply , it would have brought down the government. However, on May 17, , two days before the crucial vote, Stronach announced that she was crossing the floor and joining the Liberal Party.

In the latter portfolio, she was charged with overseeing the implementation of the Gomery Inquiry recommendations, upon their release.

Belinda’s initiative saw an overwhelming amount of donations given to Sunnykids

She championed the one-member, one-vote policy officially adopted by the Liberal Party of Canada in in an effort to democratize the Party's leadership election process. Stronach is a strong advocate of women's issues. She was elected Chair of the Liberal Women's Caucus and spearheaded the development of The Pink Book , a policy framework that advocated a series of proposals to deal with the most pressing social and economic issues facing Canadian women.

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In , she won the "In Celebration of Women: Achievements and Initiatives" award, and in she received the EVE award from Equal Voice [22] in recognition of her philanthropic and political contributions to the promotion of women in public life. Her decision to quit the Conservative Party came after an uneasy relationship with Stephen Harper. Her disdain for Harper was obvious in her press conference with Martin; she never once referred to him by name, only as "the leader of the Conservative Party. Stronach's move shifted the balance of power in Parliament and allowed Martin's Liberal minority government to survive for the time being.

On May 19, , two crucial confidence motions were voted on in the House of Commons. The first vote, on Bill C , the original budget proposal approved by all parties, was passed as expected, with for and 54 against. However, the vote resulted in a tie. It then fell to the Speaker , Peter Milliken , to cast the deciding vote, which he cast in favour of continuing debate, resulting in the survival of the government.

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The vote carried with a final count of for and against. The Liberals used Stronach's defection to paint the Conservative Party as being too extreme for moderate voters in Ontario. The Liberals enjoyed a modest upswing in the polls after earlier being damaged by testimony from Gomery Commission. Some political pundits suggested that shortly after Stronach's defection would have been the ideal time for the Liberals to call the election, as Stephen Harper had lost some of his momentum after narrowly failing to bring down the government.

Instead, the Liberals were forced into an election when they were brought down by a vote of non-confidence later that year, after revelations from the Gomery Inquiry damaged their popularity. Columnist Andrew Coyne suggested that while her defection helped the Liberals in the short-run to stay in power, it also made Martin appear as a "grasping conniver willing to do and say anything to hang onto power".

Stronach's party switch mere days before the confidence vote made her the target of criticism within the Conservative Party and in the media in general. Many were cynical about her reasons for leaving and believed that her move to the Liberals was motivated more by ambition than by moral or political principles. In a press conference following the announcement, Harper speculated that Stronach had left the party simply to further her own career. At the same time, others praised Stronach for having the courage to leave a party in which she no longer felt comfortable.

Considerable media attention was paid to Peter MacKay , MP, and the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, with whom Stronach had a relationship of several months. Interviewed the day after Stronach's departure from his party, he stated that he had learned of her intention to cross the floor mere hours before the public announcement. In an interview conducted at his father's farm, MacKay showed discernible emotion. The day after Stronach crossed the floor, the reaction in Newmarket—Aurora was mixed. Some of her constituents were upset and expressed a sense of betrayal. Protesters picketed her riding office for several days, demanding a by-election.

Belinda Stronach

However some of her constituents supported her move because they did not want an election and supported the budget. Stronach's move to the Liberal Party and the speed with which she was given a senior-level cabinet position renewed calls from both parliamentarians and the general public for legislation to prevent such "party-hopping.

According to this proposed legislation, the MP would have to sit as an independent until the by-election. The legislation never became law. NDP MP Pat Martin requested an investigation of Stronach, speculating that she had been promised a senior cabinet post in return for her defection. The Ethics Commissioner of Canada , Bernard Shapiro , refused to investigate her floor-crossing, citing that it was a constitutional right of a Prime Minister to appoint opposition members to Cabinet.

The Conservatives targeted Stronach for defeat in the election as part of their larger goal of a breakthrough in Ontario, especially in the Toronto suburbs popularly known as the s. However, while the Conservatives won a minority government, Stronach defeated her Conservative challenger, Lois Brown , by an eight-point margin. Some of the criticism of Stronach's party switching also came under fire. Runciman told the Toronto radio station CFRB that, "She sort of defined herself as something of a dipstick, an attractive one, but still a dipstick.

Abbott said that Stronach had "whored herself out for power. Women's groups argued that the media also unfairly characterized the transition. The National Post used the front-page headline "Blonde Bombshell", and political cartoonists made reference to Stronach prostituting herself to the Liberal party.

Stronach's critics downplayed the sexism of their remarks and accused the Liberals of politicizing the issue in order to legitimize her crossing the floor.

She had defeated Lois Brown in the Conservative nomination election and barely won her seat in an extremely tight race against Martha Hall Findlay. Stronach's switch to the Liberals meant that Hall Findlay had to forfeit contesting the nomination process, while Lucienne Robillard lost one of her portfolios to Stronach. Since she started her career in politics, Stronach has made several television appearances poking fun at herself. She also played a political reporter in the television mini-series H2O: