Standing Against the Halal Tax By Peter West

     A halal tax? Before reading this material I did not even know what it was, let alone expected that I was paying one, almost every time I chomped my choppers. It just goes to show how ignorant and uniformed I am, but at least I am learning:
  https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/halal-maleny-dairies-facebook-post-on-halal-certification-sparks-customer-backlash/news-story/58b60bf88ca9c0bb874f2a7e143c510a 
  http://pickeringpost.com/story/halal-scam-supported-by-the-courier-mail/4058

“A QUEENSLAND dairy company has sparked a heated online debate after announcing on its Facebook page that it will not seek Halal certification for its products. The posting by Maleny Dairies has triggered more than 24,000 Likes, with some praising the business and others accusing it of promoting xenophobia. “We do not wish to increase the costs of our products to cover the expense of Halal certification. We prefer to make sure our local farmers receive a fair and sustainable price for their milk,’’ the post states. Maleny Dairies owner Ross Hopper said he simply got tired of answering the same question about possible certification of products for Muslim customers. “We’re not here to bash other people,’’ he said. Supporters of the move thanked the business for “being true to Australia’’ and “loyal to our country’’. But critics said the move could inflame ethnic tensions and was also absurd, since milk is already considered Halal, or allowed by Islamic culture. “Well done Maleny for feeling the need to highlight this fact and create an outlet for the Islamophobes and the un-Australians to out themselves,’’ one woman posted. Mr Hopper said he did not regret the posting but the decision had created more work for his business because a number of offensive comments had to be deleted.”

     This is simply another of the splendid joys of our wonderfully diverse, vibrant multicult society.