More than 10,000 West Australians recently signed a petition calling on the McGowan Government to protect the right of faith-based schools to require all staff to uphold the ethos and values that the school is based on.
Concerningly, although the petition was signed by so many, the parliamentary committee to which the petition was referred made no effort to investigate or to consult with peak faith-based bodies and instead stated their intention;
“not to conduct any further inquiries and to finalise its consideration of the petition, on the grounds that the mattes raised will be considered and debated by the Legislative Council in due course”. [when the revised Equal Opportunity Bill is expected to come before the parliament later this year]
This is an incredibly disappointing outcome and it’s now important to send a message to the McGowan Government that people of faith should not be ignored!
To help keep the issue of religious freedom on the Government’s agenda, here is what you can do:
- Write to your local MP, to the Education Minister and to the Attorney General, expressing your disappointment that the Government ignored a plea by more than 10,000 of its constituents and ask that any revision of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 will continue to allow faith-based schools to continue to operate in keeping the beliefs and values of the faith-based community.
Thank you for taking action so that our faith-based schools may continue to teach our children to flourish in the Lord, and that we Christians may continue to live out our faith according to the will of the Lord.
