In his 2018 election victory speech, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announced his intention to make Victoria the nation’s “most progressive state”.
In keeping with this promise, over the past 4 years he has passed some of the most abhorrent laws in the world, including:
- Birth Certificate Reform Law (2019) – Allowing anyone to alter their sex status on their birth certificate every 12 months without undergoing gender transitioning.
- Change or Suppression (Conversion) Law (2021) – Anyone who dares to help someone feel comfortable with their biological sex or heterosexual relationship can be investigated, fined or jailed.
- Religious Exceptions Law (2022) –Faith-based schools and institutions have been stripped of their right to employ Christian staff and operate according to the tenets of their faith.
His 10-year Victorian LGBTIQ+ Strategy announced in February states that all Victorians should live wholly and freely, yet it effectively gags Christians and other faith communities.
But if Dan Andrews is the chief executive of these agendas, Fiona Patten has been the driving force behind him.
The duo have worked together to bring Victoria to the darkest moral ebb in modern history. On many occasions since 2014, Patten’s socially progressive private member bills have travelled through inquiries, been adopted as government bills, and passed into law.
She proudly states on her website, “… Fiona has worked with the government of the day to achieve a progressive reform agenda that many would have thought impossible”.
Under her influence, the Andrews Government passed:
- Safe Access Zone Law (2015) which bans speaking truth about abortion, or providing support to women, within 150 metres of an abortion clinic.
- Medically Supervised Injecting Centre Law (2017) – Despite backlash from local residents and businesses, the Government approved a trial injecting room in North Richmond, and is now planning a second centre in the Melbourne CBD. Patten continues her push for more across Metro Melbourne.
- Voluntary Assisted Dying Law (2017) – Victoria became the first Australian State to legislate for assisted suicide, creating a domino effect as most States now have similar laws.
- Sex Work Decriminalisation Law (2021) – Contrary to global best practice, Victoria legalised street prostitution, allowed sex workers infected with STIs to continue working, and ruled that property owners cannot refuse to rent their properties to home-based brothels.
But Patten’s plans don’t stop there. She has recently declared on her social media that she has “unfinished business” for Victoria. If both Patten and Andrews are re-elected for the next term of government without a balance of power in the Upper House, a number of further proposals of hers can be expected to pass, such as:
- The Lord’s Prayer removed from the Victorian Parliament – the Andrews government has already indicated their support to Patten for the Lord’s Prayer to be removed and substituted with something deemed more inclusive.
- An Anti-Vilification Bill could be tabled – the government has expressed support in principle to most recommendations from the inquiry into anti-vilification protection. This will be a further nail in the coffin of freedom of religion and expression.
- Drug reform laws – though Patten’s Decriminalisation of Possession and Use of Drugs of Dependence Bill 2022 was not supported by the government in February this year, they have already indicated support for a trial of removing criminal offense charges from people caught with drugs.
- De-funding faith-based hospitals – Patten has vowed to re-introduce her Conscientious Objection Bill 2022 to de-fund faith-based hospitals that refuse to perform abortions and euthanasia if she’s re-elected.
Two terms of government under Andrews and Patten since 2014 have seen Victoria damaged on multiple levels –
- school children have been indoctrinated with gender theory and identity politics;
- Christians and other faiths, along with conservative voices have been stifled;
- drugs and prostitution are being normalised;
- the sanctity of life has been degraded.
Important questions need to be considered for all who vote in the Victorian election. Upper house preferences will be vitally important in who is elected.
- What will Victoria look like under a third term of Andrews and Patten?
- What worldview and moral values will our younger generation hold after years of social engineering?
- How can Victoria cope with more radical cultural shifts, and moral decline?
The psalmist said, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
There is much we can do. But the time for political engagements is now! A cultural marxist agenda is banging on the doors of our schools, our homes and our churches, interfering in our parenting and in the operation of our faith institutions.
The Church must not remain silent in the face of parental rights and religious freedom being eroded. The Lausanne Covenant, under the guidance of Billy Graham and John Stott, suggested that a Christian’s social responsibility is as important as evangelism:
“ We affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty … The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.”
Our Christian faith, our nation’s values and our younger generations are under attack. God has blessed us with a democratic system that invites participation. Unlike the early Christians and those in other countries that can only resist their authoritarian governments quietly, we can still openly and legally make our voice heard.
The upcoming state election is one of those democratic responsibilities that you and I can use to make a difference in our culture and society.
So, as the Victoria state election campaign approaches, let us consider how we can:
- Help stop the social engineering plans of leaders like Andrews, Patten and others,
- Assist in creating an ethical balance of power in the Upper House,
- Help friends and family understand the issues in Victoria so as to make an informed choice.
Most importantly, please pray for this election!
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
