MEDIA RELEASE



For Release: Sunday August 19, 2012



The Australian Christian Lobby has renewed its call for a vote in the Federal Parliament to resolve the long-running same-sex marriage debate.



ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said the debate had dragged on for years through three Parliamentary inquiries and there were now three bills before the Parliament.



“I think everyone is tired of this debate. MPs know it doesn’t rate in their electorates.



“Last week Labor stared down the Greens on border protection. This week the Parliament should stare them down on protecting the Marriage Act, as both Labor and Coalition promised to do before the 2010 election.



“It is clear that the Greens and gay activists do not want to accept the likely outcome of the democratic process and are continuing to stall for time.”



With a relatively light legislative program, this week would be ideal to resolve this issue and move on, Mr Wallace said.



 

MEDIA RELEASE



Monday, 13th August, 2012



The Australian Christian Lobby has welcomed the Independent expert panel’s recommendations on asylum seekers, as reported in Angus Houston’s briefing to the press.



The ACL’s Managing Director Jim Wallace said the recommendations strikes the right balance between compassion and the need to end the people smuggler’s trade.



“The ACL welcome’s the panel’s advice to process refugees on Nauru and PNG’s Manus Island and to continue to develop the Malaysian solution as a pilot model for a regional solution, provided, necessary protections can be ensured,” he said.



Mr Wallace said the committee’s recommendations on increasing the refugee intake to 20,000 immediately is a sensible idea, which is Labor policy and has been considered by the Coalition.



“The ACL has long advocated that Australia raise its humanitarian intake and that that be sourced from refugee camps, which would send a clear message that those in most need, the UNHCR-designated refugees, will be treated with real priority and generosity,” he said.



Mr Wallace said it was imperative for the Parliament to act on these recommendations and condemned the Greens for continuing to demand onshore processing when it clearly provides the magnet that sustains the dangerous people smuggling industry.

“It’s time for all parties to use this opportunity for genuine reform by government - too many people have died between Indonesia and Christmas Island for the political impasse over asylum seeker policy to be allowed to continue any longer,” he said.

Media Release

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) today welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s refusal to guarantee she would legalise gay marriage even if the ALP National Conference changes its policy on this issue.

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said this position is consistent with the clear pre-election commitment Ms Gillard gave to the Christian constituency that the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman would not be changed during the term of a re-elected Gillard Government.

“This clear commitment was given for the full term of Government – not just up until the ALP national conference. And the importance of not allowing this to change at the next Conference was acknowledged by Ms Gillard. It is a pledge of great importance to the Christian constituency and will be closely monitored to see whether Labor, under Julia Gillard, fulfils its commitment,” Mr Wallace said.

Mr Wallace also congratulated the Opposition for today voting against Greens’ MP Adam Bandt’s motion for MPs to seek constituents’ views on same-sex marriage.

“Since the PM pointed out to the Christian constituency that people could draw a lot of confidence in the security of marriage because both parties agreed on it, the unequivocal position of the Coalition is very welcome,” Mr Wallace said.

“This motion was obviously a meaningless stunt and it was good to see the Opposition not bowing to the Greens’ push to keep this issue in the limelight.”

Mr Wallace said that the Greens are following a deceptive agenda in pushing gay marriage as a discrimination issue.

“ACL has in the past supported out of a concern for justice, Government moves to amend more than 100 pieces of legislation to remove practical discrimination from same-sex couples. This issue of discrimination has effectively been dealt with,” Mr Wallace said. “To try and link gay marriage with discrimination is just another example of the deceptive way in which Greens’ agendas are progressed.

“This issue is not about discrimination, it is about protecting the model of marriage between a man and a woman - a model which remains a universal cultural mainstay proven over millennia. And for all the nonsense coming out of the Greens, it is too important to be treated as just another trophy for this two percent of the population and its selfishly intolerant activists.”

In a federal election campaign which has been often sadly lacking in matters of substance, the issue of foreign aid has at last struggled its way to the fore in the past week, with the Federal Coalition announcing that, if elected, it will create a Minister for International Development – upgrading the status of a policy area which is currently looked after by a parliamentary secretary – and elevate AusAID to an independent government department. Click here for more details.

It is interesting to see the Coalition taking the initiative in foreign aid when traditionally it has been Labor which has tended to take the stronger position – such as being the first of the two major parties to commit to an aid target of 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI). No doubt the strong lobbying efforts of organisations such as Micah Challenge Australia and World Vision Australia are paying off.

The Coalition’s announcement has been welcomed by aid agencies including the Make Poverty History coalition and World Vision Australia  which has urged the ALP to match the commitment.

“Elevating the International Development portfolio would bring a more direct line of accountability through parliament and build public confidence that aid and development money is being spent effectively,” World Vision’s Chief Executive Tim Costello said.

“Australia lags behind other countries that have already elevated development efforts to the same level as diplomacy and defence. This ensures Australia reaps the benefits of its efforts to foster stability and economic development in our region.”

World Vision has also welcomed a renewed focus on global policy issues with the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Australian Greens all releasing statements on international development today. The Greens have supported the Coalition’s proposal for a Minister for International Development, while Labor has committed to additional investment and increased focus on preventing child deaths and improving maternal mortality rates. Click here for more details.

Both Labor and the Coalition are committed to increasing foreign aid spending to 0.5 per cent of GNI by 2015 but this is still well short of the Millennium Development Goals of committing 0.7% of GNI.

In our questions to all the political parties, the ACL asked “Will your Party confirm the current Government commitment to contribute 0.5% Gross National Income to international aid and development efforts by 2015? What timeline will it put in place to reach the internationally agreed target of 0.7% GNI?” Please click here to read all the party responses.

ACL has welcomed a commitment from the Coalition that, if elected, they will provide $200 vouchers for couples getting married to encourage them to use marriage education, counselling or parenting programs.

Speaking at an annual National Marriage Day celebration dinner last Thursday night (August 12) the Shadow Minister for Families, Kevin Andrews, announced a new policy to support and strengthen Australian marriages. Click here for more details.

In a media release about the new policy, Liberal Senator Guy Barnett, said the vouchers would be redeemable before or after the wedding, for an approved marriage education, counselling or parenting service.

Senator Barnett said that two generations ago, the Coalition introduced support for marriage education and counselling and expanded these policies when last in government to include parenting skills programs.

He said that while these services have been shown to be beneficial in identifying and resolving marital problems, they are still underutilised. Accordingly, the Coalition will provide funding to enable more couples to utilise these services.

Senator Barnett said the Coalition will also slash red tape for agencies that provide family relationship services, saving them considerable expense.

Senator Barnett also welcomed an announcement by Mr Andrews that, if the Coalition was elected, he would take a proposal to establish a National Marriage Day to cabinet for consideration.

“Marriage is one of the great institutions on which our society is built,” Senator Barnett said.

“The establishment of a National Marriage Day would send a message that marriage is worthy of protection and support. Marriage provides for a stable family and is the umbrella under which children are nurtured and grow.”

It is six years since the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 defining marriage as between a man and a woman was passed by both houses of federal parliament with the support of both major parties. This definition of marriage was again affirmed by the parliament in a vote in early 2010.

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) described as incomprehensible Joe Hockey’s announcement that the Coalition would do away with ISP level filtering of the internet.

“This announcement is incomprehensible on a number of levels”, said Mr Wallace. “Firstly to say it doesn’t work is to deny the trials that show it does. Secondly to have a system that orders takedown notices for Australian sites carrying Refused Classification (RC) material, but allow it to come in unhindered from overseas sites is simply illogical. And finally to imply that parents rather than the ISPs are best equipped to manage the technology by presumably introducing the discredited Net Nanny system, again simply defies technological reality.”

Mr Wallace said the anti-filter proponents have run a well funded scare campaign on the issue, beginning with claims it would slow down the internet by up to 87%, only to be proven it was less than 1/70th of the blink of an eye, and conspiracy theories that saw us all becoming like China and North Korea.

“On every level arguments against ISP level blocking of RC material have been disproved or shown to be illogical,” said Mr Wallace. “Even the much publicised statement by the US Ambassador that he was against it because he wanted to see the internet free “as the oceans have to be free”, conveniently overlooked the fact that the US blocks drugs been brought by boat from Central America to the US because of their harm to US society. ISP level filtering does the same with harmful internet product, and offends the freedom of the internet no more than the US does that of the sea in drug control,” he said.

Important to understand in the Government’s plan is that ISP filtering is only part of the solution to the problem of RC material on the internet, that it includes in particular additional funding of police efforts to intercept illegal peer to peer material and find the perpetrators of it.

“The Govt is absolutely right to retain its resolve on this issue,” said Mr Wallace, “and it is extremely disappointing to see the Coalition adopt a policy that, as the civil libertarians behind it intend, will establish a principle where this medium is beyond regulation – quite unlike the supposedly free seas.”

Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979.

The Australian Christian Lobby has welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement this week that asylum seekers would be processed off shore as a disincentive to people smugglers, but notes there are many details still to be worked through.

While ACL had concerns with aspects of the former Howard Government’s policies towards asylum seekers, ACL did support off shore processing for the same reason it welcomes the Gillard Government’s announcement yesterday, ACL Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton said.



“ACL also welcomes the Opposition’s proposal to increase the opportunities for refugees applying for refugee status offshore,” Mr Shelton said.

“Genuine refugees languishing in refugee camps should not be disadvantaged because they cannot afford to pay a people smuggler.

“The nomination of refugees to Australia should not be by criminals in Indonesia and there should be no financial reward for these people.

“Too many people have died through this trade in lives on leaky boats,” Mr Shelton said.

Australia’s policy towards asylum seekers must strike a balance between compassion an orderly humanitarian program for refugees.

Any off shore processing of asylum seekers must be humane and expeditious so that genuine refugees are re-settled in to Australia quickly and that those who are not found to have a genuine claim are returned home quickly.

“We expect that those who are processed off shore to be processed as quickly as possible and that women and minors particularly be detained for as little a time as possible.” Mr Shelton said.

ACL also welcomed the Opposition’s proposal to enable church and other groups within Australia to directly sponsor refugees over and above the official program.

“Allowing church and community groups to extend generosity in this way will make a real difference to many lives,” Mr Shelton said.