Some parts of the Religious Discrimination Bill (RDB) are fine. These are the protection for people of faith from discrimination in the provision of education, accommodation, finance, club memberships etc.

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Last week, ACL reported on a recent Wicked Campers slogan which was condemned for being degrading towards women. This is not the first time the campervan company has come under fire for its distasteful slogans painted on the sides of its vans.

In May this year, the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) upheld a complaint regarding another one of its slogans on the grounds of discrimination or vilification of religion. The slogan "If you love God, burn a church" was written across the side panel of a Wicked Campers van along with an image of a devil-like character.

Some of the complaints received by the ASB were the grounds that the slogan offended a person's Christian beliefs, and that it incited religious hatred and encouraged people to commit an unlawful offence (arson).

The ASB found the slogan did not breach Section 2.6 of the Advertiser Code of Ethics relating to the health and safety of prevailing community standards. It did however find the slogan breached Section 2.1 of the Code relating to discrimination or vilification of religion.

You can read more about the decision here.

An uproar against Wicked Campers was triggered recently when a Sydney mother launched an online petition after her 11-year-old daughter spotted the slogan “In every princess, there’s a little slut who wants to try it” on a van in the Blue Mountains. 

The change.org petition to “Eliminate misogynistic and degrading slogans and imagery” has reached over 127,000 signatures to date.

A UK Christian organisation, Christian Concern, recently reached an agreement with the Law Society after its conference on marriage was cancelled.



The Law Society, which opened up its headquarters for the conference scheduled in May 2012, cancelled the event at the last minute because it was "contrary to our diversity policy." As such, Christian Concern was forced to organise the conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEII), but they too cancelled the event at 4pm the day before the event, also citing "diversity policies."



Christian Concern's event "One man. One woman. Making the case for marriage for the good of society" was focused on exploring the nature and the meaning of marriage, and discussing the British Government's plans to redefine marriage.



Christian Concern took both the Law Society and QEII to court for breach of contract and for discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, which resulted in the parties undertaking mediation and reaching an agreement.



The two organisations issued a joint statement after their meeting on the 21^st of June, saying that they "uphold the right and freedoms of other members of society based on the principles of a democratic society and debate."



Both parties acknowledged that differing opinions in the marriage debate should be respected; that some believe marriage should remain between a man and a woman, whilst others believe any person, regardless of gender, should be allowed to marry.



Following the meeting, the Law Society announced it would hold a full debate on the same-sex marriage issue where a speaker from Christian Concern would attend, and welcomed future bookings from Christian Concern.

In the last week, the ACL has been quoted in the media on issues such as sexualised advertising, religious freedom and anti-discrimination, and the WA Make it Count election event. See below for links to mentions in the media.



On the WA Make it Count event:

• Ninemsn - McGowan promises to restrict Easter trade



• The West Australian - Leaders tackle tricky moral queries



• ABC News - Barnett and McGowan address Christian group



• News.com.au - Leaders quizzed by church leaders on gay marriage, euthanasia and same-sex marriage



• The Australian - WA Labor campaign launch venue cancelled



• Perth Now - Leaders quizzed by church leaders on gay marriage, euthanasia and same-sex marriage

MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Friday, 22nd February 2013



The Australian Christian Lobby is today urging the Gillard Government to reject Senate Committee recommendations which threaten to dramatically undermine freedom of religion.



The parliamentary report into Labor’s new anti-discrimination laws includes a recommendation to remove exemptions and exceptions enjoyed by faith-based organisations in service delivery.



“Faith-based schools and hospitals do not discriminate, they provide a particular range of services consistent with their faith, and government must protect their ability to do that to honour its responsibility to protect human rights,” said ACL’s Managing Director Jim Wallace.



“The exemptions and exceptions in anti-discrimination legislation are protections for religious freedom, which under international law is a basic or fundamental human right.



“Former Attorney-General Nicola Roxon’s legacy is a complete confusion.



“You cannot sacrifice fundamental human rights like freedom of religion because of a desire not to discriminate. This has created an ideological soup which will threaten basic human rights,” he said.



 



 

The Victorian Director Dan Flynn’s letter to supporters in the state is now available online.



We have launched what will be a busy and energetic year for ACL in Victoria.    



Orthodox priests in the Antioch and Syrian tradition have engaged me in discussions about the deteriorating situation for Christians in Syria. Meetings currently underway will shortly culminate in Jim Wallace, ACL’s Managing Director, leading a high level delegation to the relevant Federal Minister, seeking practical support for persecuted Christians. 



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MEDIA RELEASE



Thursday, February 7th, 2013



The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) today said it expected it would only be a matter of time before protection of religious freedoms in the UK would diminish following the recent legislation redefining marriage passing in the House of Commons.



ACL’s Managing Director Jim Wallace said that although the UK bill allows religious organisations to say ‘no’ to conducting same-sex marriages, a challenge to this in the European Court of Human Rights has already been flagged, even before the bill has been voted on in the House of Lords.



“Legal expert opinion suggests that the court could rule that if same-sex marriage is normalised in law, any church would be obliged to marry same-sex couples,” Mr Wallace said.



“The passing of this legislation redefining marriage in the UK is yet another demonstration of governments failing to protect freedom of religion and conscience for churches,” he said, “in fact it goes further and creates a vulnerability that activists are indicating they will pursue.”



“No Australian political leader can suggest that protections could be provided to the church in the light of the clear intention of activists in the UK to pursue any loophole in their pursuit of the church,” he said.



He said the Australian Parliament made the right decision in rejecting same-sex marriage last year.



“Our parliamentarians should not be bullied into creating another debate on marriage when it was so decisively defeated late last year,” Mr Wallace said.



“MPs know it doesn’t rate in their electorates. The UK provides another example that redefining marriage is not the end of the gay activists’ agenda,” he said.

In the last week, the ACL has been quoted in the media on issues such as video games classification, and proposed new anti-discrimination legislation. See below for links to mentions in the media.



On video games classification:

• Meld Magazine - Adult-rated games now legally available in Australia

On anti-discrimination legislation:

• The Age & Sydney Morning Herald - Review 'missed opportunity' to separate church and state



• ABC News (The World Today), Interview with Jim Wallace - Christian leader says discrimination exemptions will stay

In the last week, the ACL has been quoted in the media on issues such as not-for-profit (NFP) tax reform, euthanasia, and a proposed new anti-discrimination legislation. See below for links to mentions in the media.



On anti-discrimination legislation:

• ACL's Managing Director Jim Wallace was interviewed by The Project on Wednesday 16th January on this issue. Watch the video here.



• The Sydney Morning Herald - Religious groups free to discriminate



• Brisbane Times & The Age - Anti-gay rights to stay (ACL rejects notion of discriminating against "sinners" as laid out in this article)



• The Australian - Christian lobby can't set policy: Greens



• The Daily Telegraph - Sinner story a 'beat up': Christian lobby



• Sky News Australia - Sinner story a 'beat up': lobby group



• The Herald Sun - Christian lobby can't set policy: Greens



• ABC Online & Yahoo!7 News - Christian lobby rejects push to remove religious exemptions

On NFP reform:

• The International News Magazine - ACL says NFP reform must account for diverse nature of sector



• The Australian - Support grows for tax reform in not-for-profits



• Christian Today - Christian lobby says NFP reform must account for diverse nature of sector



• The International News Magazine - ACL misrepresented in NFP reform article

A British Airways employee, who was asked to remove her cross necklace at work, has won a discrimination case at the European Court of Human Rights against the company.



This demonstrates a great win for those who uphold religious freedom.



Read the ABC story here.