MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Saturday 14th September 2013



Changing the Marriage Act was a low order issue with voters at last Saturday’s election according to a poll conducted this week for the Australian Christian Lobby.



Just 13 per cent of voters said it was in their top three issues when deciding who to vote for with the issue rating 9^th overall out of 13 issues put to 927 respondents.



According to the poll conducted by JWS Research, same-sex marriage made the top three list of just 4pc of Coalition voters. It was not a top three issue for 72pc of Greens and 85pc of Labor voters.



ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said the poll confirmed what MPs have been saying for the past three years in Parliament.



“During the many same-sex marriage debates in the last Parliament MPs consistently said same-sex marriage was simply not a priority for people in their electorates. Despite Kevin Rudd and Labor elevating the issue to front and centre of the election campaign, this sentiment has not changed,” Mr Shelton said.



“Same-sex marriage had an extremely high media profile during the election and yet it still failed to register as an important issue for the overwhelming majority of voters.



“The fact that Kevin Rudd made it an election issue and lost so convincingly,  and these figures of just 4pc of Coalition voters supporting same sex marriage, mean Tony Abbott must maintain support for man-woman marriage as a party policy,” Mr Shelton said.



The poll also found support for changing the Marriage Act had slipped dramatically. Most polls had shown around 63pc support for same-sex marriage but the JWS poll found just 45pc of people thought the Marriage Act should be changed.



Thirty-eight per cent of people were opposed to law change with 17pc undecided.



“Despite years of high-profile campaigning and the demonising of those speaking up for man-woman marriage, support for changing the Marriage Act appears to be slipping,” Mr Shelton said.

Lyle Shelton is the MD of the Australian Christian Lobby. In this interview with the ACL's Katherine Spackman he discusses the election outcome.

MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Sunday 8th September 2013



The Australian Christian Lobby congratulates the Coalition on its election win and says it demonstrates that despite the incredibly high profile during the campaign of same-sex marriage, it was not a vote winner for Labor.



“It is clear that changing the definition of marriage is not something that defined the way Australians voted despite Labor’s high-profile campaigning on it and strong support for it in the media,” ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said.



“Australia has an opportunity now to move on from this debate but if same-sex marriage activists persist in the new Parliament, it should go back to the people again for the ultimate conscience vote in a referendum,” Mr Shelton said.



“Mr Rudd’s bullying of a Christian pastor on Q&A in the final week of the campaign made Australians feel uncomfortable with the consequences for freedom of speech and freedom of belief should the law on marriage be changed,” Mr Shelton said.



“It should not be up to politicians to decide to normalise this sort of treatment of fellow Australians who will always believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.”



Mr Shelton said reforms in 2008 meant there was no discrimination against same-sex couples under Australian law and it was unnecessary to divide people in the way Mr Rudd did by changing the definition of marriage.



Despite the Greens championing of same-sex marriage, they had suffered a swing against them while a pro traditional marriage political party, Family First, looks to have picked up a Senate seat in South Australia.



Mr Shelton hoped Labor would realise the error of following Greens’ social policy and of having changed its party platform on marriage at its 2011 National Conference.



“There is an opportunity now for Labor to further distance itself from the Greens and move back to the sensible centre on social policy as part of its rebuilding process.”

Last night, ACL held its final 'Meet Your Candidate' forum (MYCF) in the Queensland electorate of Oxley. The electorate covers the south western suburbs of Brisbane, as well as part of the city of Ipswich. It has the state's second highest proportion of children aged 0-4 (8.3%) and the state's highest proportion of couple households with dependent children (41.8%). Approximately 45 people attended the event.



The purpose of a MYCF is to give voters the opportunity to meet and question candidates in their electorate about issues of most concern to them, and to gain a greater understanding of their values and priorities so they can make an informed vote. It also gives Christians the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the political process.



Five of the eight candidates for the seat of Oxley attended:

• Frank Karg - candidate for the Democratic Labour Party. He has lived in Australia for the last seven years and is currently the Managing Director of Sales Systems, In Action



• Andrew Nguyen - Liberal National Party candidate. He has worked as a political adviser and is a qualified solicitor



• Bernie Ripoll - sitting member for the Labor Party. Previously trained as an aircraft electrician with the RAAF. Before his election in 1998, he worked as a union organiser with the State Public Services Federation



• Martin Stephenson - The Greens candidate. He worked as an IT architect and is the coordinator for the Queensland Greens Built Environment Policy development team



• Ricky Yue Mun Tang - candidate for Palmer's United Party. He is a financial planner and international marketer, who assists small and medium sized enterprises market their products and services to global markets

Each candidate presented a speech to the audience which was followed by a Q and A session moderated by ACL's Queensland Director Wendy Francis.



Some of the issues raised included mental health (in light of the closure of a mental health facility in the area), marriage and the Queensland Men's Shed Association.



Both the Labor and LNP candidates said they would be very happy to do all they could to provide assistance in opening a Men's Shed in Springfield Lakes.



On the question of marriage, Mr Nguyen said he supports the current definition as between a man and a woman. Mr Ripoll has recently changed his mind on the issue to support redefining marriage. When asked if they would represent the views of their community, Mr Nguyen said he would, whilst Mr Ripoll is unsure as he is now convinced that the definition should be changed to include same-sex couples.



To find out more about party positions on policy issues, visit australiavotes.org.au

MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Thursday 5th September 2013



The Coalition’s decision today to cut $4.7 billion from overseas aid is deeply disappointing, according to Australian Christian Lobby Managing Director Lyle Shelton.



“I think Australians are generally proud of the fact that we have been increasing our aid to the world’s poor in recent years,” Mr Shelton said.



“Under the Coalition’s plan, we’ll now build better roads for ourselves with money that could have helped keep kids alive in countries where sealed roads are a luxury,” Mr Shelton said.



“We all want to see Australia prosper but compared to many countries in our region we are rich and our aid budget is very modest compared to what we spend on ourselves,” Mr Shelton said.



Australia currently spends 0.37 per cent of Gross National Income on aid with Labor promising to get to 0.5pc by 2017-18 – still well short of the original Millennium Development Goal promise Australia made to reach 0.75pc by 2015.



Labor recently diverted some of the aid budget to fund asylum seeker costs, something the Coalition condemned at the time.



Christian churches and particularly young people through Micah Challenge have been at the forefront of campaigning to keep our national promise to the world’s poor.



“It is disappointing to see bi-partisanship on this now gone,” Mr Shelton said.



“Many Christians will feel let down by both major parties in the lead-up to this election.”



To see where the parties stand on aid and other policy issues go to http://australiavotes.org.au/.

In the last week, the ACL has been quoted in the media on issues such as marriage, and its Make it Count 2013 Election Panel webcast which was held on Monday 2nd September. See below for links to mentions in the media.



On ACL's Make it Count 2013 Election Panel webcast:

•  SBS - Australian Christian Lobby debate gay marriage, asylum seekers (you can also watch the video above)



• 96.3 Rhema FM - Interview with ACL Victorian Director Dan Flynn



• 103.2 Hope - Christian community to question leaders



• Lyle Shelton was also interviewed by Ray Kingston on 103.2 Hope FM after the webcast event



• 3AW - Lyle Shelton interviewed by Tom Elliot 



• 6PR - Lyle Shelton interviewed by Paul Murray



• Perth Now - Election candidates ready to be grilled on key issues of importance to Christian community



• Courier Mail - Election candidates ready to be grilled on key issues of importance to Christian community



• The Herald Sun - Election candidates ready to be grilled on key issues of importance to the Christian community



• Ninemsn - PM says he may have disappointed churches 



• Sydney Anglicans - Pollies pitch to Christians in ACL webcast

On marriage:

• The Australian - Scripture is simply all Greek to Rudd



• ABC News - ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton interviewed



• ABC News Radio - Lyle Shelton interviewed by Marius Benson



• ABC News - #TalkAboutIt: Same-sex marriage

Last Thursday 29th August, ACL conducted another 'Meet Your Candidate' forum in Victoria, in the electorate of Casey. The seat includes regions such as Olinda, Croydon and Montrose. Over 140 people attended the event.



The purpose of a MYCF is to give voters the opportunity to meet and question candidates in their electorate about issues of most concern to them, and to gain a greater understanding of their values and priorities so they can make an informed vote on election day. It also gives Christians the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the political process.



Six of the nine candidates for the seat of Casey attended the evening:

• Tony Smith MP - sitting member for the Liberal National Party. He is currently the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tax Reform and the Deputy Chair of the Coalition Policy Development Committee



• Cathy Farrell - candidate for the Labor Party. She is a Lecturer in Media Studies at Swinburne University's Faculty of Higher Education



• Mike Brown - candidate for the Australian Christians. He has worked in sales for he last 25 years and is currently running a real estate company. He is also on the board of Teen Challenge for the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol abused individuals



• Paul Barbieri - Rise Up Australia Party. He owns businesses in construction, transport, earth moving and is a home sustainability assessor



• Milton Wilde - candidate for Palmer's United Party. Mr Wilde is a software development manager



• Jeanette McRae - Independent candidate for Casey. Served as the Councillor for the Yarra Ranges Shire Council from 2005 to 2012 and is currently the Community Development Manager at Yarringa Community Centre

Each candidate presented a speech to the audience which was followed by a Q & A session moderated by ACL's Victorian Director Dan Flynn and ACL representative Peter Berry.



Discussions on the night revolved around issues such as homelessness, Australian manufacturing and the agricultural industry, problem gambling, marriage, asylum seekers, abortion, internet filters, and climate change.



Ms Farrell said the church and state should work together to bring about change to the problem of homelessness, and that sowing money into education will have an impact in tackling the issue.



Mr Smith, Mr Brown, Mr Barbieri and Ms McRae all agreed that the current definition of marriage as between a man and a woman should remain unchanged.



Ms Farrell says she supports redefining marriage, and Mr Wilde said Clive Palmer would allow a conscience vote on the issue, but that he would not condone same-sex marriage.



ACL will be conducting more MYCF's this week in states across the country - click here for more details. 

ACL's Managing Director Lyle Shelton feature on ABC TV News last night on the Prime Minister's comments on gay marriage following his appearance on the ABC1's Q and A on Monday night.



You can watch the news report which featured Mr Shelton along with Pastor Matt Prater and Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies. Click this link to watch the news story. LyleSheltonABCNews2Sept13



Mr Shelton was also interviewed by the ABC's Marius Benson yesterday morning on ABC's News Radio. Listen here.

In this week's edition of the Political Spot we do a 15 minute special on the Make it Count 2013 election panel. 

Last night, ACL held a 'Meet Your Candidate' forum (MYCF) in the Queensland electorate of Lilley, which includes areas such as Ascot, Hamilton, Sandgate, Brighton, and Pinkenba. Eighty people attended the event.



The purpose of a MYCF is to give voters the opportunity to meet and question candidates in their electorate about issues of most concern to them, and to gain a greater understanding of their values and priorities so they can make an informed vote on election day. It also gives Christians the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the political process.



Six of the seven candidates for the seat of Lilley attended the MYCF:

• Wayne Swan MP - the sitting member for the Labor Party, who served as the Treasurer and the Deputy Prime Minister under Julia Gillard's leadership



• Rod McGarvie - candidate for the Liberal National Party. He is a language development consultant who previously trained in the Australian Army corps of Engineers, and worked as the Executive Director of a large community development organisation in Africa



• Nic Forster - The Greens. Mr Forster is a research chemist and a community volunteer



• James Michael Ryan - candidate for Katter' Australian Party. He is an electrician who previously spent time bull riding in the Australian Pro Rodeo and National Rodeo circuits



• Allan Vincent - the Family First candidate. Mr Vincent has worked as a manager / engineer on a large agricultural property and is now an Accredited Mortgage Consultant



• Nick Contarino - candidate for the Citizens Electoral Council. He is a small business owner and has an interest is science and technology

Each candidate presented a speech to the audience which was followed by a Q  & A session moderated by ACL's Queensland Director Wendy Francis.



The candidates spoke on issues such as education, marriage, family and children, and abortion.



Mr Swan said he had voted not to change the current definition of marriage and will continue to support that position.



Mr Forster from The Greens said that abortion is a tragedy but that he believed the service should be provided to Australian women.



Family First's Allan Vincent said that many women put family and raising children before their career aspirations, and believed it is important that this decision does not affect their ability to gain leadership positions.



ACL will be conducting more MYCF's in states around the country - click here for more details.