MEDIA RELEASE



5 May 2016



The Australian Christian Lobby welcomes news that a complaint against Hobart’s Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has been dropped today by the complainant, Greens candidate Martine Delaney.



However, Australian Christian Lobby Managing Director Lyle Shelton said it was a travesty of justice that Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner believed the Archbishop had a case to answer simply for distributing the Catholic Church marriage booklet “Don’t Mess with Marriage.”



“What Archbishop Porteous did was completely reasonable and he should have the right to express a point of view on marriage,” Mr Shelton said.



“This was an example of where State-based Human Rights Commissions are often being weaponised by activists against those with different views.



“A complaint does not even have to be legally defensible for process to start, for lawyers to be engaged, mediation to be required and for intimidation to be achieved. This is ripe for abuse by activists on legally spurious grounds.



“Being taken to law is extremely intimidating for laypeople who express reasonable views in debates. They have watched the case of Archbishop Julian Porteous and they are being silenced for fear of retribution.



“This is how misguided laws and legal processes are silencing the community.”



Mr Shelton said it would not be an unprecedented move to temporarily set-aside the anti-discrimination laws.



“This is not a new idea. In the UK a speech protection exists in s29J of the Public Order Act 1986 which states in part, ‘any discussion or criticism of marriage which concerns the sex of the parties to marriage shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred’,” Mr Shelton said. 



“This is a genuine need so that activists don’t abuse the law as Rodney Croome of Australian Marriage Equality did when he urged supporters to report Archbishop Porteous to the Human Rights Commission for completely benign and reasonable comments about marriage.

“When the law stops decent people from saying reasonable things, it is defective.”



ENDS



Media Contact: 02 6259 0431

[caption id="attachment_33017" align="alignright" width="361"] From left: Attorney-General Robert Clark, Education Minister Martin Dixon and Andrew Ronalds MP at the briefing[/caption]



Earlier this week, ACL’s managing director Lyle Shelton and Victorian director Dan Flynn were invited to attend a government briefing for Christian leaders across Victoria to discuss the issues of faith and freedom in the state.



The event was aimed at clarifying the Coalition government’s position on freedom of expression and religion, which has come under question by some Victorians in the past few weeks.



Victoria’s Attorney-General Robert Clark, Education Minister Martin Dixon and Liberal MP for the Eastern Region Andrew Ronalds took questions from a group of around 70 Christian leaders about issues pertaining to religious freedom and expression, particularly in regards to religious education in public schools.



Mr Ronalds opened the briefing by discussing the importance of religious freedom, and that every parent has the right to choose whether their child participates in the Special Religious Instruction (SRI) program.



Mr Dixon spoke of his commitment to freedom of religion, his support for the SRI program and for allowing students the freedom to engage in lunchtime religious activities. He also supported the continuation of the school chaplaincy program in Victoria.



The Attorney-General addressed the state’s Equal Opportunity Act, which currently allows for religious organisations, particularly Christians schools, to appoint staff of their faith and ethos.



The government ministers then took questions from the audience on issues of concern to Christians.



ACL recently launched a campaign to reverse a ban on prayer groups and lunchtime Bible studies outlined in the SRI program policy.



[caption id="attachment_33019" align="alignright" width="333"] Attorney-General Robert Clark addresses Christian leaders[/caption]



Thousands of emails were received by Victorian members of parliament urging the government overturn the ban.



Late last month, Mr Dixon announced that he had directed his department to withdraw the elements of the policy that were the subject of the complaint.



You can read more about the details of the issue here.

In an articulate presentation, Australian Marriage Forum (AMF) President, Dr David van Gend, has outlined the harms of same-sex marriage in this 25-minute video.



The talk / panel Q&A took place at a recent church conference and reminds viewers that legalising same-sex marriage will have major consequences, as we have observed overseas, for the moral education of children and for freedom of thought, conscience and religion.



The core message of the video is the child-centred message of the AMF website:

• That a child has the birth-right, wherever possible, to both a mother and father;



• That same-sex marriage makes it impossible for a child to have both a mother and a father;



• Therefore same-sex marriage is unjust and should be opposed.

Please take the time to watch the video and to share it.

In the last week, the ACL has been quoted in the media on issues such as religious freedom, overseas aid, and legalising brothels in the Northern Territory. See below for links to mentions in the media.



On freedom of religion:

• Christian Today Australia - Religious freedom eroded in the court decision on a Christian youth camp

On legalising brothels in the Northern Territory:

• NT News - Deputy Chief Minister David Tollner says it's time to open the conversation about legalising Northern Territory brothels

On overseas aid:

• Christian Today Australia - $20 million for Syrian children a step in the right direction but more needs to be done 

On Easter Monday, ACL's Managing Director Lyle Shelton spoke with 3AW's Brett McLeod about why Easter Monday is a public holiday (he didn't know!) and about the significance of Christ's resurrection to Christianity.



Mr Shelton also spoke about the slogan on the Wicked Campers vans "Fat girls are harder to kidnap" in this week's Politics InFocus. Watch the interview below.







"Fat girls are harder to kidnap": Free speech or abuse? from InFocus on Vimeo.

MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Wednesday April 16, 2014



A dissenting judge in an anti-discrimination case against a Christian youth camp has warned that religious freedom is being eroded.



The Victorian Court of Appeal today dismissed an Appeal from a VCAT decision in 2010 which ruled that Christian Youth Camps had discriminated against Cobaw, a group for same-sex attracted youth, in the provision of accommodation. The Victorian Court of Appeal President Chris Maxwell & Justice Marcia Neave (the majority) ruled that discrimination (pursuant to Part 3 of The Equal Opportunity Act 2010) had taken place and that the refusal by CYC to provide the accommodation was not covered by any of the religious exemptions to the EOA.



However, Section 77 of the EOA provides that:

Nothing in part 3 applies to discrimination by a person against another person if the discrimination is necessary for the first person to comply with the person’s genuine religious beliefs or principles

Contrary to the approach taken by VCAT & the majority, Justice Robert Redlich decided that s.77 is an exemption available to a corporation and that CYC and its employee Mark Rowe, who refused the booking, were taking steps necessary to comply with their genuine religious beliefs that promotion of homosexuality was wrong.



The Australian Christian Lobby’s Victorian Director Dan Flynn welcomed Justice Redlich’s dissenting judgement saying it was important religious organisations retained the freedom to protect their ethos.



“The dissenting judgement of Justice Redlich correctly states the balance between the competing rights of equal opportunity and religious freedom. His judgement emphasises that if the scope of the religious exemption is read down by judges this frustrates the very purpose of the exemption – which is to protect religious freedom,” Mr Flynn said.



“Justice Redlich has made a critical contribution to Victorian human rights jurisprudence by articulating the principle that religious belief may give rise to an obligation of obedience to that principle in the commercial sphere.



“The clear sighted conclusion that once CYC became aware of the particular purpose for which the campsite was to be used was contrary to their beliefs or principles, they were compelled by those beliefs to refuse to allow their camp site to facilitate such a purpose.”Mr Flynn said that he hoped human rights lawyers in Australia would study the decision of Justice Redlich to better understand the intended scope of section 77 of the Act.

The last federal Parliamentary sitting week in March was dominated by fierce debate about free speech and racial vilification.



Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it illegal to offend, insult or humiliate someone because of their race.



The Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt ran foul of these laws and was fined, prompting the then Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to promise to repeal them.



No thinking person, and especially Christians, wants racism.



The question is, how do you strike the right balance between free speech and creating a culture of respect for all people?



The human rights lobby believes strong legal protections are needed against racist elements in the Australian community and wants the laws unchanged.



I tend to think the Australian community is far more tolerant than some give them credit for.



The Attorney General George Brandis has argued that free speech is a higher value and is proposing to repeal Section 18C.



However, he proposes to make it against the law to vilify or intimidate people on the basis of race where vilify means to incite hatred against a person or group and intimidate means to cause fear of physical harm.



While still subjective, that seems to be a more appropriate place to strike the balance.



But what of non-race-based claims of vilification?



Some people claim the statements: "Marriage should be between a man and a woman" and "that wherever possible, children deserve their mother and father" to be deeply offensive, humiliating and even 'hateful'.



Some politicians have even said there is "no place in Australia" for these views.



It seems the debate about free speech and freedom of religion in Australia is only just beginning.

A move to provide additional funding for chaplaincy in schools is being considered by the Queensland government.



The Courier-Mail recently reported  that the move would give independent public school principals the ability to increase the hours of chaplains and other staff including guidance counsellors and psychologists.



Currently, the Queensland government provides up to $11,000 a year for school chaplains in addition to federal government funding of the chaplaincy program.



The move has come out of a discussion between Scripture Union’s Queensland (SU QLD) CEO Peter James and John-Paul Langbroek’s advisor in regards to additional funds being required around occasions of natural disaster and tragedy in school communities.



SU, which employs most chaplains in state schools, said it’s found additional support from school chaplains is vital around these times and previously there had been no allowance for this.



In recent months, SU QLD has been called to appear before the High Court to defend its national school chaplaincy program.



It first appeared in the High Court two years ago when a Toowoomba resident claimed the chaplaincy program violated religious freedom under the Constitution. The High Court found it did not violate religious freedom as chaplains were not employed or appointed by the government.



A second challenge to the Court’s decision was launched against the program this year.



In response, SU QLD asked Australians to sign a statement of support in favour of federal funding for school chaplaincy by visiting backourchappies.com.au.



Last month, ACL’s Communications Director Katherine Spackman interviewed SU QLD’s CEO Peter James on the Political Spot where he spoke about the second High Court challenge. You can listen to the interview by following this link.



 

From the Barnabas Fund



“These events which happened in Saddad are considered the greatest massacre of Christians in Syria… We ask if the terrorists are gone permanently, or if there is the possibility of a return for a second massacre… We cried out to the world and no-one heard us. Where is the Christian conscience?”      Senior church leader in Syria



[caption id="attachment_29058" align="alignright" width="300"] Islamist militants patrolling Saddad[/caption]



Dozens of people were killed when Islamist rebels besieged the Christian towns of Saddad and Haffar in Syria. As churches, homes and schools were looted and destroyed, 2,500 families fled while 1,500 were held as a human shield.



Militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front stormed Saddad and Haffar on Monday 21 October and occupied the towns for a week. Until then, they had been relatively safe places, and hundreds of internally displaced families had sought refuge there.



A Barnabas Fund partner described the scene as 60 armed vehicles entered Saddad, a town that is mentioned in the Bible (as Zedad; Numbers 34:8; Ezekiel 47:15):



“As the vehicles and armed personnel made their way through the streets, the shouting of “Allah Akbar” [“Allah is great”] and the touting of the Quran made it clear to both permanent and displaced that their time of relative tranquility was quickly coming to an end. As the armed groups began to set up sniper posts and a campaign of shelling, the day moved from bad to worse.”



He said children were crying in fear as the militants took over the towns.



[caption id="attachment_29059" align="alignleft" width="300"] A vandalised church in Saddad[/caption]



Estimates of the number of Christians killed during the siege of Saddad and Haffar range from 45 to 70; others were threatened and injured. Homes, businesses, schools and other public buildings, including the hospital, were looted and destroyed. Church buildings were attacked and graffitied with insults against Christianity.



Our partners helped Christian families to evacuate to neighbouring villages, the central city of Homs and the capital, Damascus. Barnabas sent funds to provide transport, blankets, food parcels and other essentials.



On Monday 28 October, government forces recaptured Saddad and Haffar, enabling people to return. They came home to a scene of devastation; around half of the buildings in Saddad had been destroyed, and there was no power, water or telephone connection.



It is thought that the towns were being used as a launching point for strikes against a nearby army base and arsenal. They are strategically located between Homs and Damascus.



 

There was good news out of the Tasmanian upper house this week with the Legislative Council blocking a controversial change to the State’s Anti-Discrimination Act.



The move to make it an offense to offend or insult a person for an increased range of attributes, such as religious or political belief, was decisively voted down my members.



ACL led a team that briefed the upper house on concerns about proposed amendments back in June.



This is a win for common sense and for freedom of speech.



An amendment to allow for faith-based schools to be excluded from the Act, when selecting students from their particular faith, was narrowly rejected 7-7.



Instead a more restrictive limited exemption was passed allowing for schools to discriminate in choosing students of faith only when there are more students than places.



The amendment bill must pass the lower house for it to become law.

Below is an interesting article by Joseph Loconte which explores religion and the conflict in Egypt.



The article originally appeared in The Times of London.



---



Faith can end Egypt’s politics of persecution



Joseph Loconte



By appealing to the noblest religious impulses, the West can stop violence against Christians



Two days after the ousting of President Morsi of Egypt, Emile Naseem, 41, and his nephew were running for their lives. The Christian businessman had led an anti-Morsi petition, and a mob in their village of Nagaa Hassan attacked the pair with axes and clubs as they scrambled on to a roof and jumped from building to building. As one report put it: “Finally they ran out of rooftops.” Mr Naseem was killed, his nephew badly injured. That day Islamist extremists stabbed to death three other Christians and burnt dozens of homes in the village.



The attack is now considered the prelude to last week’s violence in Cairo between Egypt’s military government and the Muslim Brotherhood. But it is more than that: it represents a larger and more ominous tide of religious persecution that is destabilising societies around the globe.



Several powerful forces are at work. The Arab Spring is unleashing the hatreds of Islamic radicalism against Christian and other religious minorities. According to a report by the Pew Research Centre, countries in the Middle East and North Africa have witnessed “pronounced increases in social hostilities involving religion” since 2011. The violence may be most graphic in Egypt and Syria, where militants are targeting religious groups deemed disloyal to Islam. Shia and Sunni Muslims are no less at risk than Coptic Christians or Bahais.



Nevertheless, human rights groups warn of an “existential crisis” facing Christians in the Muslim world. In Egypt, 16 human rights groups have signed a joint statement condemning incitement to violence against Christians. In Syria, an estimated 300,000 Christians have fled the country. In Turkey, Christians have been publicly called “an internal threat, a danger and an enemy”. Iraq’s Christian population has been devastated by persecution and flight, since the US-led invasion in 2003.



In Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians, Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert and Nina Shea blame the globalisation of radical Islam: extremists who view Christian communities as an obstacle to a “purified” transnational Islamic state. Indonesia, for example, has maintained a relatively tolerant society — until recently. Islamists have orchestrated hundreds of attacks on churches, mostly with impunity. In Nigeria the Islamist group Boko Haram — it means “Western education is sinful” — is engaged in a “pogrom” against the nation’s 60 million Christians. A recent attack on a Pentecostal church and two other Christian communities in Kano left nearly 50 people dead.



Another factor is the expansion of laws restricting religious freedom: 64 nations, making up nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population, place high or very high restrictions on religion. Muslim-majority states, which typically criminalise “blasphemy”, or religious speech considered insulting to Islam, are the worst offenders.



Pakistan has been singled out for criticism by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which sees a direct link between blasphemy laws and a culture of religious persecution. Over 18 months, it documented 203 acts of religiously motivated violence, injuring more than 1,800 people and claiming more than 700 lives. The methods included suicide bombings, drive-by shootings, torture, beheadings and mob violence.



A final factor contributing to the rise of religious persecution is the loss of what might be called civilisational memory. Secular elites, especially in the West, tend to view all religious beliefs with indifference or suspicion. They have forgotten how religious ideals can play a crucial role in solving sectarian violence. As a result, their response has been feeble and ineffective.



Remember that in the 17th century churches in England and Europe regarded religious minorities as a criminal underclass: they faced discrimination, imprisonment or even execution. Entire populations lived in the shadows because of religious differences.



How did the West overcome its legacy of bigotry and repression?



It was only when religious leaders viewed freedom of conscience as a natural right that the politics of persecution came under sustained assault. Religious thinkers from John Locke to James Madison dared to imagine a more generous approach to Christian faith. By appealing to the noblest religious impulses, by insisting upon a political system of equal justice for all faiths, they showed antagonists how to live together.



“It is not the diversity of opinions which cannot be avoided,” wrote Locke in A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). “But the refusal of toleration to those that are of different opinions, which might have been granted, that has produced all the bustles and wars that have been in the Christian world, upon account of religion.”



We in the West seem dumbfounded by the revenge of religion: the remorseless acts of terror committed daily in the name of God. It need not be so. Abdurrahman Wahid, the late President of Indonesia, put it this way: “Beyond the daily headlines of chaos and violence, the vast majority of the world’s Muslims continue to express their admiration of Muhammad by seeking to emulate the peaceful and tolerant example of his life.”



There is a path through this wilderness of persecution, if we can summon the wisdom, courage and faith to take it.



Joseph Loconte is an associate professor of history at the King’s College, New York City.



www.josephloconte.com



http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/