Qld: ALP Rushing Assisted Suicide Laws
Queenslanders have reason to fear that that the ALP Government is planning to rush new euthanasia laws through the Parliament with the least scrutiny possible, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.
Read moreVic ‘Change and Suppression bill’ update
The Change and Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020 introduced by the Andrews Labor government passed the Victorian lower house and is disturbingly now one step closer to becoming law.
Read moreAbhorrent abortion-to-birth proposal must be rejected
Pro-abortion Labor MP Nat Cook said earlier this week “The suggestion of aborting full-term healthy babies is abhorrent and to say this is what the bill is about is completely sickening.”
Read moreElection turns on life-or-death issues
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk shocked Queenslanders at yesterday’s ALP election campaign launch by announcing that a re-elected Labor government would introduce legislation for assisted suicide in February 2021. This position sidelines an important Law Reform Commission report due in March 2021.
Read moreDoes Qld’s ALP abortion legislation really allow abortion to birth?
It still surprises me how many Queenslanders remain unaware of the extent of the ALP government’s abortion laws introduced in 2018. When I say that abortion is legal at any stage of pregnancy for any reason, many people find it very hard to believe. Some push back saying that they have read that what I’m saying is not true. At ACL we are all about speaking truth.
Read moreLabor should not support hopeless assisted suicide bill
The Australian Christian Lobby today called on the Tasmanian Labor Party to pull back from its stated intent to support Mike Gaffney MLC’s ‘Assisted Dying’ Bill.
Read moreLabor hears Christian voice
The Australian Christian Lobby has welcomed the strong findings in the Australian Labor Party’s post-election review indicating that it lost a great many Christian voters.
Read moreMR: ACL looks to post-Greens future for Tasmania
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, January 16th 2014
Labor’s broken election promise on governing with the Greens has been disastrous for Tasmania and voters now had the opportunity to create a post-Greens future for the state, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.
ACL’s Tasmanian Director Mark Brown has welcomed the announcement today that Labor would split from its power-sharing alliance with the Greens.
Mr Brown said it was an absolute breach of trust for Labor to enter into an alliance with the Greens after the 2010 election and people would rightly be wary of today’s announcement, given how easily the same promise was breached in 2010.
“The decision by former Labor Premier David Bartlett to enter into an alliance despite clearly declaring before the election that he would “never do a deal with the devil” damaged Labor’s credibility and its ability to deliver good government,” he said.
“The state government of the last four years has focused a disproportionate amount of time on repeated attempts at radical social policy reform, due in part to the Greens influence, while the economy continues to suffer.
“This has not gone unnoticed by the electorate which walked away from the Greens at the last federal election. The Greens’ primary vote in Tasmania fell by around nine per cent in both the House of Representatives and senate from the 2010 election results.
“Voters last year indicated the desire for a post-Green era where governments could get on with the business of driving key areas like the economy and jobs unhindered by the Greens anti-industry handbrake and its obsession with redefining marriage.
“The end of the alliance in Tasmania provides Labor with an opportunity to start rebuilding its tarnished credibility. There are a substantial number of swinging voters in the Tasmanian Christian community who are looking for genuine options when it comes to who they vote for in March,” he said.
ENDS
Thursday, January 16th 2014
Labor’s broken election promise on governing with the Greens has been disastrous for Tasmania and voters now had the opportunity to create a post-Greens future for the state, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.
ACL’s Tasmanian Director Mark Brown has welcomed the announcement today that Labor would split from its power-sharing alliance with the Greens.
Mr Brown said it was an absolute breach of trust for Labor to enter into an alliance with the Greens after the 2010 election and people would rightly be wary of today’s announcement, given how easily the same promise was breached in 2010.
“The decision by former Labor Premier David Bartlett to enter into an alliance despite clearly declaring before the election that he would “never do a deal with the devil” damaged Labor’s credibility and its ability to deliver good government,” he said.
“The state government of the last four years has focused a disproportionate amount of time on repeated attempts at radical social policy reform, due in part to the Greens influence, while the economy continues to suffer.
“This has not gone unnoticed by the electorate which walked away from the Greens at the last federal election. The Greens’ primary vote in Tasmania fell by around nine per cent in both the House of Representatives and senate from the 2010 election results.
“Voters last year indicated the desire for a post-Green era where governments could get on with the business of driving key areas like the economy and jobs unhindered by the Greens anti-industry handbrake and its obsession with redefining marriage.
“The end of the alliance in Tasmania provides Labor with an opportunity to start rebuilding its tarnished credibility. There are a substantial number of swinging voters in the Tasmanian Christian community who are looking for genuine options when it comes to who they vote for in March,” he said.
ENDS
ACL holds Labor to R18+ games election promise
Friday April 16, 2010
The Australian Christian Lobby has written to South Australian Premier Mike Rann over concerns his Government may be on the verge of breaking its first election commitment.
ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace has told Mr Rann he is concerned by media reports that new Attorney General John Rau may be about to drop the SA Government’s opposition to allowing violent interactive computer games in to Australia.
In response to a pre-election questionnaire sent to all Parties, SA State Secretary Michael Brown, responded on behalf of Labor saying: “The State Government has consistently opposed calls to introduce an R18+ classification for computer games due to the potential the harm that violent computer games can have on children.”
In his letter to Mr Brown, Mr Wallace says: “Any reasonable and fair-minded person is entitled to accept this response as meaning that the ALP, if re-elected, would continue its consistent opposition to the call to introduce an R18+ classification.”
However, Mr Rau has told the media “the response was given before the election and before he took over” and that he “has not yet made a decision on the issue”.
“The whole point of a pre-election questionnaire was to get a response before the election,” Mr Wallace said.
“If Labor was planning to change its policy, its response to our questionnaire was its opportunity.
“Instead it gave a response that could only lead fair-minded people to conclude that Labor was concerned by the impact of these games on children and that its opposition to lifting the ban would be maintained after the election.
“Any change would fuel the fire of public cynicism about politicians and their promises and this is not in the interests of a new Government or the people who elected it.
“We certainly hope this is some sort of mistake by Mr Rau and that the Government will urgently confirm its pre-election commitment,” Mr Wallace said.
The full question and full answer were posted on www.savotes.org and publicised widely to the Christian constituency before the election.
Media Contact – Lyle Shelton 0448 602 878
The Australian Christian Lobby has written to South Australian Premier Mike Rann over concerns his Government may be on the verge of breaking its first election commitment.
ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace has told Mr Rann he is concerned by media reports that new Attorney General John Rau may be about to drop the SA Government’s opposition to allowing violent interactive computer games in to Australia.
In response to a pre-election questionnaire sent to all Parties, SA State Secretary Michael Brown, responded on behalf of Labor saying: “The State Government has consistently opposed calls to introduce an R18+ classification for computer games due to the potential the harm that violent computer games can have on children.”
In his letter to Mr Brown, Mr Wallace says: “Any reasonable and fair-minded person is entitled to accept this response as meaning that the ALP, if re-elected, would continue its consistent opposition to the call to introduce an R18+ classification.”
However, Mr Rau has told the media “the response was given before the election and before he took over” and that he “has not yet made a decision on the issue”.
“The whole point of a pre-election questionnaire was to get a response before the election,” Mr Wallace said.
“If Labor was planning to change its policy, its response to our questionnaire was its opportunity.
“Instead it gave a response that could only lead fair-minded people to conclude that Labor was concerned by the impact of these games on children and that its opposition to lifting the ban would be maintained after the election.
“Any change would fuel the fire of public cynicism about politicians and their promises and this is not in the interests of a new Government or the people who elected it.
“We certainly hope this is some sort of mistake by Mr Rau and that the Government will urgently confirm its pre-election commitment,” Mr Wallace said.
The full question and full answer were posted on www.savotes.org and publicised widely to the Christian constituency before the election.
Media Contact – Lyle Shelton 0448 602 878
ACL urges Labor not to trample children’s rights
For release: February 10, 2010
With debate about to start today on the Surrogacy Bill 2009, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has written to all Queensland Labor and Independent MPs urging them to do what is right and delay and split the bill so that surrogacy for single adults and same-sex couples is considered separately.
“It is wrong, and an act of little less than deceit, that the Bligh Government is making the pretence of this being a conscience vote, while refusing to split the government bill to allow any real choice on whether to support heterosexual altruistic surrogacy without supporting surrogacy for homosexuals and singles,” ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace wrote in the letter to Labor MPs.
Mr Wallace today said that he had written the letters to ensure that Labor and Independent MPs understood the gravity of concern about the surrogacy legislation and carefully weighed up their position.
“We are so concerned that the best interests of the child are being overridden by this legislation that we will be carefully monitoring how individual MPs vote on the surrogacy bill and considering our political response in the context of the next election,” he said.
Below is the full text of Mr Wallace’s letter:
”I am writing this urgent letter in the hope that you will honour the fundamental right of children in Queensland to at least begin life with the complementary love and care of a mother and a father.
It is a reality in this world that there are things that are right and things that are wrong. What your government is proposing is very wrong.
It is wrong to the point of being a breach of your most sacred duty, demanded by both convention and international law, that you only ever act in the best interests of the child in public policy.
It is wrong that the timing of this bill being tabled and voted on was contrived so that the great majority of constituents with genuine concerns about this legislation were unable to discuss them with their elected representative because they were on holidays.
It is wrong, and an act of little less than deceit, that the Bligh Government is making the pretence of this being a conscience vote, while refusing to split the government bill to allow any real choice on whether to support heterosexual altruistic surrogacy without supporting surrogacy for homosexuals and singles. You well know that the Opposition Bill does not give your people a real choice given the onventions on party loyalty on Opposition bills.
It is wrong, that this is being done as a matter of ideology against the majority opinion of Queenslanders, and instead is a response to the political demands of the gay and lesbian rights lobby which cannot even claim to represent the majority of the homosexual community, itself only around 2% of the population.
It is wrong that through this bill, children and their inalienable right to a father and mother will become another casualty in the relentless push by this unrepresentative political movement to “normalise” their relationships, which clearly are not normal as the inability to procreate naturally proves.
It is wrong to add to this offence against children, by including the fabrication of “birth” certificates to exclude a child’s biological parents by this legislation.
It is wrong that voting for the whole bill has been presented as necessary to avoid seeing desperate couples go to jail, when the deterrents for breaking the law could easily have been framed so as to avoid this happening, perhaps by focussing on fines for the provider of the service.
But it is entirely right, even at this late stage, for you to let the Premier know that you are not happy with the choice before you and demand that further consideration of this Bill be delayed until it can be split and offer real choice.
I pray that you will decide to do what is right.”
Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979.
With debate about to start today on the Surrogacy Bill 2009, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has written to all Queensland Labor and Independent MPs urging them to do what is right and delay and split the bill so that surrogacy for single adults and same-sex couples is considered separately.
“It is wrong, and an act of little less than deceit, that the Bligh Government is making the pretence of this being a conscience vote, while refusing to split the government bill to allow any real choice on whether to support heterosexual altruistic surrogacy without supporting surrogacy for homosexuals and singles,” ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace wrote in the letter to Labor MPs.
Mr Wallace today said that he had written the letters to ensure that Labor and Independent MPs understood the gravity of concern about the surrogacy legislation and carefully weighed up their position.
“We are so concerned that the best interests of the child are being overridden by this legislation that we will be carefully monitoring how individual MPs vote on the surrogacy bill and considering our political response in the context of the next election,” he said.
Below is the full text of Mr Wallace’s letter:
”I am writing this urgent letter in the hope that you will honour the fundamental right of children in Queensland to at least begin life with the complementary love and care of a mother and a father.
It is a reality in this world that there are things that are right and things that are wrong. What your government is proposing is very wrong.
It is wrong to the point of being a breach of your most sacred duty, demanded by both convention and international law, that you only ever act in the best interests of the child in public policy.
It is wrong that the timing of this bill being tabled and voted on was contrived so that the great majority of constituents with genuine concerns about this legislation were unable to discuss them with their elected representative because they were on holidays.
It is wrong, and an act of little less than deceit, that the Bligh Government is making the pretence of this being a conscience vote, while refusing to split the government bill to allow any real choice on whether to support heterosexual altruistic surrogacy without supporting surrogacy for homosexuals and singles. You well know that the Opposition Bill does not give your people a real choice given the onventions on party loyalty on Opposition bills.
It is wrong, that this is being done as a matter of ideology against the majority opinion of Queenslanders, and instead is a response to the political demands of the gay and lesbian rights lobby which cannot even claim to represent the majority of the homosexual community, itself only around 2% of the population.
It is wrong that through this bill, children and their inalienable right to a father and mother will become another casualty in the relentless push by this unrepresentative political movement to “normalise” their relationships, which clearly are not normal as the inability to procreate naturally proves.
It is wrong to add to this offence against children, by including the fabrication of “birth” certificates to exclude a child’s biological parents by this legislation.
It is wrong that voting for the whole bill has been presented as necessary to avoid seeing desperate couples go to jail, when the deterrents for breaking the law could easily have been framed so as to avoid this happening, perhaps by focussing on fines for the provider of the service.
But it is entirely right, even at this late stage, for you to let the Premier know that you are not happy with the choice before you and demand that further consideration of this Bill be delayed until it can be split and offer real choice.
I pray that you will decide to do what is right.”
Media Contact: Glynis Quinlan on 0408 875 979.