Nick Overton is the Acting Chief of Staff at the Australian Christian Lobby. He spoke to the ACL's Katherine Spackman about the West Australian election on the 9th of March.

MEDIA RELEASE



For release: Thursday, August 30, 2012



Tasmanian Labor has trashed its integrity by breaking its election promise on marriage as it continues its capitulation to the Greens, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.



Labor had clearly promised the Christian constituency before the 2010 election that it would not seek to introduce same-sex marriage ACL Tasmanian Director Mark Brown said.



“We are seeing the toxic influence of the Greens in Tasmania and Federally as they push their agenda without regard to Labor’s election promises and even the personal promise of the Prime Minister.



“Politics is at a new low when constituencies cannot rely on the promises made by a major political party during an election campaign.”



Mr Brown praised the Tasmanian Liberals for sticking to their election promise.



“The integrity shown by the Liberals is to be commended and I’m sure will not be lost on the Christian constituency and the wider Tasmanian community when it comes election time next year.



ACL commended the courage and integrity of Labor MP Michael Polley who cross the floor and voted against same-sex ‘marriage’.

MEDIA RELEASE



Wednesday, 29 August, 2012



The Australian Christian Lobby remains unconvinced that gay marriage will stop the push for polygamous ‘marriage equality’ in Australia in light of Brazil’s acceptance this week of a civil union between three people.



Greens politicians and Labor supporters of same-sex marriage keep downplaying calls from Greens members and officials and the poly community for ‘marriage equality’ to be extended beyond two people.



In May former High Court Justice Michael Kirby told a Senate inquiry (pg. 13) that if same-sex marriage is passed, there could be further redefinitions in the future.



“The question that is before the parliament at the moment is the question of equality for homosexual people,” Justice Kirby said



“There may be in some future time, some other question. The lesson in courts and in the parliament I suggest, is that you take matters step by step,” he said.



ACL Managing Director Jim wallace said he was concerned that the Greens will push the marriage debate even further to the extent that polygamous and polyamorous relationships would be considered a part of the ‘marriage equality’ push.



The ACT Greens political party convenor, Simon Copland, wrote on his blog: “I just think we need to use it (the same-sex marriage campaign) as a step to the broader goal of sexual liberation, not the end in and of itself.”

MEDIA RELEASE



Wednesday, 29 August, 2012



The Green-Labor same-sex marriage bill tabled in the Tasmanian Parliament yesterday does not provide so called ‘marriage equality’, it creates an entirely different legal arrangement called ‘same-sex marriage’.



The Australian Christian Lobby said the Greens, Labor and Tasmanian gay activists were playing cruel politics with the hopes of the very small number of same-sex attracted Australians who might want to get ‘married’.



“What was tabled yesterday is not marriage, it is an entirely different legal concoction,” ACL’s Tasmanian Director Mark Brown said.



“The four bills in the Federal Parliament sought to change the definition of marriage but the Tasmanian bill creates a type of marriage apartheid with its own same-sex marriage celebrants who are different to real marriage celebrants.



“This is most likely because there are obvious constitutional issues with a State trying to legislate in an area of Commonwealth responsibility.”



Mr Brown said the tabling of this bill showed that the agenda of the Green-Labor Government and Tasmanian gay activists was not ‘marriage equality’ in Tasmania, it was about keeping alive the same-sex marriage campaign in order to put pressure on the Federal Parliament.



“This bill has been rushed seemingly to coincide with the four marriage bills being debated in the Federal Parliament, which have already made a farce of it and are most likely heading for defeat.



“It is a shame that the Parliament of Tasmania is being cynically manipulated in this way,” Mr Brown said.

MEDIA RELEASE



Tuesday, 28 August, 2012



The Australian Christian Lobby today applauded the comments of the WA shadow attorney-general John Quigley as he promised opposition support in repealing Labor’s micro-brothel legislation of 2008.



“We would not permit micro-brothels to run next to residences, full stop,” the shadow attorney-general has reportedly said.



ACL’s Western Australian Director Rhys Vallance said prostitution was inherently damaging and exploitative whether in a micro or macro brothel.



“We are pleased the opposition has vowed never to return to its very unpopular legislation,” Mr Vallance said.



“What disappoints me though is the Liberal government’s continued push to legalise brothels in so called tolerance zones.



“Evidence from around the world shows the increase in the demand for prostituted women resulting from legalised prostitution creates the perfect conditions for human trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable women,” he said.



“Governments around the world have tried many different models and still struggle to control prostitution.



“The best model is that of Sweden and now other Nordic countries where the purchase of sex is made illegal and the purchaser is penalised.



“The Premier promised the Christian constituency he would investigate the Swedish model at the last state election,” said Mr Vallance.



“We are yet to see this promise fulfilled and the longer we wait, the more likely the current bill before parliament will become as unpopular as the previous legislation now to be repealed.”

MEDIA RELEASE



Friday, 24 August, 2012



The fourth same-sex marriage bill to be tabled is a farcical attempt by Green-Labor politicians to give false prominence to an issue they know doesn’t have Parliamentary support, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.



The bill follows an identical private member’s bill by Labor’s Stephen Jones, and similar bills by Adam Bandt and Andrew Wilkie in the lower house, and a further bill by Greens’ Senator Sarah Hanson-Young in the Senate.



“The longer this drags on, the more farcical it becomes,” ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said today.



“What an insult to MPs that activist have loaded the Parliament with four bills, and that parliamentarians would become complicit in such an obvious waste of Parliamentary time.



“All this follows three Parliamentary inquiries in the past two years, none of which presented evidence of any discrimination against same-sex couples,” Mr Wallace said.



”Labor should think about the damage this is doing to their brand and put some distance between themselves and this shameful Greens-inspired activism,” Mr Wallace said.

MEDIA RELEASE



Wednesday, 22 August, 2012



The Australian Christian Lobby is calling on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to honour her election promise to protect marriage against attempts by Territories to mimic it.



ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said today's move by the ACT Labor-Green coalition to pass marriage-mimicking civil union legislation should be overturned by the Federal Parliament.



Two weeks before the 2010 election, Ms Gillard recorded a video interview with ACL.



Jim Wallace: On marriage – marriage is clearly defined in the Marriage Act as the union of a man and a woman to exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life, something important to the great majority of Christians. Your party’s committed to the definition of marriage, does that extend to not allowing it to be mimicked for instance in territories, for instance, by the inclusion of ceremonies and celebrants in a legal sense in legislation where parties don’t meet that definition of marriage?



PM Gillard: Look the Labor Party has worked this through and we have determined as a Labor Party that the Marriage Act will stay unchanged so marriage will be defined as it is in our current Marriage Act as between a man and a woman. And we have also said that the Labor Party policy is we do not want to see the development of ceremonies that mimic marriage ceremonies and so that’s the party policy and as Prime Minister, as Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party that’s obviously my policy, and that’s what you should expect to see from a Gillard Labor Government if we’re re-elected.



[See http://vimeo.com/13959730 from 12:10]



Mr Wallace said the ACT Labor-Green coalition's civil union legislation was not even wanted by the same-sex community and that today's move was just a stunt to cause further distraction of the Federal Parliament which is now bound to debate it, despite already having three same sex bills before it.



“This attempt to legislate same sex marriage by fatigue is reprehensible for its waste of parliamentary time and should be rejected by both major parties by joining in Federal Parliament to vote it down,” said Mr Wallace.



“This is the last sitting week before the ACT election and Labor and the Greens are using the ACT Assembly's time on what is really a low order issue in the electorate,” Mr Wallace said.

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday, August 21, 2012



The Australian Christian Lobby today released NT Labor’s written response to a policy questionnaire ahead of this week’s Northern Territory election.



ACL’s policy questionnaire sought all parties’ views on a range of issues of concern to the Christian constituency ahead of Saturday’s election. Only the Labor Party responded.



Labor’s response has been published on the ACL’s election website www.ntvotes.org.au along with audio from Terry Mills’ recent address to Christians and church leaders in Darwin, which Chief Minister Paul Henderson did not attend.



ACL’s Managing Director Jim Wallace said while he was glad Labor had replied, the content of their answers was disappointing. “Many Christians will be attracted to Labor’s positions on some social justice issues like homelessness and indigenous affairs,” Mr Wallace said.



“However their position on a number of important social issues leaves a lot to be desired.



“Labor’s position on issues such as human trafficking, same-sex marriage, adoption and surrogacy, as well as human rights will disappoint many Christians.



“Win or lose, I hope after Saturday’s election the Labor Party will try harder to engage with and earn the support of the Christian constituency.”



Mr Wallace said ACL was also disappointed that the Country Liberal Party has not yet provided a response to this questionnaire, however acknowledged Terry Mills for making the time recently to address Christians at a forum organised by ACL.



The Australian Christian Lobby is a non-party partisan organisation seeking to bring a Christian influence to politics. During election campaigns, ACL seeks to help inform and activate Christians that they may vote for candidates and parties who will advance a more moral, just and compassionate society.



Labor’s response to ACL’s policy questionnaire and an audio recording of Terry Mills’ address to Christians can be found at www.ntvotes.org.au.

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.