“We need your voices, individually and collectively, to provide a reminder to our society, and especially self-appointed elites, that our Christian heritage is in fact what has made our nation and Western Civilisation strong,” Liberal Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz told the audience in his opening address at ACL’s Queensland Conference last weekend.



Senator Abetz was just one of many politicians who addressed the 150-strong crowd on the Saturday the 4th of May at Ashgrove Baptist Church. Other politicians who addressed the conference included Speaker of the Queensland Parliament, Hon Fiona Simpson MP, who is the LNP State Member for Maroochydore and Federal Labor MP Shayne Neumann.



[caption id="attachment_26059" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="MP Mark Robinson addresses the conference"][/caption]



The conference was themed “Preserving Public Spaces” to which Deputy Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and LNP Member for Cleveland Mark Robinson addressed particularly in his speech. The Queensland Government is currently investigating the introduction of new legislation that will make outdoor advertising G-Rated. ACL’s has been concerned about the nature of outdoor advertising become increasingly sexualised and how self-regulation hasn’t worked. The conference’s theme was picked up in media commentary around the event.



[caption id="attachment_26051" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Queensland Parliament's Speaker of the House Fiona Simpson"][/caption]



The Assistant Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Hon Tarnya Smith, raised the issue of foster care and adoption advocate Nadine Wright followed Ms Smith’s address talking about progress being made in this area due to the collaboration of parliamentarians and concerned citizens.



ACL’s newly-appointed Deputy Chairman Jim Wallace and Managing Director Lyle Shelton were also present. It was also a privilege to have Professor Scott Prasser, Director of the Public Policy Institute at the Australian Catholic University, address the conference.



The conference also recognised the need and importance for unity between churches in cities through a panel involving Toowoomba City Church Senior Pastor Ian Shelton and his daughter Toowoomba City Church City Women Pastor Letitia Shelton as well as Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Brisbane Charles Newington. Toowoomba has proven to be a leading example of what unity between churches can achieve with events such as Easterfest coming out of the city’s collaboration.

Senator Eric Abetz speech at ACL Qld Conference from Australian Christian Lobby on Vimeo.

Tanya Mathias and Pip Douglas at ACL Qld Conference 2013 from Australian Christian Lobby on Vimeo.







Independent MP, Liz Cunningham address Qld ACL Conference 4 May 2013 from Australian Christian Lobby on Vimeo.







Hon Fiona Simpson MP addressing ACL Qld conference 2013 from Australian Christian Lobby on Vimeo.