Inside Australia’s Hate Speech Backflip and what it means for Faith Communities
A special edition of The Pastor’s Heart –
“A roller-coaster week for religious freedom in Australia.
In just days, sweeping Australian national legislation moved from deeply alarming to not great, but not terrible — after intense pressure from faith leaders across the country.
In this special bonus episode of The Pastor’s Heart, we speak with Michael Stead, Bishop of South Sydney and director of Freedom for Faith, who had a front-row seat as the law was debated, amended, and finally passed late at night in Parliament.
What was originally proposed? Why did faith leaders unite in an extraordinary last-minute letter to the Prime Minister? Which parts of the bill remain concerning — and which dangers were narrowly avoided?
We walk through how the law was actually made — and what it now means for preaching, Bible teaching, protest, and free speech in Australia.”
The message of the National Day of Mourning for Bondi
“ ‘Today we remember, honour and mourn our fellow Australians who were robbed of their lives on December 14 last year,’ said the Archbishop of Sydney on the National Day of Mourning, ‘and we express our sympathy and solidarity with all who grieve their loss.’…”
– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on today’s National Day of Mourning for the victims of the terror attack at Bondi.
A new era for Australian evangelical university ministry
The Pastor’s Heart this week:
“As a new year begins, Australian evangelical student ministry is marking a significant leadership transition.
After 23 years of stable and influential leadership, Richard Chin has handed over the leadership of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students to Pete Sorrenson. The handover was symbolically marked at the Big National Conference in Canberra last December, where Richard preached the first half of the conference and Pete the second.
We step back to reflect on what the Chin era has meant for Australian evangelicalism. How has campus ministry shaped churches, training colleges and mission agencies over the past four decades? What has changed on university campuses since the turn of the millennium? And what kind of AFES will be needed for the next generation of students?
Long-standing campus leaders Tim Thorburn and Andrew Sennett, offer perspectives from both metropolitan and regional university contexts.
The discussion moves beyond gratitude and legacy to ask harder, forward-looking questions. If many of the theological and ministry convictions once championed by AFES are now mainstream, what is AFES uniquely for today? Are inherited evangelism models still effective on contemporary campuses? How central should international student ministry be? And does Australia’s increasingly fragmented university landscape require more than one model of campus ministry?”
Faith Leaders “express serious concern regarding the Combatting Antisemitism Hate and Extremism Bill 2026”
A wide range of Faith Leaders, including the leaders of Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Islamic, Buddhist, and Sikh communities, have written to the Prime Minister expressing “serious concern regarding the Combatting Antisemitism Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, both because of its (perhaps unintended) adverse implications for religious freedom and freedom of expression and the inadequate consultation and review”.
They conclude, “We offer these views in a constructive spirit and stand ready to engage further with all parties to develop appropriate amendments to ensure an appropriate legislative response to hatred and extremism.”
This is an important letter and deserves wide distribution.
It would also be good to share with your Federal Member of Parliament for their information.
Federal “Hate Crimes” Legislation
Freedom for Faith have added more to their web page of concerns about the proposed Federal Hate Crimes legislation, including the above video from Mike Southon, Executive Director of Freedom for Faith.
If you have concerns about the proposed legislation, this would be a very good time to urgently contact your Federal Member of Parliament – and also to share that page with others.
“Coalition condemns hate speech laws as ‘unsalvageable’”
From a Canberra Times article – mainly on political opposition to the Federal Government’s proposed “hate speech” laws –
“Religious leaders have urged the government to halt and rewrite the laws, saying it may open people up to prosecution over past remarks in its current form.
Anglican Bishop Michael Stead said the reform created a ‘minefield of definitions’ about hate and the bill included a retrospective element in relation to banned groups.
Dr Stead told a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday the bill could be expanded to claim Christian teaching caused serious harm, leading to a Christian organisation being listed as a hate group. …”
See also:
“The Federal Government has released its draft Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill.
We need legislation to combat antisemitism and racial hate, but this rushed bill has significant risks to religious freedom.
The legislation was released on the January 12, submissions were due on the 15th, and voting is expected on January 22. In this timeframe it is impossible to get careful analysis of the legislation and its possible impacts. …”
– Freedom for Faith encourages readers to contact their Federal Member of Parliament with some urgency.
Archbishop of Sydney supports calls for a national inquiry into the Bondi Massacre
Here’s a Media Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney:
Media Statement
“This act of evil … deserves the most thorough investigation and response”
The terrorist attack on Jewish Australians celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025, has produced an outpouring of grief, prayer and support for our fellow Australians in the Jewish community.
This act of evil is an extraordinary event in our history, which has ongoing impacts for all Australians, and therefore deserves the most thorough investigation and response.
Since the attack, the solidarity of communities of faith with the Australian Jewish community has demonstrated our unanimity that all Australians, whatever their faith or cultural background, are entitled to live free from the threat of violence. Our own Christian response is informed by the biblical commands to ‘live peaceably with all, as far as it depends on you’ and to ‘overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:18, 21).
I commend the State and Federal governments for their actions so far, including the announcement of the Richardson Review into the performance of Australia’s federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies. It will be important to identify any gaps or obstacles to the effective discharge of their duties that may exist.
However, we must go further. I urge our national government to acknowledge the voice of those directly impacted – the families of the victims and the survivors of the attack – and to heed their calls for a national inquiry.
The attack at Bondi represents the culmination of a period of rising antisemitism across the nation, including the firebombing of places of worship, education and commerce, as well graffiti attacks, and destruction of property including in residential areas.
Antisemitism, with its long, tragic and unique history is a threat to all Australians because it suggests that one part of the community is less entitled to the safety and respect that should be enjoyed by all and protected by all.
A national inquiry is an appropriate and essential part of a comprehensive response and recognises the singular and ignominious place that this horrific event now holds in our national life. The lives of 15 innocent Australians demand nothing less.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
7 January 2026.
– Source: SydneyAnglicans.net
Image: Archbishop Raffel at the Great Synagogue in Sydney, 18 December 2025.
“We will not turn away from anti-Semitism in silence”
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel –
“Sydney Anglicans speak with one voice when I say that we abhor anti-Semitism. And we will not turn away from anti-Semitism in silence.”
From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net –
“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has made a passionate gesture, expressing solidarity with the Jewish community as they mourn victims of the Bondi massacre.
The Archbishop represented Sydney Anglicans at an outdoor memorial on Wednesday and then spoke at the Great Synagogue to mark Hanukkah and mourning for massacre victims.
Archbishop Raffel’s speech ended with him singing a Hebrew blessing as the congregation joined in. …”
– Read the full report – along with the Archbishop’s full remarks – here.
Updated with video, courtesy of Russell Powell —
Top image: Screenshot from the video posted by SydneyAnglicans.net.
No Longer The Lucky Country for Jews
Published last Friday, just two days before the attack at Bondi, this interview is disturbingly prophetic.
“Julian Leeser joins John Anderson for an assessment of the disturbing return of anti-semitism to the Australian public sphere.
Leeser sets out the historical contours of anti-semitism and why Hamas’s October 7 attacks became a catalyst for hostility on Australian soil.”
While the discussion does critique some of the political responses to anti-semitism, the video is especially useful to help us understand how people in the Jewish community are feeling – and those feelings must have been amplified greatly in the last week. Fuel for your prayers.
– Watch here.
Mourning with those who mourn
“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has laid flowers at the scene of the Bondi massacre as Sydney Anglicans express sorrow at the death of 15 people and injuries to 25 others in a terrorist attack at a Hanukkah festival. .…
Churches have been urged to hold one minute’s silence on Sunday for the victims of the massacre. …
Archbishop Raffel will join faith leaders at 7:15pm on Wednesday night on the forecourt in front of St Mary’s Cathedral. The Prime Minister and Premier will be speaking at the memorial gathering. The public is invited.”
– Russell Powell has the story at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Image: Seven News via SydneyAnglicans.net.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel on love in the face of terror at Bondi
From the Pastor’s Heart – a very timely edition –
“Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel calls on Sydney to embrace our Jewish neighbours in love, friendship and support and to reject antisemitism, violence and hatred.
Archbishop Raffel says this is the way of Jesus.
Minister of Bondi Anglican Martin Morgan says they sheltered people in the church last night, who were terrified, running for their lives.
In a The Pastor’s Heart special, Archbishop Raffel is joined by minister of Bondi Anglican Church Martin Morgan and Messianic Jew Ben Pakula (also an Anglican Minister) in praying for those family and friends and the Bondi community, impacted by the gunman opening fire – leaving 16 dead including a 10 year old girl.”
And the page linked also includes the prayers made available by St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.
Archbishop of Sydney Statement on the Bondi terrorist attack
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5
We have been shocked and sickened by the horrific terrorist attack on Sydney’s Jewish community last night at Bondi Beach.
We embrace our Jewish neighbours and fellow citizens in love, friendship and support. We reject antisemitism, violence and hatred.
We pray to the God of all comfort and the Father of compassion, for the safety and protection of the Jewish community. We pray for those grieving the tragic loss of loved ones, those injured or traumatised, for the police and medical workers, and for our government and security agencies as they respond.
We pray for the peace, safety and recovery of the community in Bondi and more widely across Sydney.
We give thanks for the many people who offered help to those around them, including Ahmed al Ahmed who bravely confronted and disarmed one of the gunmen.
During this Jewish festival of Hanukkah, and as Christians anticipate the celebration of Christmas, we give thanks that Jesus, a Jewish man, came into our world of sorrow and sin, to bring the light of life, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
15 December 2025.
— Media statement from Archbishop Kanishka Raffel.
See also the Archbishop’s video version of his statement.
These prayers have been written for anyone who wishes to use them – PDF file.
Earlier related posts:
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s statement on antisemitism — 13 October 2023.
“In recent days we have witnessed repugnant expressions of antisemitism in Sydney which have appalled most Australians and heightened fears among the Jewish community. …”
Action on anti-semitism – SydneyAnglicans, 21 January 2025.
“Any attack on a place of worship is an attack on the principles of freedom of religion, association and conscience, which are foundational for our multicultural and cohesive community,” the Archbishop said in his fourth public statement since the crisis began.
Antisemitic slurs must be rejected – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, 10 November 2025.
“The rally staged outside the New South Wales Parliament on Saturday has rightly drawn condemnation from across the community – particularly as it occurred on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 pogrom against Germany’s Jewish community. …”
Threats “will be repudiated by all Australians of goodwill” – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, 05 March 2025.
“The threat of a mass shooting against a Western Sydney mosque is abhorrent and distressing, especially as it references the horrific attack in Christchurch that resulted in the murder of 51 people. …”
Further antisemitic attacks – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, 13 January 2025.
“For the second time in two months, I am taking the step of expressing the dismay of many Sydneysiders at grotesque acts of antisemitism in our city. …”
Antisemitic attacks – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, 11 December 2024.
“The latest attack on the Jewish community in Sydney is egregious, cowardly and despicable. All people of good will, faith or none, will condemn this outrage.…”
Protest action in Sydney Square – Anglican Diocese of Sydney, 30 September 2024.
“It is a long-standing principle that protests around the precincts of St Andrew’s Cathedral, which flow into Sydney Square and the Town Hall, are not supported in any way by the Diocese of Sydney. …”
Prayer for Israel – Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, 08 October 2023.
“Sydney Anglicans have been shocked and distressed to hear of the attacks on the Jewish people and the State of Israel that have taken place over the last 24 hours. …”
And a reminder to pray for those in authority:
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV.
Bondi pastoral note from the Bishop of Bathurst
Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst Mark Calder has released this pastoral note this morning, in text and on video.
“In moments like this, we are reminded of the radically upside-down nature of the Christian faith. Our leader — our King — urges us to love our enemies, not to kill them. Our Lord laid down his life for his enemies. Our Lord forgave those who drove in the nails.”
“Dear friends across Diocese,
What we’ve been hearing about has disturbed our hearts deeply.
Many of us don’t even know how to process it. I know for myself that I turned the TV off last night — not out of denial, but as an act of self-protection.
What has happened is not only tragic; it is outrageous. Anger is an appropriate response when something like this occurs on our shores — reflecting ancient conflicts between peoples whose origins are far away from here. We don’t want this here. We don’t want it anywhere, of course. And yet we find ourselves asking: why bring it here? Don’t people come to Australia to escape such things?
In moments like this, we are reminded of the radically upside-down nature of the Christian faith. Our leader — our King — urges us to love our enemies, not to kill them.
Our Lord laid down his life for his enemies.
Our Lord forgave those who drove in the nails.
And our Lord will one day return to bring justice, and his righteous rule will last forever.
This is what Advent is about. It is designed to lift our eyes from the muck of this world to the coming — the Advent — of our King, who will right all wrongs and rid the world of evil and death. Come, Lord Jesus.
But what are we meant to do about this today?
Teachers and children still have to get up and go to school. Retailers will open their stores. Accountants will pore over the books. Farmers will be out and about — some still finishing harvest.
Life goes on, even when our hearts are heavy.
The only way we can deal with this is:
• to cast all our cares on him who cares for us
• to admit that there is much in this world we will never understand
• to turn to the Lord who is close to the broken-hearted, who saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34)
• and to pray.
We pray for those being treated in hospital — for healing and comfort.
We pray for the families of those who have died — for comfort in their distress.
We pray for the many witnesses to what has happened, who may be traumatised for a long time to come, and for police and paramedics who are stretched and under great strain — that they may receive the care and help they need.
We pray for members of the Jewish community, who may be living on edge — for protection, reassurance, and hope.
And yes, we pray even for the perpetrators and those who stand with them — that they may bow the knee to Jesus, who loves his enemies.
Above all, we turn our eyes to Jesus — the true light of the world — who alone can bring light into this darkness.
The message of Advent, and then of Christmas, is the message of Jesus coming to deal with evil and to bring righteousness. That is the only reason that, even in the midst of today’s darkness, we can still be people of hope and expectation.
God bless and comfort you today.
May God draw you to himself and remind you of his love.
May the Lord grant you that peace which passes understanding.
Mark Calder, Bishop.”
A nation in shock
“Just minutes before, they had prayed for the Jewish community at the start of Chanukah, then, as the congregation of Bondi Anglican Church was leaving, they heard shots ringing out at the beach nearby.
‘A whole crowd of people ran past our church building which goes down to the beach, very close to where the violence occurred,’ said Bondi’s senior minister Martin Morgan. ‘So as we were leaving the church we saw people running past and we came back into the church building. Two or three of our church members who are in the crowd saw what had happened.’ …”
– Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net has this report and video from Martin Morgan, Rector of the parish of Bondi.
Urgent prayer for victims of Bondi shooting
“Please join me in praying urgently for the injured and families of victims of the shooting at Bondi Beach.
Pray for the safety of the Jewish community and residents of Bondi. Pray for the police and medical teams in their work. Lord have mercy.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…