Tasmania: Ten Problems with the Greens’ Anti-Conversion Bill

At AP, the national online Presbyterian journal, Mark Powell shares his concerns about legislation which is being proposed for Tasmania –

“Can I ask that you would stop what you’re doing and please pray for Tasmania? As with what we have seen occur in many other states in Australia, the Greens are seeking to introduce an ‘anti-conversion’ bill and it should be of serious concern to everyone and especially to people of Christian faith. …”

– Read it all here.

U.K. clergyman cleared after 7-year legal battle over gender ideology

The latest in a long-running saga –

“The Rev. Bernard Randall, 53, an Anglican clergyman, reached a settlement with his former employer and was cleared in a Church of England safeguarding investigation after seven years of litigation, according to the Christian Legal Centre.

Randall in 2019 preached a sermon regarding gender ideology while working as a chaplain at an Anglican school, Trent College. He taught, in accordance with the Church of England’s official doctrine, that marriage was between one man and one woman. He said students should debate secular teachings on gender ideology, while urging them to respect alternate views.

The school reported Randall to a government counterterrorism agency and eventually fired him, while he simultaneously faced an inquiry from the Church of England and was barred from preaching. …” (emphasis added)

– Report from World News Group.

Statement from Christian Concern.

“… There has been no apology for the remarkable fact that the Church took nearly seven years to reach its conclusion, whereas the secular LADO took just one day to determine that it was not a safeguarding matter but rather an ‘issue regarding the subject’s beliefs which ran contrary to his employers [Trent College].’ The Church of England’s bishops declared in 2021 that Dr Randall’s sermon contained ‘nothing … outside the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England’, making the contrast in treatment even more extraordinary.

The independent investigator also said: ‘It is a matter for the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the Diocese of Derby as to what they feel is an appropriate role for Dr Randall to be considered for. He may choose to apply for a licence, for Permission to Officiate (PtO) or may apply for another role within a school or another educational facility.’

It now remains to be seen how the Derby Diocese and Bishop of Derby will actively help and support Dr Randall back into full time ministry within the CofE.” (emphasis added)

Earlier posts.

Photo: Christian Concern.

Why the Giggle v Tickle judgement is bad for women’s rights and a risk to religious freedom

“In her recent article, Paula Gerber argued the decision of the Federal Court of Australia in Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle was ‘good for trans rights and women’s rights’. With respect, I disagree and would like to explain why.

I believe the decision is bad for women’s rights — especially the rights of women to enjoy single-sex spaces and activities — and may also be bad for the rights of those from religious groups to control their spaces and activities in accordance with their faith commitments. I suspect the decision may also be bad for ‘trans rights’ in the long term. …”

– The ABC’s Religion & Ethics has published this opinion piece by Associate Professor Neil Foster.

Canada steps up its war on the Bible

“The Canadian parliament has passed Bill C-9, known as the Combating Hate Act; it received Royal Assent on June 18 and the provisions come into force on July 18. Mark Carney, the liberal Prime Minister, considers that the legislation is ‘a huge step forward in our mission to build a stronger, safer country’.

Bill C-9 will usher in a ‘dark day’ for Canadians of faith. Conservative MP Brad Redekopp described the Bill as ‘a tool to enforce liberal DEI ideology while leaving fundamental freedoms dangerously exposed’. Such is the danger to the church that the legislation been dubbed the ‘Bible Ban’ Bill. …”

– Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack, retired Presbyterian minister in Scotland, wrote this opinion piece for TCW.

The Anglican Church of Canada has published a [trial] euthanasia liturgy

From Anglican Samizdat in Canada –

“The state in Canada has euthanised around 80,000 people as part of its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme since its inception in 2016. That’s one in 20 deaths. So far, you have to be over 18 and of sound mind to request termination. The state even pays for it regardless of income, a claim it can’t make about dental care.

To solemnise the occasion, the Anglican Church of Canada has published a series of liturgies to be used at the bishop’s discretion. …”

– Read here.

Freedom Matters June 2026

The latest episode of Freedom Matters – for June 2026 – has been released – by Freedom for Faith.

“Our focus today is the Human Rights Bill that’s been introduced by the Greens. We’re going to look at that bill and think about what are the implications for religious freedom in particular.

The Human Rights Bill was introduced by the New South Wales Greens back in March of 2025 … was referred to … a parliamentary inquiry, in March of this year … with the submissions closing on the 3rd of July. There are some real challenges in this bill for religious freedom.”

– Bishop Michael Stead is Chair of Freedom for Faith. He is joined by Monica Doumit, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and Freedom for Faith board member.

– Watch here – 40 minutes.

How the World has Changed since Same-Sex Marriage

Mark Powell writes at AP, the national Australian Presbyterian journal –

“The challenge for Christians today is the same as it was for God’s people when they were in exile in Babylon. Whenever an orchestra of musical instruments were played, the people were told to bow down to the golden image, or else.

This is exactly where we all are again today. Except this time the image has every colour of the rainbow. Whatever is threatened if we don’t, it remains binding that we cannot bow down to their image but must continue to worship God alone. …”

– Read it here.

Freedom Matters — latest conversation

From Freedom for Faith –

“Freedom Matters is a conversation with Bishop Michael Stead and Monica Doumit about religious freedom issues across Australia.”

– The latest episode was published last month. Well worth watching to give an idea of current and future challenges.

Michael Stead is the Bishop of South Sydney and Chair of Freedom for Faith.
Monica Doumit is the Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and FFF board member.

Related:

In this three minute video, Freedom for Faith’s Executive Director Mike Southon explains Freedom for Faith’s mission.

Who is really pro-woman?

Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant shares his latest Minister’s Newsletter –

“Dear Friends, here’s a claim to make you sit up and pay attention:

– Post-feminist Australia is anti-woman in a number of problematic ways.

– But Bible-shaped Christianity is pro-woman in regard to dignity and protection.

Let me unpack this… within the confines of an article that I’m trying not to turn into an essay!

Post-feminist Australia is anti-woman in a number of ways. For example, sex-selective abortion is legal in Australia. That means if you discover you’re having a baby girl, but you really wanted a boy, there is nothing stopping you seeking a ‘termination’ of a living, human, pre-born baby for no other reason than sex.

This is not hypothetical. …”

– Read (and, if you wish, take action using the links) at the Cathedral website.

C of E General Synod committee approves debating Private Members Motion on compatibility of intimate same sex relationships

From The Church of England Evangelical Council –

“In July this year, the Church of England will see the most significant Private Members Motion (PMM) on sex and marriage in the last 40 years being brought to General Synod.

It has been confirmed by the Business Committee that the July General Synod will debate the PMM proposed by Professor Helen King, which seeks to affirm the compatibility of intimate same sex relationships with Christian discipleship.

The controversial motion… is cleverly worded and designed to secure support for a revision of the Church of England’s sexual ethics, while at the same time not explicitly asking for a change to Church of England doctrine.”

– Details at the CEEC. (Emphasis added.)

Faithfulness When Freedoms Diminish

“How should Christians live wisely and remain faithful to Christ in a society where religious freedom is on the wane? This is the question driving Patrick Parkinson’s new book, Unshaken Allegiance: Living wisely as Christians with diminishing religious freedoms.

Parkinson writes not as a theologian or a pastor but as a Christian legal academic, and as someone who has experienced intense religious restriction first-hand through his time in communist Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s.…”

– At TGC Australia, Marty Robinson reviews Patrick Parkinson’s new book.

The disturbing questions over a ‘hate speech’ conviction

From Julian Mann at TCW –

“Arguable the most significant reflection so far on the egregious conviction of Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen for ‘hate speech’ has come from an unlikely source – an Anglican theologian.

On Christian Today Dr Martin Davie argues that the international media coverage of the case has largely failed to get to grips with the underlying cultural reasons for Räsänen’s conviction.

On March 26, Finland’s Supreme Court found the former Interior Minister (equivalent of the Home Secretary) guilty on a 3-2 verdict of the crime of incitement against a minority group because of what she had written in a 2004 pamphlet, Male and Female He Created Them – Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity. …”

– Full article here.

Image thanks to ADF International. See their March 26 2026 article here.

Giggle v Tickle, the Federal Court Appeal — Two Steps Back

From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia  –

“The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has handed down its long-awaited decision in Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle [2026] FCAFC 64 (15 May 2026). …

Sadly, it has to be said that this decision of the Full Court might now be seen as ‘two steps back’.

In short, I think this appeal decision is also legally wrong, and I look forward to it being overturned on appeal to the High Court of Australia if that goes ahead. But the decision also strongly points to the need to amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984…”

– Read his full post which includes some possible implications of the decision.

Pastor in Northern Ireland convicted for preaching

News from The Christian Institute.

From Glebe to Gallipoli: Indigenous voices into Sydney Anglican history

From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net –

 “Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has decried the ‘deeply repugnant’ treatment of Aboriginal Elder Uncle Ray Minniecon at an Anzac Day service, as the Diocese prepares to hear the ‘untold stories’ of Indigenous Anglicans. …”

– Read here. And there’s a media release.

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