Remembering the Sacrifice: ANZAC Day 2024
“Grant Dibden, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, shares the story of sacrifice about Corporal Reginald Samuel Thorn from Broken Hill, NSW.
A recently discovered letter from Corporal Thorn was sent one day prior to his sacrifice at Pozières, France.
At deaths door, Reginald Thorn’s letter shares the hope of a better place beyond the grave made available through the greatest sacrifice made by Jesus.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13.”
– At Defence Anglicans.
Religious Freedom and the NSW Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024
Associate Professor Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia:
“I have prepared a paper exploring the operation of the NSW Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 in relation to the freedom of churches and other religious groups to continue to provide teaching and guidance based on the tenets of their faith. The Act has received assent but will not commence operation until 3 April 2025.
Overall, the Act contains much better protections for religious freedom and the welfare of vulnerable children and young people than similar legislation elsewhere. But there are some areas where it is not clear, and it will require careful consideration by religious groups, as well those interested in so-called ‘gender transition’ issues even from a non-religious background.”
Explainer: NSW Conversion Practices Ban
Anglican Media Sydney has published a helpful explanatory post on the newly passed NSW “Conversion Practices Ban Act”.
See it out for an outline of what the law means, and how church leaders have responded.
Navigating new laws on Conversion Practices: A Pastoral Approach to Compassion and Legal Compliance
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“What is permissible and not permissible under new conversion practice laws in New South Wales – with Neil Foster, Matt Aroney and Michael Stead.
Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead, who chairs Freedom for Faith and Living Faith, describes the new laws as the least worst that he has seen in Australia.
Associate Professor of Law at Newcastle University and author of the Law and Religion blog Neil Foster says the law is unnecessary, but better than has been implemented in other parts of Australia.
Professor Foster supports moves to ban oppressive or violent practices that are designed to change someone’s sexual attraction or impair gender identity. However, Professor Foster says the laws (which have a criminal and civil component) can go beyond those bad things to areas where a minister is explaining the teaching of the Bible and wanting to help people to live in accordance with the bible.
Acting Minister of Watsons Bay Matt Aroney says he doesn’t think the new laws will impact his pastoral practice. Matt wants to turn down the anxiety levels. He encourages to choose thoughtfully to respond to the people in front of us with the love and compassion that Jesus has.
Matt applies the principles of his new book ‘Renovated: How God makes us Christlike’ to caring well for those Christians experiencing same sex attraction or gender incongruence.”
– An important topic for ministers and churches to understand.
“Equality” bill — NSW Government Survey
From Freedom for Faith:
“The independent Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, has introduced his ‘Equality’ bill, which would significantly undermine religious freedom in NSW.
In collaboration with the heads of churches and a wide range of faith groups, Freedom for Faith has coordinated a campaign to call, write and meet with local MPs. We are also directly engaging with the Government and opposition on the future of the bill, and resourcing faith leaders in their advocacy.
The legislation has been referred to a Parliamentary Committee for Inquiry. The first stage is a public survey. We encourage everyone to participate, it will take less than a minute and help the Government understand our objections to this damaging legislation.”
The ‘Equality’ bill is a different piece of legislation from the ‘Conversion Practices’ legislation which passed a couple of weeks ago.
The NSW Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Community Services Survey is open until Sunday 14th April 2024.
Emphasis added.
Challenges to Religious Freedom: Conversion Practices law passed, ALRC report released
From Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:
“A brief update on two significant challenges to religious freedom which have emerged over the last few days.
First, in NSW, the Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024 has been rushed through both Houses of Parliament, receiving final approval on Friday March 22 after an all-night debate in the Legislative Council, and is now awaiting the Royal Assent.
…
The second concerning development is that on Wednesday 21 March the Australian Law Reform Commission released its report Maximising the Realisation of Human Rights: Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws (ALRC Report 142). Far from “maximising” human rights, the report (as expected by those who spoke to some of its researchers) would have the effect, if adopted, of seriously impairing the operation of faith-based schools around Australia.”
– Read here.
Related:
Response to the Australia Law Reform Commission report on Religious Educational Institutions – Media Release from the Diocese of Sydney, 21 March 2023 –
“The ALRC deserves a fail for the report and recommendations produced.
We are deeply disappointed that the recommendations fail to understand the ethos of faith-based schooling and would, if implemented, significantly impair schools’ ability to carry out their charter. …”
Federal ALRC Report Released – Freedom for Faith, 22 March 2024,
“On Thursday 21 March, the Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus tabled the final Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) Report following their Inquiry into Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws (see below).
On Tuesday 19 March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was reported saying that he would not act on the ALRC report or a Religious Discrimination Bill without bipartisan support.
A draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill has been shown to the Opposition and key faith leaders, but is not public. …”
NSW Parliament passes Conversion Practices Ban Act unamended
From Freedom for Faith:
“On March 22, 2024, the NSW Parliament passed the Conversion Practices Ban Act, a week after revealing the legislation. Despite a strong push from faith leaders and communities for improvements and clarifications, the legislation passed unamended.
We thank the Liberal Party, Shooters and Fishers, One Nation and Liberal Democrats who all moved amendments to improve the bill.
The legislation was the result of an extended campaign beginning before the 2023 election, and negotiations with the Government. While we do have strong concerns about the Act, it is also significantly better than the legislation in Victoria, and the proposals that were around in 2023. …”
More issues with the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024
Associate Professor Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia:
“I am happy to present a guest post today from Associate Professor Mark Fowler, raising more issues of concern from a religious freedom perspective with the recently released proposed Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024.
Dr Mark Fowler is Principal, Fowler Charity Law, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame, School of Law, Sydney and an External Fellow at the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, University of Queensland. …”
– Read it here.
No agreement on ‘least-worst’ laws
“More than a half a decade before the NSW government brought on its ‘Conversion Practices’ bill being debated this week, the Sydney Anglican Church expressed its opposition to harmful ‘conversion therapies’. It had become apparent from the testimony of survivors that some groups, including Christian faith groups, have employed harmful practices in an attempt to change or suppress feelings of attraction to the same sex, or gender dysphoria.
Our decision to speak out came in 2018, before the move to legislate against such practices across Australia. Since then, such legislation has moved beyond these now rare and bizarre practices and in some jurisdictions encroaches unnecessarily and ominously into areas of orthodox religious belief and ordinary faith practices including teaching and preaching, prayer, conversation and mutual encouragement.
There have been comments that churches and faith groups have been consulted and are happy with the bill now on the table. This is not the case. …”
While grateful for the government’s engagement with faith communities on legislation, the Archbishop concludes that,
“What we have ended up with is a ‘least worst’ version of such legislation compared to some other Australian jurisdictions but cannot be regarded by biblical Christian churches as representing good law.”
– The Daily Telegraph has today published this op-ed by Archbishop Kanishka Raffel – and SydneyAnglicans.net has a copy.
Good to read and share – and do pray for the Members of Parliament as the proposed legislation is scheduled to be debated today.
Bible Society Australia to close Eternity News
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the difficult decision made by Bible Society Australia Group to end Eternity News in its current form, marking the closing chapter of a significant era.
This means that effective 30 April 2024, the Eternity News print magazine, website, weekly newsletter and social media platforms, along with the Eternity Jobs website, will cease. …”
– Announcement from BSA Group CEO, Grant Thomson.
NSW Conversion Practices Bill — risks to religious freedom
“The NSW government has introduced a Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024 into the Parliament, with the apparent aim of moving it through very quickly. Legislation of this sort has been introduced in other jurisdictions around Australia and elsewhere.
The aim of banning oppressive and violent practices designed to ‘convert’ someone’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual is good, of course. But those practices, while they may have existed some time ago, are really no longer around. The problem with these laws now is that their drafting can be so broad that they interfere with the ordinary teaching of religious doctrines and life within families.
These laws are also often premised on the assumption that ‘gender transition’ is a good thing which should be freely available to children, whether or not with parental permission. They raise important issues of concern to all those interested in the welfare of children, whether or not from a religious perspective.
But laws of this sort can in particular have significant implications for religious freedom.…”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Associate Professor Neil Foster highlights important ways the proposed legislation can be greatly improved.
Do read the full article, and – since the legislation is likely to be debated today – urgently contact your Member of Parliament if you desire.
Fix the NSW “Conversion Practices” bill
We understand that the Parliament of NSW will debate the Conversion Practices Ban Bill starting this Tuesday (19th March 2024) and it could be fully passed through the Upper House as early as this Thursday.
From Freedom for Faith:
“The Conversion Practices Ban Bill is a genuine effort by the Government to fulfill its election promises to protect religious freedom.
However, at several points the Bill remains unclear, leaving ordinary Australians unsure what they can and cannot say or do. (For more information, you can read our full letter to MPs).
This legislation is likely to be debated this week, and may be passed by the end of Thursday.
Write to your MP NOW to ask them to fix this bill.”
– Contact details for your MP here.
NSW Conversion Practices Ban Bill — Freedom for Faith calls for clarity
“The NSW Government has introduced its Conversion Practices Ban Bill into Parliament on Wednesday March 13.
This legislation is a genuine attempt by the NSW Government to keep its promises to faith communities. However, there are still concerns about the breadth of behaviours that the bill covers.
In the lead up to the NSW election, Chris Minns made clear commitments that any legislation to ban ‘conversion practices’ would protect religious freedom, including prayer, teaching and consensual requests for support. These commitments were repeated by many Labor MPs and candidates at forums across the State.
This legislation represents a genuine effort by the Government to keep those promises. The legislation does protect against the most extreme violations of religious freedom that have been seen in the Victorian legislation and replicated in previous proposals in NSW. It also exempts medical practitioners, allowing them to continue doing what is in the best interest of the patient. Finally, the bill provides an exemption for parents to talk to their children, although unfortunately this does not extend to important family relationships such as grandparents.
However, the bill is weakened by the problematic use of the vague term ‘suppression’. Due to the breadth and uncertainty around what is a suppression practice, it remains unclear exactly what conduct would be in the scope of the bill. In other jurisdictions, simply encouraging a person to remain celibate outside of heterosexual marriage is considered ‘suppression’. This uncertainty risks breading fear in faith communities as to what is allowed.
We call on the Government to give greater clarity as to what is and is not a ‘suppression’ practice.”
– Freedom for Faith has published a webpage with the latest on the NSW Government’s proposed Conversion Practices Ban Bill.
You can also sign up for e-mail updates.
Nationwide evangelistic collaboration: Meet Jesus and the power of prayer
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“The old saying is ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ But could the spark of story telling, and celebrating faith increase evangelism in churches and on university campuses everywhere?
National Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students Richard Chin is emphasising the importance of prayer, through what he calls a ‘two-for-two’ model, and asks churches to join him in consistent branding in a nationwide push to introduce people to Jesus.
We discuss practical steps to integrate evangelism into the church’s DNA, champion the role of head, heart, and hand in fostering a consistent culture of outreach.
Rory Shiner is senior pastor of Providence Church, Perth and Chair of the Gospel Coalition Australia.
Baden Stace leads the ministry team at St Stephens Normanhurst in Sydney’s north.
Elliot Temple is missions pastor at Christ Church St Ives also in Sydney’s north.”
Queensland – new proposed discrimination law
“The Queensland government has released a draft of a proposed new discrimination law for public comment.
The proposed Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024 will make some radical changes to Queensland law, and of interest here is that it will seriously impact religious freedom in that State.
One of the ways that religious freedom is protected in Australia is through the inclusion in discrimination laws of ‘balancing clauses’ (provisions that balance the right not to be discriminated against, with the important right of religious freedom). But the new Bill will dramatically narrow those clauses.
I am pleased to present a guest blog post commenting on some religious freedom impacts of the draft Bill, from Dr Alex Deagon, an Associate Professor in the School of Law at QUT, and an internationally recognised researcher in religious freedom. …”
– See the guest post by Dr Alex Deagon at Associate Professor Neil Foster’s Law and Religion Australia blog.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…