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.
Why the “equality” Bill is a threat to religious freedom — and what you can do about it
“The Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 introduced by Independent MP Alex Greenwich is due to be debated next month and voted on in March.
The bill makes wide-ranging changes to 20 pieces of NSW legislation that will undermine religious freedom and entrench a radical gender ideology in NSW. …”
– Bishop Michael Stead writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.
He emphasises,
“Christians need to act immediately to make our opposition to this bill known.
We need to contact our local State members. Most politicians have little idea about the contents – let alone the consequences – of this bill.
It is important they hear our concerns before the bill’s scheduled voting day on March 14.”
This is an important article and deserves to be widely shared.
See also contactyourmp.org.au for background and helpful resources.
I think we need to mention the war
“By ‘the war’, I mean world war II, of Basil Fawlty fame. The war during which the Holocaust happened.
Since the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas, there’s been an alarming upswing in antisemitism in Australia. What is antisemitism? A useful definition is:
a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
– Theologian and ACL Council member Dr. Lionel Windsor reports on today’s ‘Never Again is Now’ rally in Sydney.
Related:
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s statement on antisemitism – 13 October 2023.
“Equality” Bill threatens religious freedom in NSW
“Independent MP Mr A H Greenwich last year introduced a private member’s bill called the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 (“the Bill”) into the NSW Parliament. It is understood that time will be allowed for debate on the Bill on February 8, 2024.
Freedom for Faith has an excellent overview of the many areas covered by the Bill and why the Bill should not proceed. Most private member’s Bills are not approved, but there is a danger that some MP’s might support some of the provisions of this Bill.
In this post I will focus on some of the dangers to religious freedom in NSW if the Bill were passed. (There are so many that I may not cover them all in one post, and if I can I will try to pick up those I miss here in a later post.)
… the amendments to s 56, if enacted, would radically undermine the freedom of religious groups to operate in accordance with their faith. They, along with the other proposals in this Bill, should be rejected if they come to a vote in the Parliament. As noted above, Freedom for Faith has provided a summary of the other proposals in the Bill, and links at that website will allow those who want to, to write to their MP to let them know their views.”
– Neil Foster draws attention to an alarming development in New South Wales.
Do take the time to read it all – and consider contacting your MP.
(Image: Assoc Prof. Foster at a Sydney Diocese training day.)
Victorians gather to lift their eyes at Summer Under the Son
“Hundreds of people have gathered to lift their eyes to God’s work throughout the world at CMS Victoria’s annual Summer Under the Son conference in Melbourne. …”
Voluntary assisted dying laws partly invalid
“An important decision handed down recently in the Federal Court of Australia rules that part of Victoria’s euthanasia law (the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic)(‘VADA 2017’)) is invalid, as it authorises assistance with suicide, which is prohibited by Federal law.
The decision, of Abrahams J as a single judge in the Federal Court, is Carr v Attorney-General (Cth) [2023] FCA 1500 (30 November 2023). The implication is that similar provisions of other State and Territory laws are also invalid. The relevant federal law, sections 474.29A and 474.29B of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), in broad terms, makes it an offence to assist or encourage someone to commit suicide through use of a ‘carriage service’, most commonly by use of a telephone (either a voice call or a text message), email, or some internet service. …”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster looks at the implications of a recent decision.
Image from a Diocese of Sydney training day.
New NSW “Religious Vilification” law
From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:
“An amendment to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, making certain types of speech connected with religion unlawful, commenced operation on 11 November 2023.
The amendment, made by the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Vilification) Act 2023 (No 15 of 2023) (‘the ADA’), is a form of ‘religious vilification’ law which has not previously been in force in NSW. It is not as bad as some forms of such laws in terms of its effect on religious freedom, but it is worth being aware of its potential operation. It will be important, for example, for those preaching and teaching the Bible (or other religious texts) to understand what the law does, and perhaps more importantly, does not, prohibit. …”
Australia: Meet Jesus!
“In 2024 the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) is prayerfully embarking on a national mission; the theme is ‘Meet Jesus’ and the focus is John’s Gospel.
The AFES will, of course, be focused on proclaiming Christ on university campuses. But they have invited churches, Christian organisations, and individuals to join them, where possible, by using the same Gospel (John), the same strategy (reading John with others) and the same branding (Meet Jesus). …”
– From The Gospel Coalition Australia.
Sea changes on euthanasia, conversion therapy and religious freedom – with Mike Southon and Monica Doumit
A “Must-Watch” episode of The Pastor’s Heart:
“It’s going to be an especially bumpy six months for religious freedom issues in New South Wales.
Legalised Euthansia will be rolled out in just a few weeks. But what about faith based aged care institutions, where organizations and staff are conscientious objectors to euthanasia?
Then there’s the Law Reform Commission inquiry into religious schooling and whether the religious exemptions to anti discrimination law should be removed.
And the debate over conversion therapy will come to a head in the parliament.
Monica Doumit is Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Catholic Church in Sydney… and was one of the presenters at the Freedom for Faith Conference in Sydney.
Mike Southon is executive director of Freedom for Faith.”
– Watch or listen here. A hugely important topic.
Time to contact Members of Parliament!
“To know and love the indigenous people of this land”
In his response to the Voice Referendum result, Archbishop Kanishka Raffel says there should be renewed effort towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ministry.
“The people of Australia have now spoken on the Voice to Parliament,” the Archbishop said in a statement. “Whatever your reaction to the outcome it is timely to remember what the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Peoples Ministry Committee affirmed this year – it is God’s voice that is sovereign over all peoples and lands.”…
– Read Russell Powell’s report at SydneyAnglicans.net – complete with a brief video message from the Archbishop.
Full statement below:
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Public Statement
The people of Australia have now spoken on the Voice to Parliament.
Whatever your reaction to the outcome it is timely to remember what the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Peoples Ministry Committee affirmed this year – it is God’s voice that is sovereign over all peoples and lands.
The conversation around the referendum highlights the need for reconciliation with the indigenous people of this land and should spur us on to the true work of reconciliation through Jesus.
Our ministries of care and education for and by indigenous people, through Anglicare and our schools, are an important part of this.
I was encouraged by our last Synod warmly welcoming and listening to the voices of our indigenous brothers and sisters. I recall the words of the Rev Michael Duckett who challenged us to spend as much time as we have spent talking about the Voice, talking about the spread of the gospel among first nations people.
“Put your efforts and your prayers,” he said “into the spread of the gospel among my people here so the Sydney Diocese can showcase to the world what it means to be reconciled to the First Nations peoples through Christ Jesus.”
What a wonderful and humbling vision! To know and love the indigenous people of this land. To direct our prayers and our efforts into helping to raise up the next generation of ministry leaders. To pray for First Nations people, young and old, to know the Lord.
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us, so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. PS 67:1,2
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
15 October 2023.
National Police Remembrance Day 2023
Friday 29 September 2023 is National Police Remembrance Day.
It’s a good reminder to pray for all who serve in the police services, and also Christian chaplains to the Police.
in 2018, Archbishop Glenn Davies wrote a prayer for the occasion.
Image: NSW Police Legacy.
Senate committee rejects call for inquiry into hospital takeover
“A Senate bill to force the ACT Legislative Assembly to conduct an inquiry into the takeover of the former Calvary Public Hospital Bruce should not pass, a committee has concluded. Source: Canberra Times.
The Labor-led legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee has said the bill “would undermine the independence” of the territory’s legislature.
But opposition members have dissented from the committee’s recommendations and have recommended the bill should pass. …
The opposition members accused the committee of not adequately engaging with concerns raised in 65 submissions and 7000 letters received by the committee in regard to the bill.”
– Report from CathNews with links to other news stories.
Photo: Calvary Hospital, Bruce, in Canberra’s north via Calvary Hospital website.
The Bishop of Bathurst on the Referendum
From Bishop Mark Calder on the referendum:
“I do not think it is the role of bishops or church bodies to encourage people to vote one way or the other, either in general elections or the upcoming referendum.
However, it is appropriate for me to urge us all to engage in the process carefully and prayerfully, seek out accurate and helpful information and then trust our wise sovereign Lord for the outcome.
To this end, I distribute a reflection from the Rev’d Neville Naden who many of you will know. And I share again, a statement arising from the national Anglican bishops’ meeting in March. I trust both these brief pieces are helpful and I commend the coming weeks and the outcome to your prayers.”
– Bishop Calder’s statement, and the two documents he mentions, can be found on the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page.
For ease of reading, the Rev Neville Naden’s short reflection is reproduced below –
A short reflection on ‘The Voice’, by the Rev’d Neville Naden
Not long after the last election the Prime Minister of our country announced that he would commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
This statement involved a three-pronged approach to addressing the issues of First Nations People in our country. The first being a voice, then treaty and finally truth.
It was not long after this that I received an email asking the question, ‘Is a voice to parliament a part of God’s will for this country?’ to which I replied, ‘nothing happens outside of God’s will!’
Friends, as a follower of Jesus, and as I reflect on my Christian response to the proposed voice to parliament, two things are vitally important as I reflect in this space.
Firstly, I need a healthy understanding of the sovereignty of God. That is to say that nothing in all of history happens outside His will. God either ordains things to happen or he allows it. (More on this a little latter)
Secondly, the very thing that underpins ‘The Voice to Parliament’ is a desire that people living in this country would reconcile with First Nations People.
Reconciliation
As I reflect in this space, I too want to see reconciliation. Reconciliation is a good thing. However, is such a thing ever possible? If conciliation never existed between Fist Nations people and the wider community, how can we have reconciliation?
Many of my people have asked the question, ‘How can we have reconciliation when unity has never existed in the first place?’ To have reconciliation there needs to be some kind of conciliation to start with. This then beckons the question, ‘Is reconciliation possible where unity never existed?’ The obvious answer is no. Certainly not outside the church at least.
God is the only source of a reconciliation that works. This reconciliation is possible because God has initiated it.
In 2 Cor 5:17, we have that well known verse that says, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here’ Note the very next verse, ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation’.
True reconciliation is only possible because God makes it possible. He makes it possible by sending his Son into the world to give his life a ransom for many.
It is this reconciliation that says, it is not what you do for me or what I do for you that brings about oneness unity. It is what Christ has done for both of us. It removes the human element.
The reconciliation that this country is trying to achieve will never be realised outside the church. Conciliation is the only possible outcome. The reconciliation that this country is working towards says, ‘If you do something for me and I do something for you, we can have a relationship.’ However, this is not biblical reconciliation.
Friends, we are called to a biblical model of reconciliation. The model that says, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. A reconciliation that says, its not what you do for me or what I do for you, it’s what Christ has done for both of us.
Sovereignty
But what about sovereignty? Why is a healthy understanding of the sovereignty of God important in this space?
The Bible declares that God is the only sovereign and he never gives His sovereignty to anyone. He only gives stewardship and custodianship of His creation to His created humanity.
Someone once asked the question, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ Friends there are no good people. The only one (Jesus) who was good was crucified, buried, and risen. We are all deserving of God’s wrath. However, He chooses to have mercy on some and not others.
When we read the Old Testament, we find in the narrative section many events whereby God is exercising his sovereignty.
For example, Joshua 1:1-5, God says to Joshua, to get ready to go in and occupy the land that he promised to Moses. Note what He says, verse three I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.’ Here the Creator is exercising his sovereignty over his creation. The promises that he made to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3; Isaac, Genesis 26:1-5; and Jacob, Genesis 28:10- 22, are continuing to be rolled out. Here we see God causing people to be displaced from their lands because of His plan for his created humanity.
As we look back on the events in the Old Testament, we can see God’s footprint and handiwork all over the narrative. Once we get to the New Testament and we get to the end of the book of Acts we tend to think that God is finished with his creation. My friends, this is not the case. God is still rolling out his plan for his creation. We might not see it as clearly looking forward as we do looking back, but he is continuing to roll out His plan even when we cannot see it, nor understand it.
Did God ordain Australia to be colonised by the British? Absolutely! If He didn’t, it would not have happened. This is not a popular thought, and I will probably get push back on this from many who cannot see God would ever allow that to happen nevertheless ordain it to happen.
As was mentioned earlier, nothing, and I mean nothing, happens outside of God’s will. For if it did, God would not be in control nor sovereign.
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming referendum, we can be assured that God’s will, will be done and regardless of which side of the debate we sit, we need to be OK with that.
It is my prayer that we, the church, will not become embroiled in such activities. We need to stay the course when it comes to our core business, that of proclaiming Christ and a reconciliation that works.
The Rev’d Neville Naden,
Bishop’s nominated representative for Bathurst Diocese on NATSAIC
Indigenous Ministry Officer, BCA
02 September 2023
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What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…