Weekend Wrap for 10 October 2021

10 October 2021

Welcome to the NSL Weekend Wrap for 10 October 2021, where you can catch up on the latest secular-related news from around the country.

Don’t forget that the Weekend Wrap, which aims to help secular-minded Australians keep abreast of the latest news on current issues, is also published on our Facebook page!

At the National Level

A meeting of Australia's Plenary Council, the highest formal gathering of all local churches in the country, discussing the future of the Catholic Church in Australia, is on now. (ABC News)

Australia has signed a statement supporting the protection of rights of Intersex people at the UN Human Rights Council for the second year in a row. (Star Observer)

Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells says there is a chance the third iteration of the Religious Freedom Bill might not get passed because the government will run out of time. (Out in Perth)

Hillsong founder Brian Houston will plead not guilty to concealing information about child sexual abuse, a Sydney court has heard. (ABC News)

A petition requesting the House of Representatives “make gender-affirming and gender reassignment services eligible for Medicare benefits,” has received over 120,000 signatures. (Star Observer)

Around the Country

VIC: Melbourne priests could find themselves banned from saying Sunday mass if they are unvaccinated under the state’s Covid-19 public health orders. (The Australian; Paywalled)

NSW: Dominic Perrottet has become NSW's next premier, with the right faction member and conservative Catholic sworn in as the state’s new leader. He won a NSW Liberal party room ballot against Planning Minister Rob Stokes on Tuesday morning to become the 46th premier and youngest in the state’s history. (SBS News)

NSW: Dominic Perrottet is set to become the next premier of NSW. Who is he? (The Conversation)

NSW: Dominic Perrottet is NSW’s youngest premier, and he might be the most conservative one in decades. (The New Daily)

NSW: Women's groups have welcomed Dominic Perrottet's pledge to be the "family Premier" but some are calling for a guarantee that he will not use his religious beliefs to restrict women's reproductive choices and access to abortions. (ABC News)

NSW: Dominc Perrottet won’t reopen NSW early and slams ‘sad’ criticisms of his religion. (The New Daily)

VIC: Fears are growing within parts of the Liberal Party that members of a radical church accused of historic links with gay conversion therapies are making a bid to enter Victorian politics. (SMH)

NSW: The Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) is urging its members and supporters in New South Wales to raise their voices in support of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) during the coming days, with a bill expected to be tabled in parliament next week. (RSA)

Commentary and Analysis

Jane Caro: Women already face discrimination when seeking the care they’re entitled to. Morrison’s Religious Discrimination Bill is about to legalise it. (The Big Smoke)

Renae Barker, senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia, looks at mandatory COVID vaccination requirements in relation to places of worship. (The Conversation)

Mike Seccombe writes that despite the attention given to his religious conservatism, it is Dominic Perrottet’s reformist economic zeal that will likely define his premiership. (The Saturday Paper)

Gemma Tognini writes on the response to Dominic Perrottet's Catholicism that "the further we push towards being progressive the more we are actually regressing" in tolerance. (The Australian)

John Carmody: The contemporary Liberal Party is full of Catholics, so it’s unsurprising that the church has one of its own as NSW’s new premier. Only time will tell how much Dominic Perrottet’s religion will influence his leadership. (Pearls and Irritations)

Julian Leeser, Federal Member for Berowra, writes that the media’s reaction to Perrottet's ascendancy in NSW reveals its lack of religious literacy. (Catholic Weekly)

Kevin McGovern writes on the plight of LGBTIQA+ Catholics and whether the Plenary Council will ignore their needs. (ABC News)

Francis Sullivan: Unless all the implications of the sex abuse scandal are faced head-on, the Church will struggle to be identified for anything else. (Pearls and Irritations)

Bishop Michael Stead writes on "why we must oppose assisted suicide". (Sydney Anglicans)

The Catholic Leader quotes a sermon by Bishop Robert E. Barron (US) stating that "ideological secularism ... appears to be compartmentalising religious faith and moral thinking into something akin to 'a hobby'." (Catholic Leader)

Events and Advisories

Minister for Human Rights, Tara Cheyne, is running a petition calling on the Australian government to restore the right of Territories to pass laws on VAD. She also recommends people email the Commonwealth Attorney-General with their views, at attorney@ag.gov.au.

Fiona Newton is petitioning Federal and State Education Ministers to ban Hillsong Church from proselytising in Australian Schools.

Sign up to the #DontDivideUs campaign currently being run by a group of pro-secular groups including the NSL, to act against the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill.

Dying With Dignity NSW are petitioning the NSW Parliament to work together to deliver voluntary assisted dying laws in 2021.

Dying With Dignity NSW has a tool that makes it easy for people to contact their federal MPs and senators to request help in repealing the "Andrews Bill", the 1997 legislation which denies the Territories the right to pass legislation on Voluntary Assisted Dying.

The Human Rights for NSW alliance has launched a campaign calling for NSW to pass a Human Rights Act.

That's it for another week!

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