Weekend Wrap for 13 June 2026
Welcome to the NSL Weekend Wrap for 13 June 2026. The Wrap covers Australian secular politics — religious privilege and funding, religion in public schools, discrimination laws, voluntary assisted dying, and many other related issues. If someone forwarded this to you, you can subscribe on our website.
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Coming up...
The abortion fight we flagged a fortnight ago has not gone away. It has spread. In New South Wales, John Ruddick's bill to ban "sex-selective" abortion drew support this week from Labor, Liberal and crossbench members in the upper house, enough that pro-choice advocates now fear a measure built on a non-existent problem could actually become law. In South Australia, Sarah Game's third attempt to wind back late-term abortion faces a vote on 17 June, and the arithmetic has changed: three new One Nation members sit in the chamber that twice rejected bills like hers. In Queensland, a recent Katter's Australian Party move to strip nurses and midwives of the power to prescribe the abortion pill was comfortably voted down. Three states, one playbook. And the playbook now has offshore backers: CitizenGo, a Madrid-based Christian-right outfit on Australia’s foreign influence register, has surfaced at the Sydney rallies, hitching itself to the same activists driving the state bills.
The common thread is not religion stated openly. It is religion operating through proxies: "sex selection", "born alive", "feticide" — clinical-sounding triggers chosen because they sound reasonable, attached to penalties that fall on doctors rather than patients. As Barbara Baird and Prudence Flowers argue in this week's commentary, the rise of One Nation has changed the maths. A movement that could once be safely outvoted now has the numbers to be taken seriously, and it knows it. Greens MLC Amanda Cohn put the secular question plainly: health policy should not turn on the personal or religious views of individual MPs.
The week's other front is the courtroom. Lyle Shelton, former managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby and now an aspiring NSW politician, lost again in his long-running effort to fight off a vilification complaint brought by two drag performers. He has framed the case as a battle for "freedom of speech to critique radical gender fluid ideology". The drag performers' lawyers framed it as ordinary people enforcing ordinary rights. Both framings matter, because Shelton's pitch for parliament is built precisely on weakening the anti-vilification laws he is currently losing under.
In the school-funding debate, a veteran educator poses the question that headline spending figures are designed to avoid: not how much goes to schools, but where it actually lands. For a secular public system competing with a heavily subsidised religious one, that is the whole game. And freshly released freedom-of-information documents show the Catholic bishops asked the Prime Minister to ‘reverse’ the ABS’s proposed fix to the Census religion question — and so the leading wording that, by default, assumes every Australian has a religion survives into the 2026 count.
On that subject, if you haven't already, please check out the "Census — Not Religious? Mark 'No Religion'" campaign being run by a coalition of Australian pro-secular groups, including the NSL.
News this week
QLD: Abortion battles erupt in two states (2 June 2026)
(This article was missed in last week's Wrap)
A proposed Queensland regulation, the Medicines and Poisons (Medicines) Amendment Regulation 2026, would have let more nurses and midwives prescribe MS-2 Step, the early medical abortion medication, easing access in rural and regional areas where doctors are scarce. Katter's Australian Party leader Robbie Katter lodged a disallowance motion to strike the regulation down — a workaround to the Crisafulli government's standing gag on abortion debate. The Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union opposed the motion and used the moment to flag a "disturbing increase" in services refusing terminations on religious grounds, naming the state's newest public hospital, Mater Springfield, among them. The motion was voted down, leaving the regulation in place. The episode is a reminder that faith-based objection now operates inside the public hospital system, not only at its edges.
➧ READ MORE:
Medical Republic
NSW: Labor, Liberal and independent MPs back controversial abortion bill as vote looms (7 June 2026)
Libertarian MLC John Ruddick's Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Sex Selection Prohibition) Bill drew support this week from members across Labor, the Liberals and the crossbench during debate in the NSW Legislative Council, raising pro-choice fears it could pass. The bill would make it a criminal offence, punishable by fines up to $22,000 and five years' prison, for a doctor to perform an abortion they know is sought for sex selection. Labor's Stephen Lawrence and Liberal Rachel Merton spoke in favour, Merton calling the 2019 decriminalisation "one of the most egregious pieces of legislation ever to pass this parliament". Greens MLC and GP Amanda Cohn led the opposition, arguing there is no evidence the practice occurs in NSW and that the bill "turns doctors into police". Outside, One Nation's Barnaby Joyce addressed an anti-abortion rally. With Labor and Coalition MPs on a conscience vote, the outcome is uncertain; debate was set to resume the following sitting week.
➧ READ MORE:
PS News / Region Riverina
National: A shadowy overseas group is trying to influence Australian abortion policy. Who are CitizenGo and what do they want? (12 June 2026)
The Madrid-based ultra-conservative group CitizenGo — an anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ Christian-right campaign outfit now listed on Australia’s foreign influence register — has begun inserting itself into the local abortion fight, its professional placards appearing at last week’s Sydney rally. Founded in 2013 and claiming 20 million members across 50 countries, it says it advocates “on issues of family, faith and liberty from a biblical perspective”; a 2024 UN report called it a global leader of “anti-gender ideology”. Its Australian campaigners include former Nationals MP and failed One Nation Senate candidate George Christensen. Researchers describe it as a “co-belligerent” in a far-right ecosystem energised by One Nation’s rise, hitching itself to anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe’s campaign behind the three state bills now before parliaments.
➧ READ MORE:
The Guardian
National: Exclusive: Catholic bishops asked Albanese to ‘reverse’ proposed changes to Census question (13 June 2026)
Freedom-of-information documents obtained by the Rationalist Society of Australia show the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference wrote to Prime Minister Albanese in March 2024 asking him to “reverse” the ABS’s proposed change to the Census religion question. The ABS had planned to drop the leading “What is the person’s religion?” wording, which it conceded “assumes you have a religion”, for a neutral “Does the person have a religion?”. The bishops’ letter, followed by a public campaign backed by Liberal figures including John Howard, preceded the ABS cancelling its “critical” test of the new question and, in October 2024, reverting to the old wording for the 2026 Census.
➧ READ MORE:
Rationalist Society of Australia
QLD: Lyle Shelton Loses Again In Drag Story Time Vilification Case (13 June 2026)
The Supreme Court of Queensland has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by Lyle Shelton, the former Australian Christian Lobby managing director, in the long-running vilification case brought against him by drag performers Johnny Valkyrie and Dwayne Hill. The pair sued over Shelton's comments calling them "dangerous role models for children" and likening them to sex offenders over a Drag Queen Story Time event run by Rainbow Families Queensland. A tribunal dismissed the complaint in 2023; an appeal tribunal overturned that in March, finding the decision affected by significant legal and factual errors. Justice Smith ruled Shelton's Supreme Court challenge premature and sent the matter back to the tribunal, also upholding the "no win, no fee" arrangement that let the performers afford representation. Shelton, now seeking a NSW parliamentary seat on a platform of weakening anti-vilification laws, called the case "lawfare" against his free speech.
➧ READ MORE:
Star Observer
Commentary and analysis
John Frew: The real question in school funding is where the money goes (8 June 2026)
Frew, a veteran public educator, argues the school-funding debate fixates on headline dollars while ignoring whether money counted towards the Schooling Resource Standard actually reaches classrooms. Drawing on Trevor Cobbold's Save Our Schools research, he contends governments of both stripes have quietly broadened what counts towards the standard — folding in system-level costs the Gonski review deliberately excluded — so the target is "met" on paper while public schools stay short-staffed. He frames it as a question of honesty about a promise made to the schools that, unlike their private counterparts, must enrol every child who arrives. Pertinent to the Wrap for what it says about the integrity of public-education funding alongside a heavily subsidised religious-school sector.
➧ READ MORE:
Pearls & Irritations
Barbara Baird and Prudence Flowers: The rise of One Nation is changing anti-abortion politics. South Australia is the battleground (9 June 2026)
Baird, a women's and gender studies academic and SA Abortion Action Coalition co-convenor, and Flowers, a historian of US anti-abortion activism, set out why Sarah Game's third bill is the most extreme abortion measure yet proposed in South Australia, and why it stands a real chance. The bill would allow termination after 25 weeks only to save the pregnant person's life, stripping out serious foetal abnormality as a ground. Two earlier bills were defeated in 2024 and 2025; what has changed is One Nation's surge into the upper house. A clear-eyed read on how a fringe position acquires the numbers to govern.
➧ READ MORE:
Crikey
Trevor Cobbold: Don’t Destroy Public Education in the Name of Reform (10 June 2026)
Cobbold, the Save Our Schools convenor whose research underpins this week’s Frew column, rejects the proposal gaining traction in the equity debate to fully fund private schools from the public purse provided they drop fees. He argues it would import religious instruction, faith-based enrolment and staffing, and anti-discrimination exemptions into a system founded on being secular, non-discriminatory and free, leaving public schools “public in name only”. The remedy, he contends, is to properly fund the public schools that already enrol the bulk of disadvantaged children, not to absorb private systems that will never surrender their funding privileges. A direct statement of the secular case in the school-funding fight.
➧ READ MORE:
Save Our Schools
Opportunities for action
SA: Sarah Game's Termination of Pregnancy (Restrictions on Terminations after 24 weeks and 6 days) Amendment Bill 2026 faces a vote in the South Australian Legislative Council on 17 June. RANZCOG opposes the bill, noting that post-23-week terminations are extraordinarily rare (1 per cent of SA abortions in 2024) and almost always involve serious foetal conditions or threats to the woman's life. South Australians who support retaining current access can contact members of the Legislative Council before the vote.
NSW: John Ruddick's Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Sex Selection Prohibition) Bill is still before the NSW Legislative Council, with debate drawing cross-party support and a conscience vote expected. NSW residents who support retaining decriminalised abortion access can contact members of the Legislative Council to register their view before the vote.
National: Equality Australia's "Hands off our protections" petition continues to call on federal parliamentarians to reject any narrowing of the Sex Discrimination Act, after bills and statements from Nationals and Liberal MPs seeking to redefine "sex" in law. Sign the petition at Equality Australia. Sign the petition at Equality Australia.
National: Not in Our Name (NION) Women Australia continues to invite women across the country to sign an open letter in solidarity with the trans community and in defence of the Sex Discrimination Act. Sign the open letter via Action Network.
VIC: The Victorian Law Reform Commission is reviewing the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021. Faith leaders have lodged a submission urging the Act be narrowed. Secular voices that support retaining strong conversion practices protections should not leave this consultation to religious organisations alone. Details of the VLRC review are on the Commission's website.
National: Nationals MP Alison Penfold has called on the Prime Minister to establish a joint select committee to review the Sex Discrimination Act, including her bill to insert a biological definition of "sex." If such a committee is established and opens submissions, secular and human rights voices will be needed to counter the religious lobby's input. Contact your federal member or senator to register your view on any review of the Act.
NSW: The NSW Human Rights Bill 2025 has been referred to a parliamentary inquiry and submissions are now open. The Australian Christian Lobby is actively mobilising its networks to oppose the Bill. Secular, humanist, and human rights voices are needed to counterbalance the religious lobby's input. Visit the NSW Parliament website to find the inquiry and submission details. Submissions close 3 July 2026.
TAS: The independent statutory review of Tasmania's End-of-Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Act 2021 is underway. Community members, particularly those with experience of the VAD system, are encouraged to make written submissions, with public consultations scheduled at the University of Tasmania Law School (Sandy Bay) and Cygnet Town Hall. The review is also conducting a public survey. Do not leave this space to the ACL alone: secular voices supporting VAD access and adequate safeguards must be heard. Contact VADReview@health.tas.gov.au for submission details. More details about the review can be found at the Tasmanian Department of Health's website.
TAS: Tasmania: Equality Tasmania, Women's Health Tasmania, and Working It Out have formally written to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner requesting an inquiry into the proposed sale of Hobart Private Hospital to Calvary Health Care. If you are a Tasmanian who supports continued access to gender-affirming and other healthcare services that Calvary's Catholic ethical guidelines would prohibit, consider contacting the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner's office to support the call for an inquiry or following Equality Tasmania's campaign.
National: Dying With Dignity NSW has an opportunity for people to send a message to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland and ask her to make changes to improve VAD availability (by using telehealth). For people in regional areas and those who are unable to travel it is more difficult, or even impossible, to access VAD. This could be easily fixed by excluding VAD from telehealth prohibition. Visit their campaign here.
National: Go Gentle Australia's 2026 State of VAD Report made a compelling case for a straightforward amendment to the Commonwealth Criminal Code: remove the restriction that treats electronic communication and telehealth discussions about voluntary assisted dying as potential facilitation of suicide. This one-line fix would allow dying people — particularly those in regional and remote areas — to consult with VAD practitioners via telehealth rather than being required to travel repeatedly for in-person appointments. A central Queensland man died waiting for VAD access because of bureaucratic prescription mail rules. This is a discrete, fixable federal legislative problem. Contact your federal member or senator to call for the amendment.
National: The Rationalist Society of Australia is running a Change.org petition calling on the Australian War Memorial to take direct responsibility for the Anzac Day Dawn Service and end the imposition of Christian worship on a national commemoration. Read and sign the petition at change.org.
National: The Australia Institute are calling on federal parliament to pass truth in political advertising laws that are nationally consistent, constitutional and uphold freedom of speech. View the petition at The Australia Institute
National: The Human Rights Law Centre are running a website for those who want to support an Australian Charter of Human Rights & Freedoms. Visit the Charter of Rights website here
National: The Australian Education Union is running a campaign calling for “every school, every child” to receive fair education funding. Support the campaign here.
NSW: The Human Rights for NSW alliance is running a campaign calling for NSW to pass a Human Rights Act.
Our activities
NSL is involved in the joint 2026 Census - Not Religious? Mark 'No Religion' campaign aiming to improve the accuracy of census religion data. Visit the campaign website to learn more.
As always, the full videos of presentations and panel discussions from the 2023 Secularism Australia Conference (co-organised by NSL and other groups) are freely available for viewing on the Secularism Australia website and on YouTube!
More coming soon!
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