Weekend Wrap for 18 April 2026
Welcome to the NSL Weekend Wrap for 18 April 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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This was not a week for watching the big levers of power. It was a week for watching how institutions — governments, churches, the military — respond when the gap between their stated values and their actual behaviour is pointed out. The answer, generally speaking, is badly.
A sitting Victorian MP with motor neurone disease is having to personally lobby the federal Attorney-General to amend the Criminal Code so that doctors can discuss voluntary assisted dying over the phone without risking criminal charges. Emma Vulin's case is individual, but the problem it reveals is structural: a federal telehealth ban left over from older legislation that nobody has fixed, which falls hardest on people with exactly the conditions most likely to limit their mobility.
The Plymouth Brethren's charity arm this week used copyright law in an attempt to silence a child sexual abuse survivor — suing a Canadian podcaster in a US federal court over her use of its cartoon kookaburra mascot while documenting abuse allegations against the church. Legal scholars have described it as a textbook SLAPP action.
In Western Australia, the City of Greater Geraldton was criticised for apparently providing tacit endorsement to a multi-day evangelical gospel festival on public foreshore land. The festival was promoted with flyers listing healing from asthma, arthritis, addiction, back pain, and deafness as outcomes of faith!
On the incremental-progress side: the Australian Army finally removed the Crusader Cross from its chaplaincy badge, a change flagged more than a decade ago and then shelved under the Coalition. 61 per cent of Defence personnel identify as non-religious, yet the Army and Air Force still rely exclusively on religious chaplains. Symbolic reform achieved; structural problem intact.
News this week
National: Cartoon kookaburra behind church’s attempt to ‘silence’ a child sex abuse victim (12 Apr 2026)
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church's Australian charity arm, the Rapid Relief Team (RRT), has sued a Canadian child sexual abuse survivor in a US federal court over her use of its cartoon kookaburra mascot, "Cookie," in YouTube videos criticising the church. Cheryl Bawtinheimer, who says she was abused from the age of three by a Brethren member who was also an RRT volunteer, argues the lawsuit is designed to silence her, not to protect a logo. Her legal counterclaim describes RRT as "the PR wing" of the church, set up to generate favourable publicity while concealing the church's record on abuse. The church and RRT maintain this is a straightforward copyright dispute, and have offered to drop the claim if Bawtinheimer removes the logo from her videos. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called the church a cult during the 2025 election campaign, was photographed with RRT volunteers at a Victorian fire ground earlier this year; RRT quickly posted the images on social media claiming his "support."
Read more at The Age
National: Terminally ill MP Emma Vulin calls for review of ban on telehealth for voluntary assisted dying consultations (14 Apr 2026)
Victorian Labor MP Emma Vulin, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2024 and has spoken publicly about her intention to use voluntary assisted dying, has made a personal appeal to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to amend the Criminal Code to allow doctors to discuss VAD via telehealth. Under current federal law, health practitioners who raise voluntary assisted dying in a phone or video consultation could face criminal charges for "inciting suicide," even though the practice is legal in every Australian state and the ACT. Vulin argues the ban disproportionately harms people in rural areas and those whose conditions make travel difficult. The Australian Medical Association has backed her call; president Danielle McMullen said the blanket ban contradicts the spirit of existing VAD legislation. A government spokesperson said the Attorney-General and Health Minister are "considering the complexities" of the issue in consultation with states and territories. No amendment is currently planned.
Read more at ABC News
National: Federal Court gives green light to appeal for group that wants to exclude transgender women (15 Apr 2026)
The Federal Court has ordered the Administrative Review Tribunal to reconsider its refusal to grant the Victorian Lesbian Action Group an exemption allowing it to run events that exclude transgender women. Justice Mark Moshinsky found the tribunal had erred in its legal reasoning and set aside the decision, while making no determination on what the outcome of the reconsideration should be. The group has sought a five-year exemption under the Sex Discrimination Act and has had its applications rejected at each stage, including by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2023. The case is being watched closely given its potential to establish pathways under federal law for sex-based exclusions in community organisations. The related Giggle v Tickle appeal, which involves similar questions about biological sex under the SDA, remains before the courts.
Read more at OUTinPerth
National: Australian Army removes chaplains’ controversial 'Crusader' emblem (15 Apr 2026)
The Royal Australian Army Chaplains Department has replaced its longstanding Christian and Jewish badges with a newly designed single badge — a shepherd's hook, book, and globe — removing an emblem bearing the motto "In this Sign Conquer" over a Maltese Cross, a reference to the Crusades. The change had been flagged by Defence more than a decade ago but was shelved by the then Coalition government after media pressure. The RSA described the change as "a step in the right direction" but emphasised that the Army and Air Force still lack a non-religious frontline pastoral care option, with all chaplains required to hold theology degrees and be sourced from religious bodies despite the fact that Defence Census data released in late 2024 showed 61 per cent of personnel now identify as non-religious.
Read more at the Rationalist Society of Australia
TAS: Tasmanian city council working towards first LGBTIQA+ Action Plan (16 Apr 2026)
The City of Burnie in northwest Tasmania is seeking community input for its inaugural LGBTIQA+ Action Plan, following the establishment of a community advisory group in April 2025 made up of people with lived experience. The council has launched a public survey to inform the plan, which will identify practical steps to improve inclusion, access, and community connection. Burnie joins a growing list of Tasmanian and other local governments developing formal LGBTIQA+ action plans, including Glenorchy City Council, whose inaugural plan was reported in the previous edition of the Wrap.
Read more at OUTinPerth
WA: WA council taken to task over ‘tacit endorsement’ of evangelical event claiming to heal asthma, ‘deaf ears’ (17 Apr 2026)
The City of Greater Geraldton has been accused of providing "tacit endorsement" to a Pentecostal church event by approving a multi-day evangelical festival on public foreshore land. Revive Festival, hosted by Potter's House Christian Fellowship at Stow Gardens on the Geraldton foreshore, distributed pamphlets to almost every home and business in Geraldton promising attendees could "experience your miracle" — with the flyers listing healing from asthma, arthritis, addiction, back pain, and deafness as outcomes of faith. A complaint has been lodged with Consumer Protection WA over the advertising. Former Nationals MP Paul Brown raised the matter at a council meeting last month, arguing the event targeted vulnerable people under the guise of treating health conditions, that the flyers promoted "fraudulent medical activities," and that the council had approved the event with the advertising material in front of it. Brown also noted the church's known opposition to same-sex relationships. Potter's House denied any exploitation, describing the advertising as "a statement of faith" rather than a commercial guarantee. The Geraldton branch of Potter's House is also currently subject to civil District Court proceedings relating to historical sexual abuse allegations.
Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald
Commentary and analysis
Chrys Stevenson: Christian Nationalism in Australia – A Religious View (Part One) (11 Apr 2026)
Chrys Stevenson (who spoke at the 2023 Secularism Australia Conference) reporting on a 10 April Zoom conference organised by the Salvation Army's Eva Burrows College on "Christian Nationalism and the Australian Church." Over 100 Christians, theologians, and pastors attended — none of them sympathetic to the movement. The key speaker, Uniting Church minister Eleni Poulos, argued that Australian Christian nationalism is real but less violent and less politically organised than its US counterpart. It relies on fear-creation and belonging, positioning white, western, Christian identity as the authentic Australian one, with LGBTQ+ communities, cultural diversity, and Muslim immigration framed as "existential threats." Poulos highlighted the Canberra Declaration (signed by 97,000+), John Anderson's "anti-woke" platform, and the continued grip of Christian prayer on almost every Australian parliament as evidence of the movement's footprint. She stopped short of predicting a theocratic push, but described it as "a serious minority threat."
Read more at Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear
The Law Report (ABC) / Damien Carrick / Ben White / Jocelyn Downie / Kenneth Chambaere: Euthanasia: How Australia's approach compares to other countries (14 Apr 2026)
The recent death of a 25-year-old woman in Spain gained worldwide attention after she was given access to euthanasia despite a legal challenge by her father. The case raises questions, including whether the procedure should only be allowed if there is a terminal illness. Should the medical criteria also include mental distress? And how does mental illness impact on the idea of agency and choice? In countries where voluntary assisted dying is allowed, there are very different legal frameworks. The Law Report take a close look at the narrow approach in Australia, the expansive approach in Belgium and the rapidly evolving scheme in Canada.
Listen to this episode of The Law Report at ABC Listen
Neil Foster: The Reality of Biological Sex in Law- one step closer (15 Apr 2026)
Law and Religion Australia editor Neil Foster analyses the Federal Court's ruling in Lesbian Action Group Inc v Australian Human Rights Commission and places it in the context of related litigation including Giggle v Tickle. Foster, who approaches the issue from a conservative religious-freedom perspective, argues the ruling moves Australian law toward recognising biological sex as legally meaningful. It's worth reading for the legal analysis — and for understanding the religious-freedom framing that conservative advocates will bring to the forthcoming ART reconsideration.
Read more at Law and Religion Australia
Opportunities for action
CURRENT
National: Hosted by Go Gentle’s CEO, Dr Linda Swan, this free one-hour webinar aims to demystify the VAD process so you can know your rights at the end of life. 21 April 2026. Register here.
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: 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.
NSW: The Minns government is withholding the completed Sackar Review of hate speech protections for LGBTQI+ and other vulnerable communities, despite a formal parliamentary order to release it. Contact your NSW state MP and call on the government to publish the Review before introducing any further hate crime legislation.
National: Go Gentle Australia's 2026 State of VAD Report this week 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.
ONGOING
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
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
The Australian Education Union is running a campaign calling for “every school, every child” to receive fair education funding. Support the campaign here.
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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