Weekend Wrap for 24 September 2023

NSW: Sydney’s LGBT community is ­demanding Premier Chris Minns keeps his promise to set up a voice-like advisory council for gay and trans people, after he set up a similar body for religious leaders who have promised to use it to push Labor on policy priorities.
The state government last week announced the establishment of a “milestone” NSW Faith Affairs Council to advise ministers on policy that could affect ­religious communities, such as – one faith leader suggested – changes to voluntarily-assisted dying or conversion practices. LGBT groups, although welcoming the move to give ­religious figures a forum, want the government to ensure a similar olive branch will be extended to them. (18 Sep 2023)
Read more at The Australian

WA: An advocate for accountability within the Catholic Church has commented on a Vatican-led investigation into allegations of sexual and professional misconduct by the long-serving Catholic Bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders, saying it was common for these "Vos Estis" investigations to be shrouded in secrecy. Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of a website called Bishop Accountability, said this kind of internal investigation is "a very secretive process" and that this was "the Vatican reasserting control." The investigation, carried out by two former WA police detectives, has not been released in full by the Vatican. (19 Sep 2023)
Read more at ABC News

NSW: The state Labor government appears to have excluded non-religious citizens on the grounds of belief from a new advisory body that will influence government policy on a wide range of matters. Although multicultural minister Steve Kamper had previously stated that he would ensure that “a diversity of viewpoints” were represented on the new Faith Affairs Council, the government this month has placed a number of religious requirements for the nomination process. Nominations for membership are subject to a number of religious requirements, including “endorsement by their respective religious organisations” and endorsement by two other religious communities, a measure that appears designed to block members from the fastest section of the community – non-religious people, including atheists, humanists and ex-religionists – from participating. (19 Sep 2023)
Read more at the Rationalist Society of Australia

WA: Abortion has been removed from Western Australia’s criminal code and will be easier to access under sweeping reforms passed by the state parliament. The laws passed 25 votes to six after a conscience vote in the upper house on Wednesday. Women’s Interests Minister Sue Ellery said the laws were about treating access to abortion care the same way as access to other forms of medical care. “The laws are about removing barriers to access, particularly for women who live outside the metropolitan centre or outside regional centres,” she said. (21 Sep 2023)
Read more at The Age

QLD: More people have died in the first six months of Queensland‘s voluntary assisted dying scheme than any other state, but doctors warn “unfair” hurdles remain for the terminally ill in regional areas. By the end of the year, all of Australia’s six states will be operating VAD programs, with another 8 million people to be covered by euthanasia laws when the NSW scheme starts on November 28. But despite every state in the federation now embracing right-to-die programs, commonwealth laws still ban doctors using telehealth for VAD appointments. The Philip Nitschke-era laws threaten doctors with a $313,000 fine for “inciting or counselling” suicide via a carriage service. (23 Sep 2023)
Read more at The Australian