Weekend Wrap for 5 May 2024

Brian Grieg (Just.Equal): Quigley gender reform bill takes WA backwards
"The transgender law reform bill proposed by the Cook Government is inadequate and retrograde. It does not bring us into line with other states; it is miles away from ‘gold standard’ legislation established in Tasmania five years ago. It is weaker legislation than exists in Queensland, Victoria and the ACT. It is weaker than the proposed reform in NSW advocated through Mr Alex Greenwich MP’s ‘Equality Bill’." (30 Apr 2024)
Read more at Out in Perth

Timothy Costelloe (Archbishop of Perth): Changing measure of faith will weaken census data
"The ABS appears to be seeking to weaken the accuracy of one of these measures by changing the census question about faith. The most significant change is the removal of tick box options for people who wish to record their religion. ... The proposed new question disengages religion from culture and identity. The existing question, “What is your religion?”, assesses religious identification as part of a person’s culture and heritage, serving as an essential marker of other attributes and behaviour. The responses hold significant value for religious leaders, scholars, govern­ment, not-for-profit organisations and sociologists of religion. Data from this question has helped demonstrate and monitor changes in Australia’s multicultural character." (30 Apr 2024)
Read more at The Australian

Neil Foster: Church liability for clergy abuse
"The High Court of Australia recently heard an appeal in a case involving an allegation that a Bishop in the Roman Catholic church can be held vicariously liable for an act of child abuse committed by a member of the clergy. The case is Bird v DP (a pseudonym) and I have previously mentioned the earlier stages of the proceedings here and here. I have written a note outlining the arguments being made and offering my view on what I think should be the outcome of the appeal..." (30 Apr 2024)
Read more at Law and Religion Australia

John Warhust: The Greens, the Church and freedom of religion
"Catholic church leaders have often demonstrated a particular antagonism towards Australia’s leading minor party, the Greens. Are there any consequences from this for either the church or the party or is it a minor matter? Both major parties still prefer to have the church onside, despite its numerical decline and declining credibility following institutional child sexual abuse. But the Greens may not worry. Younger Catholics also probably care very little what their church leaders say. The antagonism exists at both federal and state level. The relationship is currently on display as the federal parliament moves again towards anti-discrimination and freedom of religion legislation." (1 May 2024)
Read more at Eureka Street

Garry Worete Deverell: Scraps from the table: Apologies, equivocations, and handwringing from church leaders at the Yoorrook Justice Commission
"Archbishop Peter Comensoli, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, struck me as somewhat more equivocal with this ownership of this [destructive church] history. He was at pains to point out that Catholics ran no missions in Victoria and had very little to do with the setting of Aboriginal policy at the level of colonial administration. Here he made a convenient and — in the wake of public enquiries into the sexual abuse of children — now familiar distinction between the Church acting as an institution and Catholics acting as private citizens. A distinction which means little when one considers that Catholics, like all Christians, tend to act as their churchly imaginations allow. And the churchly imagination most dominantly at play in this country was, and remains, profoundly racist and deeply colonial. Even when Christian settlers intended to do good, they did evil instead. For their version of 'goodness' was deeply embedded in habits of mind and heart that took black inferiority and the virtue of white Christian civilisation for granted. And, as we shall see, this is still the case." (2 May 2024)
Read more at ABC Religion & Ethics

Justine Toh (Centre for Public Christianity): Morrison broke a taboo with anxiety, but he’s broken a bigger one in his book
"Everyone’s talking about Scott Morrison’s struggles with anxiety as prime minister. He’s been praised, rightly, for breaking that taboo. But if we still feel awkward, it’s because he broke another: Morrison’s book makes his private faith very, very public, and we don’t know what to do with it. ...as Sean Kelly relates in The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison, the former member for Cook would bristle when reporters asked him to reconcile his Christianity with the Coalition’s refugee policy. No one envies the terrible compromises politicians must make, but Morrison’s defensive silences fed suspicions that he called on faith at his convenience." (3 May 2024)
Read more at The Age

Paul Gregoire: Police Are Quick to Label Muslim Teens as Terrorists, But the Same Doesn’t Apply to Others
"The Alliance of Australian Muslims released a 26 April statement about the recent terror raids in Sydney, which were sparked by a 16-year-old Muslim boy stabbing a priest and led to six more Muslim teenagers being charged with terrorism for allegedly having thought about planning a terrorist act. A clear issue here is that while terrorism is defined as an act done to advance a political, religious or ideological cause, and the stabbing was linked to religion, should a teen taking discussions with his mates too seriously, to the point of committing crime, result in decades of prison time for them all?" (3 May 2024)
Read more at Sydney Criminal Lawyers

Deborah Snow: ‘Vulnerable cohort’: What is it about teenagers and terrorism – and what is being done?
"The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils report slammed the raids' 'excessive force ... [which] not only directly impacted the individuals involved but … resonated negatively across the broader community'. The federation says the failure of authorities to consider alternatives to a 'security-only' approach risks creating 'a cyclical problem where heavy-handed security measures feed the very radicalisation they aim to prevent'. It is now calling for an overhaul of the country’s national security regime, including the removal of 'religious cause' from the definition of terrorism, adoption of a more nuanced approach where minors are identified as a terrorism risk, and redoubled resourcing for community engagement, early prevention and mental health. Federation chief executive Kamalle Dabboussy says: 'The policing response should be the last resort, but it appears to be the first resort at the moment.'" (4 May 2024)
Read more at The Age