Weekend Wrap for 6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Catch up on the latest secular-related news from around the country in the NSL Weekend Wrap for 6 June 2021.

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At the National Level

The Morrison government has placed religious freedom back on the political agenda, as Attorney-General Michaelia Cash restarts meetings with key stakeholders and church groups embark on a lobbying blitz to shape and enact the laws before the election. (SMH)

It's now almost three years since Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to remove the right for religious schools to expel LGBTI students and still this has not happened. (Star Observer)

A Labor senator has accused the Morrison government of a ‘cover-up’ for failing to disclose details of the groups it has been consulting with on the development of the new Religious Discrimination Bill since late last year. (Rationalist Society of Australia)

Australian media companies will be forced to pay more than $1 million in fines after publishing details of Cardinal George Pell’s child sexual abuse convictions in breach of court orders. (The New Daily)

Conservative religious group Familyvoice Australia has told MPs across Australia that they must “get their act together” to protect more young people from the harms of gender intervention. (Familyvoice Australia)

Around the Country

NSW: Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Town Hall in Sydney on Saturday to make their opposition to Mark Latham's “transphobic” law reforms heard, and to raise awareness about the threat the changes pose to trans and gender diverse people. (Star Observer)

VIC: Shocking new figures from the Commission for Children and Young People show that there have been four times as many reports of sexual misconduct in religious and independent schools as there have been in state schools, despite the state system educating twice as many students. (Herald Sun)

WA: A ‘gay conversion therapy’ roadshow visiting West Australian churches has sparked outrage and renewed pressure on state and federal governments to outlaw the controversial practice. (WA Today)

WA: The Australian Christian Lobby’s State Director Peter Abetz (brother of Liberal party Senator Eric Abetz) has defended the ‘Real Lives’ program that it conducts in association with ‘ex-gay’ organisation True Identity, described by some as including elements of gay conversion therapy. (Out in Perth)

VIC: A Revival Church pastor has been arrested for incitement after holding a service in breach of COVID lockdown and declaring on Facebook that he had chosen to ‘obey God over man’. (Eternity News)

WA: WA’s appointment of a five member board to monitor and advise on voluntary assisted dying laws will mean that from July 1 an end of life option will be available to eligible people in the state. (The Mandarin)

QLD: Bishop of Townsville, Timothy Harris, continues to speak out publicly to persuade Queensland politicians supporting euthanasia they are making a grave mistake. (Catholic Leader)

QLD: A Labor MP has become the first to publicly speak out against Voluntary Assisted Dying laws as he told an impassioned State Conference debate they would have “serious unintended consequences” for the terminally-ill. (Courier Mail)

QLD: A network of hundreds of hospitals and aged care services are mobilising the religious community to write directly to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to demand action over Queensland‘s “vastly underfunded” palliative care services. (Courier Mail)

QLD: Catholic Health Australia has stepped up its advocacy and media efforts around the controversial issue of assisted suicide with the launch of an advertisement and a website to promote better-funded palliative care in Queensland. (CHA)

SA: The Australian Christian Lobby insists that the state's proposed Voluntary Assisted Dying act must be amended to allow for institutional conscientious objection rights. (ACL)

VIC: Boroondara Councillor Victor Franco is calling on the public to help him replace exclusionary Christian prayers with something more inclusive to open their council meetings. (Rationalist Society of Australia)

Commentary and Analysis

Electing candidates from churches like Scott Morrison's Pentecostal Church and packing them into parliament is damaging to a viable democracy, writes NSL director Brian Morris. (Independent Australia)

Ben White and Lindy Willmott of QUT propose that Queensland's Voluntary Assisted Dying laws can be best in Australia. (Courier Mail)

With gay conversion therapy a hot issue and the subject of legislation in some states, Holden Sheppard writes on his personal experiences. (SMH)

According to Law professor Paula Gerber, a key indicator of the degree of protection afforded to LGBTI people by countries is "a common narrative that emphasises the importance of traditional values, often relying on religious moral values." (Monash University)

Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia, explains why Australian media outlets been fined more than $1 million for their reporting on Cardinal George Pell. (The Conversation)

That's it for another week!

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