Category: politics


Politicians and the uses of faith

Filed under: politics, politics and faith — 1 Comment
February 25, 2012

The Rev. Fred Nile is one of Australia's highest profile Christian leaders

Freedom of religion and the separation of church and state are two fundamental pillars of Australian culture and society.  But as soon as Mr Abbott, or Mr Rudd, or the Rev Fred Nile, make any link between politics and faith, angry mobs write venomous articles and letters to the editor, denouncing them.  And it only gets worse during elections.

On Tuesday, a coalition of religious organisations in the United States issued an interfaith statement of principles on religion in political campaigns that I think is worth considering.

It states that a candidate’s religious beliefs, or lack thereof, should never be used by voters, nor suggested by political candidates, as a test for public office or a summary of their qualifications; politicians should conduct their campaigns without appeals for support based on religion; and they should avoid deliberately encouraging division along religious lines.

A politician’s faith should definitely inform their thinking on policy, and the decisions they take, but it should not be used as a weapon to divide and conquer.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 26 Feb 2012.

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Violence and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Filed under: Indigenous, politics, reconciliation — 2 Comments
February 13, 2012

The Prime Minister and Mr Abbott leave the restaurant with friends.

 

In 1972, when four young Aboriginal men erected a beach umbrella, and later a donated tent, on the lawns outside Canberra’s Old Parliament House in protest against the Liberal McMahon government’s refusal to recognise Aboriginal land rights, they got the nation’s attention.

Forty years later, after Mabo and Wik and other significant victories, the tent embassy has no intention of packing up and going home.

But tensions boiled over on Thursday when about 200 protesters trapped Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in a Canberra restaurant for 20 minutes after Mr Abbott questioned the relevance of the embassy.

His words and their timing were poorly chosen, but to equate his comment with a call to genocide is foolish and offensive to those who have experienced the terror of genocide.

Violence and exaggeration do nothing to promote the cause of Indigenous justice.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 29 Jan 2012.

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Political delay on integrity watchdog

Filed under: corruption, politics — Leave a comment
February 9, 2012

Andrew Wilkie MP meets with Prime Minister Julia Gillard

In a recent opinion piece, Jeffrey D. Sachs suggested that

The world’s greatest shortage is not of oil, clean water, or food, but of moral leadership.  With a commitment to truth – scientific, ethical, and personal – a society can overcome the many crises of poverty, disease, hunger, and instability that confront us.  Yet power abhors truth, and battles it relentlessly.

A minor example of this could well be the Gillard government’s failure to fulfil a promise made to Mr Andrew Wilkie and the Greens to establish a Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner within 12 months of Labor taking power.

To be fair, the government is waiting for a Senate Committee to hand down recommendations on anti-corruption measures, which are not due until May.

And Mr Wilkie says he is not concerned at the delay, since the main thing is to get the details right.

But most of us would agree that there’s something ironic about political delays in implementing an integrity watchdog for politicians.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 1 Jan 2012.

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Slanging match on asylum policy

Filed under: asylum seekers, politics, refugees — Leave a comment
February 8, 2012
Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan

The tragic loss of life from the latest asylum seeker boat to sink off the Indonesian coast has led to yet another slanging match between ministers of the Gillard Government and their Opposition counterparts.

Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan says he’s open to talks with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, while Mr Abbott is delighted Labor is actively considering reopening the Nauru detention centre set up by the former Howard Government – but at a significant initial and ongoing cost to the Australian taxpayer.

The Australian Christian Lobby has weighed in on the debate with a strong endorsement of offshore processing – a policy that many churches argue is unjust and inhospitable, not to mention potentially unconstitutional.

Everyone has a right to seek asylum, and Australia has a right to process and deport those who fail to meet our strict refugee and security standards.

But we have a higher responsibility to treat all people with respect and dignity, and playing politics with the lives of vulnerable people frankly disgusts ordinary Australians.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 25 December 2011.

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Strong support for marriage petition

Filed under: marriage, politics, same-sex marriage — Leave a comment
December 2, 2011

Even I was astonished to hear that, in just six weeks, the Australian Marriage Forum petition, urging the Labor Party to keep its election promise not to introduce same sex marriage, has attracted more than 100,000 signatures.

The marriage petition, organised by the Australian Christian Lobby and the Australian Family Association, gives a sense of the strength of feeling in the community about the importance of retaining the current definition of marriage.

Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes said on Wednesday “There is no consensus in the community on this issue.” 

Well, I think he’s wrong – there’s a large groundswell of ordinary Australians out there who feel strongly about this, and don’t want politicians and activists fiddling with our most basic social institutions.

It’s time we all put this peripheral issue behind us, and got on with the serious business of debating and tackling the issues that really matter in this great country of ours – like jobs, productivity, asylum and gambling reform.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 4 December 2011.

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