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Before the last election, Scott Morrison promised he would deliver religious freedom protections.

And yet, close to 800 days since the election in 2019, the Prime Minister is still yet to deliver.

Earlier this year FamilyVoice featured a webinar with the Hon. Kevin Andrews on religious freedom. 

Nearly 300 people registered on the night, but if you missed it you can catch up on our FamilyVoice YouTube channel.

Kevin paid tribute to the ongoing work of FamilyVoice. “It’s often been a tough battle, against the current zeitgeist which reigns supreme in the liberal media and elsewhere,” he said. “Your efforts, your prayerfulness, your thoughtfulness, your concern about the future of this country in a very real and substantive way – thank you very much!

He then noted that many Australians think there is religious freedom in Australia – in practice, as well as in law.

“But in fact there is very little protection of religious freedom here,” he said. “There is some protection in the federal Constitution, but not in the states.”

Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells speaks out

FamilyVoice’s Greg Bondar recently met with NSW Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells to discuss this critical issue.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells is a very strong supporter of religious freedom.  She has rightly pointed out that:

Australians of family and faith want to be able to live their lives in accordance with their faith and their convictions.  The growing body of cases in Australia of people facing harassment, intimidation and persecution because of their religious beliefs and actions highlights the need for positive religious freedom laws.  Some are even losing their livelihoods.

Indeed, since the 2017 same-sex marriage campaign and postal survey, people who hold and practice traditional values of marriage and family have been intimidated and harassed.

When freedom of speech, thought, conscience and belief is framed only as an “exemption” to other rights, they are “read down” against positive rights, rendering them subordinate to those other rights.  A regime of positive rights in the form of religious freedom legislation would give greater effect to the right to manifest one’s freedom of thought, conscience and belief as outlined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

With a federal election fast approaching, it is incumbent that we maintain the pressure on the Federal Government to deliver on religious freedom.

I urge you to send a quick message to the Prime Minister telling him to please act immediately to protect this important right.
 

For family, faith and freedom,

Peter Downie - National Director

FamilyVoice Australia

Greg Bondar radio promo pic with FV tag

Click here to listen.

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Fred Nile has slammed the latest attempt to legalise euthanasia in NSW, introduced by NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich.

"The Christian Democratic Party has been the crucial vote in defeating similar euthanasia legislation in 2017 and fully intends to vote NO again. We stand for life,” said Nile.

In the FamilyVoice webinar on the ‘NO’ Case for Euthanasia in NSW, it was noted that Canada has fully legalised Euthanasia since June 2016 (legal in Quebec since 2015). The Canadian Government’s own stats confirm that 21 589 Canadians have been killed since enactment in 2016. Based on annual reporting from the Canadian Government that figure has increased year on year.

“This should cause worry to Australians as Canada is very similar to us, we speak the same language, we are both constitutional monarchies, our legal systems are based on common law and our values are alike as well. Could thousands be killed in Australia if Euthanasia was legalised? Absolutely”, Nile added.

FamilyVoice’s NSW State Director, who hosted The ‘NO’ Case for Euthanasia in NSW webinar, has been working with various ‘Faith Groups’ under the Coalition for Life campaign aimed at ensuring that the proposed euthanasia bill does not see the light of day on the floor of NSW Parliament.

There are plans under way by FamilyVoice for additional meetings with MPs on highlighting the ‘truth’ about euthanasia and the harmful impact it has on all who are coerced into submitting to VAD.

Greg Bondar radio promo pic

Click here to listen

800px Mark McGowan Community Day of Action April 2014

 FamilyVoice Australia likens the West Australian government’s policy of refusing to lease its entertainment venues to groups with alternative views to the government to communistic ideology.

“To prevent Christian organisations like the Australian Christian Lobby to hold faith meetings at government owned venues attacks our basic freedom of information, speech and the press,” said Greg Bondar, FamilyVoice Australia spokesman.

The freedom to express our views is firmly rooted in the structures of modern western democratic thought and highlights our urgent need for a federal Religious Freedom bill.  Even the UN Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the general assembly in 1948 declares "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

The action taken by the Perth Theatre Trust to reject a Christian organisation’s request to book the Albany Entertainment Centre and the Perth Concert Hall for events declaring the ACL had “politically motivated objectives’’ is nothing short of censorship akin to communist China,” added Mr Bondar

A policy that states that government owned venues will not accept individuals or organisations “where the content of the event does not represent the views of the West Australian government or the vast majority of Western Australians” is blatant government censorship that is draconian, discriminatory, and anti-Christian.