News

Published: 05 March 2021

These days it can be hard for groups like ours to get a mention in the mainstream media. Surveys of journalists have found that few support traditional family values. Their views come across in the news they cover, and the news they ignore.

But last week, FamilyVoice hit the jackpot.

We discovered that journalists from a couple of major media outlets – The Australian and The Guardian – as well as some minor ones, have been tuning in to two of our recent webinars.

You may recall that we featured federal MP and former government minister Hon Kevin Andrews (below) in our webinar on 8 February. He told the nearly 300 people who registered about progress in religious freedom legislation. Since then, more have watched it on our FamilyVoice YouTube channel.

A couple of weeks later, on 23 February, we nearly reached our audience limit of 500 when our guest was former Prime Minister John Howard.

The Guardian – not known for its support of FamilyVoice – headlined its report the next day:

John Howard calls for religious schools to have anti-discrimination exemption

The article went on (in part): “The former Australian prime minister John Howard has reignited the religious freedom debate, arguing schools should be able to hire teachers based on whether they accept the beliefs the school is based on in the same way political parties favour staff who believe in a party’s ideals.

“In a presentation to Christian organisation Family Voice Australia on Tuesday evening, Howard also called for ‘people in authority’ to more actively oppose ‘woke culture’ that is trying to ‘alter society’ in Australia.

“Howard, speaking on the topic of freedom of speech, said one issue that had arisen out of the same-sex marriage postal survey – for which he publicly advocated a no vote – that needed to be addressed was the rights for faith-based schools to teach the principles of their faith.

“I’m hopeful when the government finally produces its legislative formula to deal with this issue is the absolute right of faith-based schools, whether they be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic or the like, the absolute right of those schools to teach the precepts of the faith which guides that school,” Mr Howard said.”

I found John Howard’s words very encouraging. He has pin-pointed the concerns of many Christians about our increasing loss of free speech and religious freedom. More and more, state governments want to stop faith-based groups from choosing staff who support their values – while giving political parties complete freedom to employ supporters only.

And though I often disagree with The Guardian’s editorial policies, I congratulate its writers for their fair report on this occasion.

John Howard said a lot more on our webinar. If you missed it, or any of the others, you can find them on our FamilyVoice YouTube channel.

Published: 04 March 2021

FamilyVoice's Greg Bondar speaks on Vision Christian Radio about LGBT ideology & Chinese influence on Australian universities.

Published: 04 March 2021

A Melbourne University professor has come under fire from students for standing up for the right of women to be free of biological men in bathrooms and toilets.

Dr Holly Lawford-Smith hosts a ‘noconflicttheysaid.org’ website which invites women to share their negative experiences about biological men who think they are women using women’s facilities.

Melbourne University students and staff are so incensed at the professor for standing up for the rights of women that they are holding a “trans pride rally” today on campus.

Dr Lawford-Smith’s website states:

In Australia and around the world, legislation is being introduced that replaces sex with gender identity.. Advocates insist that there is no conflict of interests. But governments are not collecting data on the impacts of this legislative change. We're worried about the impacts on women of men using women-only spaces, including but not limited to: changing rooms, fitting rooms, bathrooms, shelters, rape and domestic violence refuges, gyms, spas, sports, schools, accommodations, shortlists, prizes, quotas, political groups, prisons, clubs, events, festivals, dating apps, and language.

Vice-Chancellor Duncan Maskell said: “We have a strong policy to guide our obligations around freedom of expression to ensure that we remain respectful, fair and lawful at all times within the university and in the wider community.

“This means we must all recognise the right for alternative viewpoints to be expressed within our community,” he added.

Published: 03 March 2021

Six Dr Seuss books are the latest victims of cancel culture due to claimed “racist” and “insensitive” content.

Dr Seuss Enterprises, the company which manages the author’s legacy, made the announcement which will affect the titles And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot's Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super! And The Cat's Quizzer.

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” claimed Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families.”

Ben Shapiro wrote on Twitter:

“We've now got foundations book burning the authors to whom they are dedicated. Well done, everyone.”

Shapiro also wrote that: “Liberals, it's time to make a decision: either fight against digital book burnings or ditch your political descriptor. Siding with book burners is dictionary illiberalism.”

Already the value of Dr Seuss books has increased, leading conservative commentator Matt Walsh to remark: “Gonna make a killing selling my kid’s Dr Seuss collection on the black market”.

At the time of writing, seven of the top 20 books sold on Amazon are by Dr Seuss, with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street the bestselling at number three.