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The Liberal National Party has scored highly in the election survey conducted by Christian advocacy group FamilyVoice Australia, while the ALP is currently on a score of zero.

FamilyVoice National Director Ashley Saunders said the LNP gained a “creditable” score of 68% on questions about family, faith and freedom but the ALP is on a “miserable” no score.  

“The LNP is clearly more democratically responsive than the ALP, which so far has declined to answer our survey, just like in the 2015 election,” he said.

“They get a miserable score of zero, having failed even to acknowledge our request for answers.

“We’ve had individual replies from some candidates representing One Nation, the Katter party, and the Civil Liberties group, but no reply from the governing party.

“The voters of Queensland deserve to know where the ALP and other parties or independent candidates stand on key moral questions ahead of Saturday’s ballot,” he said.

“The LNP gained a creditable score for its strong support for parliamentary prayer and freedom of faith within public schools - while firmly rejecting a bill of rights, proposals for euthanasia and changes to abortion law.

“But the party scored poorly on prostitution reform, revival of the upper house, adoption by same-sex couples and the repeal of anti-discrimination laws,” Mr Saunders said.

FamilyVoice Australia calls on parliamentarians to enact genuine and comprehensive protections for freedom of conscience and religion in any same-sex marriage law, following today’s result from the postal survey.

 ‘The Yes campaign has repeatedly promised that legalising same-sex marriage will not compromise freedom of conscience and religion. They must now deliver on this promise,’ said National Director, Ashley Saunders.

‘Legislators must grasp that a person’s beliefs, whether religious or not, inform every part of their life in their family, community and workplace. Protections must not be limited to ministers of religion performing wedding ceremonies but should encompass every Australian in any walk of life who cannot, in good conscience, support same-sex marriage,’ continued Mr Saunders.

The behaviour of some Yes voters who harassed and vilified their fellow Australians during this campaign demonstrates the need for such protections. Churches in a leafy outer suburb of Melbourne were graffitied with the words ‘crucify No voters’. A young woman in Canberra was summarily dismissed from her job for posting a ‘No’ slogan on her personal Facebook page. And an angry mob surrounded a small group of No supporters at Sydney University, hurling verbal abuse, throwing food and damaging signs.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights protects a person’s right to manifest their beliefs in public as well as in private (article 18) and recognises the right of parents to raise their children in a manner consistent with their convictions (article 26)—arguably infringed by the Safe Schools program’s lack of parental consent. 

‘Australia’s politicians have an important task ahead,’ said Mr Saunders. ‘If they decide to ignore both our heritage and our biological reality by redefining marriage, then they must also enact broad and rigorous protections for the large percentage of Australians with religious or conscientious objections to it.’

Christian advocacy group FamilyVoice Australia is very disappointed that White Ribbon Australia advocates for violence against unborn babies, having adopted a pro-abortion stance.

“While Australians would certainly acknowledge that the White Ribbon campaign has done much to raise awareness of family violence, their statement overtly calling for abortion, which is – by definition violence against the most defenceless in our society – seems at best unwise or at worst hypocritical,” said FamilyVoice Australia National Director Ashley Saunders.

“We are not surprised to learn that a number of churches have chosen to withdraw their support of the White Ribbon campaign, having learned of their pro-abortion position.

“As Christians our desire is to support the dignity of all human beings and defend against any kind of violence against the innocent or vulnerable,” Mr Saunders said.

Pro-life groups FamilyVoice Australia and the Coalition for the Defence of Human Life have endorsed a call by the Shadow Minister for Child Protection, Nick Goiran, for an inquiry into the death of 27 unborn babies who survived abortion in recent years.

He presented a parliamentary petition to the Upper House of State Parliament on 1 November, signed by more than 7,000 people and sponsored jointly by the pro-life groups.

“A Parliamentary inquiry is urgently needed,” said FamilyVoice WA Director and Coalition spokesman Darryl Budge.

“The Department of Health totally failed to report those deaths to the Coroner, and the Ombudsman apparently has no jurisdiction in the matter,” he said. “No one contacted the Department of Child Protection.”

“Parliament must enact urgently needed reforms and a tightening of government policy to protect unborn babies that survive abortion.”

The inquiry should also investigate disability discrimination, Mr Budge said.

“Many babies are aborted simply because they are diagnosed with Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida.”

Christian advocacy group FamilyVoice Australia has told the WA parliamentary inquiry into end of life choices that doctors must continue to serve only as protectors of life.

In a written submission to the End of Life Choices inquiry, FamilyVoice Australia said medical practitioners historically took the Hippocratic Oath, which forbids euthanasia.

“That promise has shaped medical ethics since ancient times,” said FamilyVoice National Director Ashley Saunders.

“Then after the horrendous abuse by Nazi medical personnel, the Declaration of Geneva enabled doctors to pledge utmost respect for human life from birth to natural death,” he said.

“It was followed by the International Code of Medical Ethics which required doctors to preserve human life.”

In 2015, the World Medical Association reaffirmed the 1992 Statement of Marbella that labelled euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide as unethical, the FamilyVoice submission explained.

“Then after a comprehensive policy review, the Australian Medical Association last year resolved to maintain its opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, because doctors should not seek to end human life,” Mr Saunders noted.

“We urge state MPs to heed the wise counsel of Australian, international and historic experts in medical ethics and give no approval of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.”