If you support Charters of Rights for Australia we invite you to submit your details below.
In doing so you will be one of a growing community of Christians who uphold the perspective below and want to advocate for people in need.
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5) and through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus demonstrates that love of God and love of neighbour are inseparable cornerstones of a faith which saves. What ‘love of neighbour’ means, as the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) makes clear, cannot remain academic or speculative, but must involve a practical response to our neighbour’s needs.
This imperative therefore raises the question of whether promoting the legal protection of human rights is a practical implication of caring for our neighbour, in particular those who are vulnerable. The evidence clearly demonstrates the benefits of Charters of Rights for the disadvantaged.
In calling for reform to our system of human rights protection we recognise the inherent fallibility of individuals and institutions in pursuing full justice in human society. As Jesus told us, we wait in hope for the Kingdom of God to bring the full meaning of justice to bear in human community. Nevertheless until that time, we recognise the necessity of working our faith out in anticipation of the Kingdom, in the power of God’s Spirit.
Therefore I / we the undersigned state our support for reforms to the Federal system of human rights in order to better recognise and promote the dignity and welfare of everyone in society. I / we support the implementation of a Federal Charter of Rights for Australia which will contain, at a minimum, the rights and responsibilities as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
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