Yesterday the Government’s Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee delivered its report to the Victorian Parliament. The Report contains two conflicting recommendations, divided along political lines. The majority report recommendation is that only one of the three existing Charter functions be retained. This would effectively remove the Charter’s influence in the courts as well as [...]
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Do we really care about the vulnerable and needy? Who would say no? Yet what practical implications arise from this claim to care? The brother of Jesus and early church leader, James, explained that doing good is not about mere assurances, 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith [...] The Victorian Government is undertaking a review of Victoria’s Charter of Rights and Responsibilities following 4 years of the Charter’s operation. The Government’s Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC), which has been appointed to review the Charter, has received a large number of submissions. Public hearings before the committee shall be held and SARC must table [...] “Let all visitors who chance to arrive be welcomed as if it were Christ himself.” –Benedictine Rule “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 Hospitality is a cardinal biblical value. It is [...] How do we navigate between freedom of conscience and its limits? For Christians this means asking what the bible has to say to such situations. Case Background A support group for same sex attracted youth at risk†, WayOut (a project run by Cobaw Community Health Services), made a discrimination complaint for being turned away when trying to [...] In the early years of white settlement in this part of the continent, the Chief Protector of Aborigines was a good and decent man named George Augustus Robinson. He was, it seems, a committed Christian, and he advocated earnestly – if largely ineffectively – for those whose society was being obliterated and whose inalienable rights [...] Those who feel a Charter would fail the Christian community point to Victoria’s Abortion Law Reform Act (2008) as evidence that while Charters claim to protect religious views, they don’t in practice. It is said that the amended law – specifically clause 8 – forces Christian doctors to go against their religious conscience. The Victorian [...] Controversy about the Muslim burqa was sparked by federal Senator Cory Bernadi after an armed robbery in Sydney in which one bandit reportedly wore a burqa. Bernadi says on his blog that the burqa (a veil covering the body from head to toe) has “no place in Australian society” and should be banned “for safety” [...] Father Frank Brennan, who chaired the National Consultation on Human Rights, has given a speech reflecting on the role of the Church in society in light of the human rights debate. It is well worth reading and reflecting upon. The Church as advocate in the public square The debate over human rights has been marked by a social divide – progressives versus conservatives. (I say social rather than political, as there are social progressives on the conservative political side and vice versa.) Behavioural psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, explained in a recent TED talk ["The real difference between conservatives [...] |
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