au

Motion to Ban Prayer In Parliament Failed

On the 2nd March 2006, 50 Senators voted down a measure proposed by the Australian Democrats and the Australian Greens to abolish prayer in parliamentary proceedings, which managed to garner only 7 votes with the Prime Minister commenting it was ‘absurd’..

  • Religious School Should Be Able To Choose

    On the 2nd March 2006, the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) was argued in the NSW Legislative Council where 19 Jewish, Muslim and Christian heads of educational and church organisations expressed their opposition to it in the form of a Parliamentary official letter.

  • Caritas Should Be Proud of Itself

    On the 27th February 2006, the chief executive officer of Caritas Australia Jack de Groot, addressed the NSW parliamentary lunch outlining the achievements and visions for his agency.

  • Great Deal Of Confidence In Church Providing Pregnant Counselling Over Phone

    On the 26th February 2006, Centacare Catholic Community Services had expressed interest in participating in the government tender for the operation of a 24 hour phone hotline for women dealing with unplanned pregnancy, reported the Catholic Weekly.

  • NSW Religious Tolerance Bill Defeated

    On the 1st March 2006, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Tolerance) Bill had been defeated in the NSW Legislative Council with a wide margin of 18 votes.

  • Planned Screening of South Park Episode Satirising Mary In Australia Caused Outrage

    On the 27th February 2006, Jim Wallace the executive chairman of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) had reacted angrily to SBS plans to screen a South Park episode deemed offensive to Christians.

  • Outrage Over Screening of Mary As A Satire

    On the 23rd February 2006, the South Park television series screened by CanWest youth channel C4 satirising Mary had triggered a wave of condemnation by both Catholic leaders and Islamic leaders in New Zealand, reported the New Zealand Herald.

  • 51% Oppose Abortion For Financial or Social Reasons

    On the 19th February 2006, a telephone survey of 1200 people conducted by Market Facts an independent research firm on behalf of the Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations, had found startling results showing Australians took a dim view on abortion.

  • Bitter Disappointment after Thursday Vote To Approve RU486

    On the 17th February 2006, a hand-vote was adopted by two-thirds of the members in the House of Representative to approve transferring the responsibility over RU486 from the Federal Health Minister to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which had been labelled ‘a disappointment’.

  • Cardinal Pell Urged Conscience Vote To Reflect Conscience of The Nation

    On the 14th February 2006, Cardinal Pell the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, issued a statement on RU486 calling on all parliamentarians to cast their vote to reflect the ‘changing tide in Australia,’ where a recent opinion poll showed 87% of Australians supported finding ways to reduce the number of abortions.

  • The Fight Is Not Over Yet

    On the 9th February 2006, the Senate by a margin of 17 votes had approved a bill which transferred the responsibility of the approval of RU486 from the Health Minister to an unelected body known as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The final approval of the bill is now before the House of Representative where the debate could start as early as this coming Monday (which is the 13th February 2006).

  • Open Letter Calling Victorian Premier To ‘Rethink’ Act

    On the 8th February 2006, an open letter signed by 19 church leaders was presented to Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks calling on him to ‘rethink’ the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act (RRTA) 2001 stating it caused, ‘more division and enmity between religions than harmony.’