Weekend Wrap for 1 September 2024
Welcome to the NSL Weekend Wrap for 1 September 2024, where you can catch up on the latest secular-related news from around the country.
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At the National Level
The Albanese government decided not to count the number of LGBTQ Australians in the census to avoid a divisive debate, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has said, as LGBTQ leaders threaten to boycott the national survey. The government risks becoming embroiled in another highly charged culture war and faces a test of its progressive credentials having recently shelved plans to overhaul religious discrimination laws. (28 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Age
Labor faced another revolt after assistant health minister Ged Kearney joined five other MPs in calling for the Prime Minister to reverse the government’s decision to dump new sexuality questions from the census. Labor frontbenchers have said the decision was made to avoid a "divisive" debate but the MPs say the government should stick to the principle in Labor's national platform. (29 Aug 2024)
Read more at ABC News
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under attack for excluding trans and gender-diverse people from the next census count, despite a government backflip to allow gay, lesbian and bisexual people to be included. An internal Labor revolt forced Albanese to on Friday reverse his government’s decision to block new questions in the survey so it could avoid a divisive debate. (30 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Age
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit back at suggestions he is limiting the scope of the census’ data collection on LGBT Australians to just one question, as he continues to deal with the fallout of the past week from members of his own party, the opposition, and advocates. After an internal Labor revolt Albanese backflipped on Friday to allow gay, lesbian and bisexual people to be counted in the census. However, the prime minister stood firm on the decision to exclude planned questions about trans and intersex Australians. (31 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Guardian
Around the Country
SA: The Rationalist Society of Australia has urged the South Australian government to “do the right thing” by the LGBTIQ community and remove religious exemptions to the state’s equal opportunity laws. They made the point that the Albanese government’s decision to abandon its proposal to address federal exemptions to anti-discrimination laws had opened the way for the South Australian government to act. Greens member Robert Simms this week introduced a bill into the upper house proposing to amend the state’s Equal Opportunity Act to remove discrimination exemptions that apply to religious schools and religious bodies. The exemptions allow religious schools to fire teachers and religious service providers such as shelters to refuse service on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. (26 Aug 2024)
Read more at the Rationalist Society of Australia
WA: The Cook Government is progressing slowly with its plan to remove the Gender Reassignment Board via the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Sex or Gender Changes) Bill 2024. The Bill completed its Second Reading in the Legislative Council a fortnight ago and is waiting to progress to the committee stage where proposed amendments will be discussed. (26 Aug 2024)
Read more at Out in Perth
VIC: A growing list of Labor MPs privately lobbied for elite schools in their electorates to be exempt from a payroll tax, despite voting for it in state parliament. Newly released letters show Employment Minister Vicki Ward and Box Hill MP Paul Hamer wrote last year to Treasurer Tim Pallas seeking exemptions for some of the state’s top private schools – including Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC) – over concerns the new tax rules could drive up school fees. (28 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Age
Commentary and Analysis
Michelle Grattan: Advocacy group to launch national campaign on Sunday to ‘amplify’ Muslim political voice
"The advocacy group Muslim Votes Matter has put together a high-profile speakers list to launch its national campaign in Melbourne on Sunday, which is aimed at leveraging its influence for the federal election. The group, formed earlier this year, is committed “to promoting political engagement and amplifying the voice of Australian Muslims”. It does not intend to run candidates itself but will support those that align with its values and priorities. Group spokesman Naser Alziyadat, a former lecturer and research fellow at Murdoch University, claimed that across Australia, there were more than 20 seats where Muslims could have the deciding vote." (28 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Conversation
Michael Koziol: Labor’s bizarre census backflip reveals great data about this weak government
"The idea it might ask a couple of questions about gender and sexuality seems almost a given. After all, why not? Well, now we know. Doing so risks opening up “divisive debates”, according to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned the issue could be “weaponised” against LGBTQ people. ... What Albanese seems to be saying here is the census will acknowledge LGBTQ sexualities but steer clear of the thornier gender-identity issue. It will count queer people, but not trans people. ... It’s funny how it’s always LGBTQ issues that have to be sacrificed to maintain the peace. But taken together, these decisions tell us a lot about where Albanese and his government feel they sit in the national conversation. It tells us they are hyper-sensitive to any criticism that they are not singularly focused on the cost of living, and do not believe they can walk and chew gum at the same time." (30 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Age
Tasmanian Times: Just.Equal: Census Backflip ‘Not Enough’
"Just.Equal Australia says the Prime Minister’s ‘backflip’ on counting LGBTIQA+ people in the Census does not go far enough because it appears to exclude transgender and intersex people. Today, Anthony Albanese reversed the Government’s decision not to ask a question about sexual orientation, but said there will only be one question. This stance effectively rules out questions about gender identity and sex characteristics. Just.Equal spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said, when Albanese walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during World Pride, 'it was with all of us, not some of us.'" (30 Aug 2024)
Read the full interview at Tasmanian Times
Paul Sakkal and James Massola: How the PM’s captain’s call to stop a culture war blew up in his face
"What started as a plan to head off a culture war ended up causing one, revealing a crisis of confidence inside the government and leaving its own LGBT staff feeling under attack. ... A source close to the prime minister confirmed Albanese stepped in on that Sunday because Leigh, who has responsibility for the ABS, had not made clear to more senior cabinet colleagues that the statistics bureau planned to ask a sweeping series of questions he feared were inappropriate. ... In the middle of the week, LGBT Labor staff were planning a large meeting and a letter to the prime minister to express their dismay about the stance, according to three staffers. ... The prime minister’s radio appearances are usually flagged in advance. But on Friday morning, journalists were informed that he was already on ABC Radio Melbourne, announcing that a question on sexual orientation would be in the census after all. Accused by Labor this week of being too divisive to lead the country, Peter Dutton and the opposition played no role in Labor’s implosion." (31 Aug 2024)
Read more at The Age
Tom Crowley: How the census became a political landmine
"When the government sent out a Sunday morning whisper that it would not add new questions to the 2026 census, it was prepared for at least some backlash. ... Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody accused the government of giving in to "the voices of discrimination and division that seek to disrupt the nation's social cohesion" and urged a reversal. ... Opposition Leader Peter Dutton first dismissed the questions as being part of a "woke agenda", but on Friday said he was "fine" with new questions as long as the government was willing to make the case." (31 Aug 2024)
Read more at ABC News
Events and Campaigns
Go Gentle Australia have released The State of VAD, a report collating and analysing available VAD data from all jurisdictions for the first time.
Download the report here
The full videos of presentations and panel discussions from the 2023 Secularism Australia Conference are now freely available for viewing on the Secularism Australia website and on YouTube!
The Australia Institute are calling on federal parliament to pass truth in political advertising laws that are nationally consistent, constitutional and uphold freedom of speech. View the petition at The Australia Institute
The Human Rights Law Centre are running a website for those who want to support an Australian Charter of Human Rights & Freedoms.
Visit the Charter of Rights website here
A change.org petition has been started, calling for churches to lose their tax-free status and for "the religious influence of churches in Australian politics and society" to be limited. It's currently up to 31,000 signatures. View the petition at change.org
The Australian Education Union is running a campaign calling for “every school, every child” to receive fair education funding. It's currently up to 95,000 sign-ups. Support the campaign here.
The Human Rights for NSW alliance has launched a campaign calling for NSW to pass a Human Rights Act.
That's it for another week!
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