Weekend Wrap for 30 March 2025
Welcome to the NSL Weekend Wrap for 30 March 2025, where you can catch up on the latest secular-related news from around the country.
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At the National Level
The Australian government has reached a landmark school funding agreement, implementing recommendations from David Gonski's 2012 review to fairly fund schools in all states and territories following Queensland's agreement to the scheme earlier this week. The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement (BFSA) will boost public school funding to the levels recommended by Gonski, with the federal government increasing its share to 25% and states committing to 75%. This deal aims to address the longstanding issue of underfunding public schools while overfunding private ones. Education Minister Jason Clare hailed it as a historic reform and the largest-ever Commonwealth investment in public education. The agreement includes requirements for early literacy and numeracy checks, catch-up tutoring, and goals to improve NAPLAN scores. It also aims to tackle social problems affecting schools and provide mental health support. (25 Mar 2025)
Read more at ABC News
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has defended its decision to continue using a biased question on religious affiliation in the national Census, saying that providing religious organisations with comparable data was “a significant enough consideration” to keep the question. The decision followed a public campaign by Catholic church bishops and Liberal Party figures that urged the Albanese government to block any changes to the question. “The ABS decided that adequately supporting data users with a strong desire to compare religious affiliation data from successive Censuses was a significant enough consideration to retain the question in its current form,” Australian Statistician, Dr David Gruen said. (25 Mar 2025)
Read more at the Rationalist Society of Australia
The recent budget announcement by the Labor government regarding LGBTIQA+ health has been positively received by advocacy groups, who see it as a significant step towards addressing health disparities within the community. The funding will support various initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes for LGBTIQA+ individuals, with a particular focus on mental health services and targeted health programs. Advocacy organisations have welcomed the announcement, highlighting the importance of allocating resources to support the diverse needs of the LGBTIQA+ community. (29 Mar 2025)
Read more at OUTinPerth
Around the Country
QLD: Queensland has joined the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement, securing an additional $2.8 billion in Commonwealth funding over the next decade to address public education funding shortfalls. This agreement, which completes participation by all Australian states and territories, increases the Commonwealth's contribution to public school funding from 20% to 25%, requiring states to also raise their funding to meet 75% of the minimum standards set by the 2012 Gonski Review. This commitment aims to fully fund public schools, addressing unique challenges such as Queensland's decentralised demographics and improving educational outcomes, including NAPLAN results. The funding, tied to reforms like evidence-based teaching and improved student support, is part of a broader $16.5 billion investment across Australia, with goals to enhance student performance and attendance. (24 Mar 2025)
Read more at ABC News
SA: A man arrested following an incident of theft at a church in Murray Bridge has been charged with sacrilege. South Australia is the only state to retain the crime of sacrilege on its books, and it carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. Read NSL's statement from last time this law was used, in 2020. (25 Mar 2025)
Read more at 7 News
NSW: The Labor Minns government has joined with Liberal and National MPs in praising the religious indoctrination program that segregates children in New South Wales’ public schools, as some speakers in a parliamentary debate also attacked the Victorian government’s policy on scripture. In the NSW Legislative Council last week, Liberal Party member Rachel Merton introduced a motion that recognised the “long and proud history” of the Special Religious Education (SRE) program. Ms Merton applauded Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Prue Car for committing to keeping SRE in class time. The Greens’ Abigail Boyd spoke in opposition to the motion, also raising concerns about the ongoing lack of departmental oversight of content being taught in SRE. (27 Mar 2025)
Read more at the Rationalist Society of Australia
Commentary and Analysis
Soofia Tariq: NSW abortion bill would not force shutdown of all Christian hospitals
"AAP FactCheck - All Christian and Catholic hospitals will not be forced to close if they refuse to perform abortions under proposed NSW laws, despite claims online. Experts say the Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Health Care Access) Bill 2025 does not apply to private hospitals, including the majority of Christian and Catholic hospitals. Additionally, the bill does not contain any mechanism to enforce compliance by the few Christian and Catholic hospitals classified as public health organisations, or remove the right of medical practitioners to conscientiously object to performing abortions. NSW Greens MP Amanda Cohn introduced a bill to parliament that she said would increase access to abortion health care on February 19, 2025. However, an Instagram post by anti-abortion activist Dr Joanna Howe inaccurately claims the bill will shut down all Christian and Catholic hospitals unless they perform terminations." (19 Mar 2025)
Read more at AAP
Emily JB Smith: People with dementia can't access Voluntary Assisted Dying. Some want change
"Adults with a terminal illness can apply for medicine to end their lives in all Australian states, with the Australian Capital Territory to start in November. But applicants must meet strict criteria, including having "decision-making capacity" and their illness is likely to cause death within six to 12 months. This effectively bars access to anyone with dementia. ... Dementia Australia said the illness was on track to become the country's leading cause of death and currently affects an estimated 433,300 Australians. [VAD advocate Sue] Starr is among those urging state governments to at least discuss the possibility of broadening VAD laws to include dementia in the future. But recent reviews of WA and Victoria's laws barely touched on the subject." (29 Mar 2025)
Read more at ABC News
Events and Campaigns
The Australian Education Union is seeking volunteers to letterbox flyers on their block in the lead-up to the federal election, encouraging people to support Labor's promise to increase funding for public schools. Read more at the Do Your Block campaign website
The full videos of presentations and panel discussions from the 2023 Secularism Australia Conference are 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
The Australian Education Union is running a campaign calling for “every school, every child” to receive fair education funding. Support the campaign here.
The Human Rights for NSW alliance is running a campaign calling for NSW to pass a Human Rights Act.
That's it for another week!
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