Freedom of Association
Prof. Mark Sneddon, ICS Executive Director, discusses the Galaxy poll on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, and the importance of these issues for the 2019 Federal Election. A new poll, conducted by YouGov Galaxy and published by the Institute for Civil Society on Wednesday shows a vast majority of Australians think freedom of conscience
On February 7, 2019, the Institute for Civil Society's Prof. Mark Sneddon and Dr Simon Kennedy appeared before the Senate Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee to further contribute to their inquiry into the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Removing Discrimination Against Students) Bill 2018. The Committee was appreciative of ICS's contribution to the inquiry and asked a
This is a submission prepared for the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. On 6 December 2018, the Senate referred the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Removing Discrimination Against Students) Bill 2018 and all circulated amendments to the bill to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. A PDF of the submission can be found here. Executive
Our society is made up of lots of different groups with different views on what makes for a good life. Atheist and religious. CLP and Labor. Socialists and capitalists. Gay and straight. AFL and NRL. Darwin Buffaloes and Southern Districts Crocs supporters. Having a diversity of groups with a diversity of views is a sign
Editor's note: Will Jones, a UK-based writer and philosopher, has responded to Pete Mulherin and Simon Kennedy's article in POLICY magazine about the importance of voluntary associations for a healthy liberal democracy. We appreciate the civil and thoughtful interaction with our work on this vital issue. You can read some more of his work here. Read
In September 2017, the Northern Territory's Department of the Attorney General and Justice released a Discussion Paper about the "Modernisation of the Anti-Discrimination Act". They called for comments on the paper. The Institute for Civil Society made the following submission in January 2018. A PDF of the paper can be found here. Comment on NT
The antidote to the slow yet real monopolisation of community by the state is a strong civil society and the voluntary associations that thrive within it. Voluntary associations are key to protecting diversity in a pluralistic society, write ICS' Peter Mulherin and Simon P. Kennedy in the Centre for Independent Studies' quarterly POLICY Magazine. Read
On Tuesday afternoon, Victoria’s upper house of Parliament voted down the Labor Government’s Equal Opportunity Amendment Bill. The Bill was a direct attack on religious groups in Victoria, as it restricted the ability of religious groups to make employment decisions based on whether a candidate or employee agreed with and practised the religion. The Bill
The Victorian Labor Government has run into heavy weather trying to convince the Legislative Council to pass its Religious Exceptions Bill. Read more at The Spectator Australia website .
A bill before the Victorian Parliament professes to put an end to discrimination, but the result will be nothing of the kind. What it would achieve is nothing less than the formal rejection of the idea that diverse views are integral to the conduct of a civil society The difference between religious and government schools
