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The game is up for conservative Christians

In light of the Andrew Thorburn Essendon football club controversy, Simon Kennedy has written an article for The Australian, asking the question 'are people with traditional religious views free to participate in public life?' Here is the link to the original article published in The Australian: ARTICLE LINK And a PDF of the article can be accessed here: PDF

By | October 8th, 2022|Uncategorized|

Submission to the Inquiry on the Religious Discrimination Bill

The Institute for Civil Society supports the Religious Discrimination Bill and accompanying Bills as a long overdue protection of people of faith and their organisations from being discriminated against on the ground of their religious belief or religious activity. In January 2022, ICS made a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into

By | May 10th, 2022|Freedom of Conscience and Religion|

Federal Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 Summary

PDF available here. The Bill’s strengths It provides for the first time national protection for individuals against discrimination on grounds of their religious belief or lawful religious activity in many fields of public life (like employment, education, accommodation, provision of goods or services). Currently there is no protection against religious discrimination in NSW or (except

By | December 14th, 2021|Uncategorized|

ICS strongly supports the NSW Joint Select Committee Report on the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Freedoms and Equality) Bill 2020 (NSW)

An all-party NSW Parliamentary Joint Select Committee Report has made detailed recommendations for a NSW Government Bill to protect people and organisations from discrimination based on their religious belief or activity.[1] The Committee’s Report deserves strong support. Federal, State and Territory anti-discrimination laws all prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation and

By | July 10th, 2021|Freedom of Conscience and Religion|

Anti-conversion Bill’s rigid ideology and overreach will harm not help

The Andrews Government’s Conversion and Suppression Practices Ban Bill started with an idea many would support – banning non-consensual aversion therapy for sexual orientation. But it totally jumps the shark by making illegal (and often criminal) a very wide range of conduct directed towards a person (from mere conversation to counselling to therapy) by anyone

By | December 8th, 2020|Freedom of Conscience and Religion|

Scare Campaign Against Bill Uses Hypotheticals, But Real People Need Its Protection

Australians who regularly practise their religion are in a minority. Those who follow traditional religious practices on matters like sexual ethics, marriage, sanctity of human life, prayer and fasting or religious dress are an unpopular minority in some quarters. Like other minorities, they experience discrimination, but they don’t have the same legal protection. All federal,

By | March 3rd, 2020|Freedom of Conscience and Religion|

Mark Sneddon on ABC TV: Israel Folau, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion

"The better remedy for views which you think are objectionable is to rebut them. The remedy for bad speech is good speech. The remedy for bad ideas is better arguments on the other side. And that's how a free society operates, and that's how hopefully we get closer to truth while not shutting each other

By | December 10th, 2019|Freedom of Conscience and Religion, Uncategorized|

Comments on the Exposure Draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill 2019 and the Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Freedom of Religion) Bill 2019

PDF version available here. Executive summary ICS believes that the Religious Discrimination Bill (RD Bill) has much to commend it. However, there are a number of amendments and improvements that should be made in order to bolster the protection of freedom of religion and to meet Australia’s obligations under Article 18 of the International Covenant on

By | September 25th, 2019|Freedom of Conscience and Religion|