On Marriage equality and religious freedom

Jo Jordan, Presiding Clerk, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia writes:  Re. “Freedom of religion is not the right to dictate others’ lives“(Monday)

Michael Bradley’s excellent analysis of religious freedom in Australia fell short in one respect: it did not recognise the impact of the Marriage Act on religions that support marriage equality. 

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is currently prevented by law from facilitating the same legal recognition for the same-sex marriages that we do for other marriages. A vote for same sex marriage would remove this prohibition and would, therefore, be a vote for religious freedom. In the discussion of equal rights for all, we hope that religion can earn its place at the table.

John Richardson writes: Re. “Freedom of religion is not the right to dictate others’ lives“ (Monday)

I’ve always thought that, as a secular society, Australia was a place where religion does not dictate law & all citizens have the right to practice or not practice a religion, as they choose. 

Michael Bradley is right to call out Archbishops Hart & Costelloe, who have recently argued that the sanctity of the confessional transcends any obligation to report crimes under the laws of the land; even when committed by princes of the church against children. This, to me, is a deliberate & unacceptable attempt by the church to make its laws superior to those of the state.

Now we have the same religious organisations, supported by their spear carriers (Abbott, Shelton & Abetz), arguing that they should be able to impose sanctions on their servants where they breach church law, even though those servants may be acting in full compliance with the laws of the state.

Given that religious organisations appear determined to undermine the secular basis of our society, perhaps it is time to consider removing the exemptions to state laws they currently enjoy, including their privileged tax status, lest we lose the very freedoms that a secular society is supposed to guarantee?

On misleading jobs data

John Kotsopoulos writes:  Re. “How jobs data gets twisted to tell falsehoods” (Monday)

I am glad Crikey has blown the whistle on the attempt by the Turnbull Government to fiddle the latest jobs figures by trying to represent a downturn as an upturn.

The tone of the ABC News report I saw was indicative of a direct and unquestioning regurgitation of a Government media release. It showed no evidence of any independent analysis. I hope that the ABC management has learned an important lesson namely that, to avoid rookie mistakes that can shift markets,  somebody with an understanding of economics must vet economic reports before they presented to the public. This is especially so where that “news” is derived from a Government media release or media event.