What is the legacy of the Australian Christian Lobby’s Martyn Iles?

Over the weekend, Martyn Iles, erstwhile head of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), announced he’d been dismissed by the board.

“I hasten to add there is no question of misconduct,” he said. “Rather, the board has reviewed the ACL’s strategic direction and decided I am not the right person to lead the revised strategy, which focuses more primarily on political tactics, less on the gospel. Having heard this articulated, I absolutely agree … I have always been a preacher first, a politician second (or third)”.

We’re not so sure about that — the ACL certainly lived up to its “lobby” function in the years after Iles took over from Lyle Shelton. Crikey takes a look back at the successes and failures of Iles’ time in charge.

Scott Morrison’s ‘miracle’

Iles became the face of the ACL at the age of 29 in 2018, after it had resolutely failed to convince the Australian public of the evils of marriage equality. During the 2019 federal election, it ran a targeted campaign on issues such as abortion, religious freedom and Safe Schools in a group of key marginal seats — Boothby in South Australia, Canning in Western Australia, Petrie in Queensland, Chisholm in Victoria, and Bass in Tasmania.

Although it’s hard to quantify the exact influence of the ACL campaign, the Coalition won them all.

Israel Folau

In just a few days in June 2019, Iles landed high-profile television appearances on Sunrise and The Project and made the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald over the sacking of rugby player Israel Folau for homophobic social media posts, motivated by Folau’s belief that “hell awaits” gay people (along with drunks, adulterers and others).

The issue with Folau was elevated beyond a debate around what an employer could control about their employees’ expression outside work, becoming instead a celebrated culture war cause — and the ACL was a big part of that. The day GoFundMe shut down Folau’s fundraiser for legal fees, Iles and the ACL took over, going on to raise $2 million in 24 hours.

Several gallons of ink were spilt on what it all meant, though nothing much changed. The case resolved as you might expect an employment dispute between two well-resourced parties in Australia, with a confidential settlement and a mild, mutual apology. The ACL put out a statement saying the case had set “a clear precedent for every bureaucrat, manager, or person in a position of power, that they cannot ruin someone’s career because they don’t like what they believe”.

Religious freedom

After a quiet year in the early part of the pandemic, in 2021 the ACL ramped up its efforts towards its main aim since marriage equality didn’t go its way: entrenched legislative projections for “religious freedoms”.

Iles had meetings with politicians and appeared on Q+A. The organisation went all out, spending on Facebook ads on issues such as “cancel culture”, and going on a hiring blitz for roles such as national politics director. It worked. Sort of.

The religious freedom debate dominated the early part of 2022 and, at the third time of asking, the Morrison government got its religious discrimination bill through the House of Representatives. But the bill stalled in the Senate and was ultimately withdrawn.

As the sun began to set on Australia’s first Pentecostal prime minister, Iles concluded: “The wrong people seized control [of the Liberal Party] at a crucial moment.”

The saga around the bill perhaps sums up Iles’ time in charge — a lot of attention and influence that exceeded what you would expect from a lobby group representing a sectional interest within a sectional interest (a 2017 poll found more than half of Australian Christians supported marriage equality, and 61% didn’t like “conservative groups” like the ACL speaking on behalf of them).

But ultimately, it’s hard to find a concrete change that’s down to its impact.

“No matter how preposterous the Israel Folau or gender perspectives Iles argued, in my view he did Australia a favour,” political communication expert Toby Ralph told Crikey. “I think a community is enriched by debate exposing conflicting views rather than suppression of them. It lets sunlight do its job.”

An ACL spokesperson said Iles was a “fabulous” leader who would be missed.

“The word gospel simply means good news,” the spokesperson told Crikey.

“The work of ACL has always been, and will continue to be, political engagement built solely on, and informed by, the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. That has not changed one bit.”