View Liberal National Coalition Responses

1. Freedom of religion

Australia has a proud record for protecting freedom, but increasingly faith-based organisations and individuals are unduly prevented from giving expression to their religion, or being pressured to act against their conscientiously-held beliefs, particularly in the areas of employment, service delivery, and education. Would your Party ensure that, like political parties, churches and religious bodies have their right to employ staff who share their ethos protected?

• The Coalition is committed to protecting the right of all people to practise their religion without intimidation or harassment, as long as those practices are within the framework of Australian law.

The definition of ‘discrimination’ in section 3 of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 provides that it “does not include any  distinction, exclusion or preference ... in connection with employment as a member of the staff of an institution that is conducted in accordance with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of a particular religion or creed, being a distinction, exclusion or preference made in good faith in order to avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities of adherents of that religion or that creed.”

The Coalition does not propose that that definition be altered.

The Coalition also respects the right of religious organisations to uphold their own ethos in their employment practices.

2. Prayer in parliament

The preamble to Australia’s Constitution states that our nation is “humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God”. Does your Party commit to maintaining the convention of opening Parliament each day exclusively with the Lord’s Prayer?

• The Coalition remains firmly committed to the opening of Parliament exclusively each day with the Lord’s Prayer.  The Coalition recognises the profound influence that Judaeo-Christian principles have had on the character and ethos of Australian society. 
• The Coalition believes the Australian Parliament should represent the society it seeks to serve and that offering the Lord’s Prayer each day prior to its deliberations is an appropriate way to do so.

3. Overseas aid

Will your Party confirm the current Government commitment to contribute 0.5% Gross National Income to international aid and development efforts by 2015? What timeline will it put in place to reach the internationally agreed target of 0.7% GNI?

• The Coalition is fully committed to The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and supports the target of 0.5% of national income in overseas development aid.
• A Coalition government will ensure that Australia’s foreign aid effort is focused on real priorities and is rigorously administered.  Unlike Labor, we will not fritter away the taxpayer-funded aid budget on frivolous activities such as the funding of consultants’ half-million dollar salaries.
• The Coalition supports the UN goal of 0.7% of ODA/GNI ratio as an international aspiration but does not agree with time-bound targets to reach this goal. If our fiscal position improves beyond 2015 we will re-examine our aid budget with a view to reaching the internationally agreed target of 0.7%.

In Government, the Coalition delivered seven consecutive real increases in Official Development Assistance (ODA), lifting our commitment to economic development and poverty alleviation by 62 per cent in real terms. 

Under the Coalition, Australian aid helped the world achieve the MDGs, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.  Our investment in a number of areas included a multi-year $600 million HIV/AIDS commitment, education, health, the environment and climate change closely align with MDG sectors.

4. Refugees

The immigration debate is complex, involving the competing priorities of meeting our moral obligation to offer asylum to genuine refugees, while minimising vulnerability to people smuggling, and ensuring border protection. What measures will your Party take to balance these competing priorities?

• The Coalition is committed to policies on refugees which are sustainable, orderly and fair to those in desperate situations waiting in refugee camps around the world for asylum in Australia.  Coalition border protection policy is based on denying the people smugglers the ability to sell permanent residency to Australia.  Any policy that continues to provide an incentive to this business is neither consistent with Australians’ expectations of effective border control nor compassionate.
• A Coalition Government will give priority to resettlement of refugees who have made offshore applications to Australia’s refugee and humanitarian visa programme. To achieve this goal, the Coalition will increase the number of resettlement places made available through the UNHCR for offshore applications each year by 1,500 persons from 6,000 to 7,500 places within the Refugee and Humanitarian programme of 13,750.
• The Coalition will also pilot the Canadian refugee sponsorship programme to enable groups in Australia to sponsor refugees over and above our regular intake on a fully bonded basis. This programme will be based on for temporary and permanent protection visas for refugees in overseas camps. The sponsorship programme will enable community groups, approved by the government, to provide sponsorship to people assessed as refugees by the UNHCR offshore. The pilot will be introduced in the first term of Coalition Government with a view to establishing a permanent programme in a subsequent term. The private sponsorship programme would therefore enable Australia to lift our refugee intake to 15,000 within three years.

5. Religious security

Many vulnerable people experience intolerable suffering in various countries due to persecution and a lack of religious freedom, often because of laws that forbid practice of non state religions. What would your Party do to encourage apostasy laws to be repealed in such countries, so that people are free to follow their own religious convictions without fear? What else would your Party do to support vulnerable people groups overseas, and respond to specific instances of religious or ethnic persecution?

• The Coalition in government would again work hard – both through direct bilateral contacts and through the United Nations – to speak up for those around the world who are persecuted because of their religion, including by advocating the repeal of apostasy laws.

A Coalition government would stand up for persecuted groups overseas with renewed vigor, in countries such as  Burma, China and Iran as examples. The Coalition would engage with other like-minded countries and NGOs over human rights issues.

6. Homelessness and housing affordability

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, on any given night there are approximately 100,000 homeless Australians. What policies will your Party implement to address this problem? How will your Party respond to the issue of housing affordability?

• Real and practical solutions are required to combat homelessness.  To this end, the Coalition will take a lead role in providing enhanced education and training opportunities for young Australians.  This support will include increasing and expanding the Education Tax Refund to provide real assistance to parents and help ease pressure on family budgets. Unlike the Government’s rebate which is limited to books, computers and uniforms, the Coalition’s rebate provides a more enhanced list of claimable items including school fees and levies, excursion costs, tutorial and music lessons as well as books, computers and uniforms. Importantly, the Coalition’s rebate is higher than that offered by the Rudd-Gillard Government and starts 1 January 2011 in time for the new school year.
• The Coalition’s Real Action Plan for Better Mental Health recognises younger Australians bear the brunt of mental illness.  Many of these young people end up on the streets.  Evidence shows that with early and targeted intervention treatment, many are able to overcome their problems, return to health and lead socially and economically productive lives.  This measure provides $1.5 billion towards 20 new Early Psychosis Intervention Centres, 60 additional youth headspace sites and 800 acute and sub-acute early intervention beds.  It builds on the Coalition’s 2006 investment of $1.9 billion for services for people with a mental illness, their families and carers.  That investment was the biggest investment into mental health of any government in Australian history.
• We are also strongly committed to combating illicit drug use, including the trafficking and distribution of drugs and the provision of treatment services to help people get off drugs.  In Government we will give unequivocal support for the fight against the use of illicit drugs and recently announced an additional $93.1m to increase customs inspections of air and sea ports to crack down on drug importation.

Despite spending $20 billion on so-called ‘housing initiatives’, housing affordability has actually declined; rental and mortgage stress have increased under the Labor Government.

• The Coalition wants to take a tougher line with state governments that refuse to release an adequate supply of land for new homes. We will work more closely with state and territory governments to ensure a more appropriate rate of land release.
• We will also put downward pressure on interest rates. Labor’s debt and deficit has contributed to six interest rate rises in the last eight months and reducing Labor’s $57 billion deficit and paying down the debt are key priorities for the Coalition.
• In Government, we will also reduce red tape and barriers to supply to ensure that we keep the great Australian dream of owning your own home within reach. And we will ensure local Government and local Communities have their say about what's going on in their own backyards.

7. Taxation considerations

The ‘Henry review’ of Australia’s taxation system recommended the winding back of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) arrangements. FBT concessions make churches and church-based service-providers in the health, community and welfare sectors more financially viable, ensuring the maintenance of services to some of our most vulnerable people. Would your Party support the retention of FBT concessions for churches and faith-based charities?

• We have no intention of changing the fringe benefit tax laws as they relate to charities. We understand the importance of these concessions to the charitable sector.

8. Cloning

Given that the scientific basis for ‘therapeutic cloning’ has changed since the Federal Parliament considered cloning in 2006, and that there is now an entirely ethical and uncontentious method to obtain the same specialised stem cells that cloning scientists have never managed to obtain, does your Party support a new conscience vote on laws permitting the creation of cloned human embryos solely for research?

• The Private Members Bill passed in 2006 to permit cloning was the subject of a conscience vote within the Federal Parliament.  The Coalition has no intention of further liberalising legislation in regard to cloning.

9. Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the intentional killing of a ‘suffering’ patient. Legalised euthanasia alters the social contract with the vulnerable and ‘unwanted’ in society, who will perceive the so-called ‘right to die’ more as a ‘duty to die’, and corrupts the doctor-patient relationship in profound ways. While the vote may be a conscience one, will your Party reject any moves to legalise euthanasia?

• Unlike the Labor Party, the Coalition holds that the right of a Member or Senator to vote on matters according to their conscience is a fundamental right of our parties.
• As has occurred in the past, should a Bill concerning euthanasia be presented to the Federal Government in the next Parliament, all members of the Coalition parties, as a matter of principle, would be able to exercise a conscience vote.
• In Government, the Coalition made time for the Andrews bill to be brought forward and debated on. This legislation overturned the NT euthanasia law.

10. Abortion

The 2007 annual report of the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity (Victoria) showed that 52 out of 181 late term babies who were aborted for “abnormalities” survived late term abortions but died neo-natally. Would your Party support a conscience vote on Medicare funding for abortions carried out on babies old enough to be viable outside the womb?

The Coalition has no plans to change current arrangements in relation to abortion. In government, the Coalition established a nationwide Pregnancy Counselling Helpline to provide counselling and referral services to women and their partners who wished to explore their options in the face of unintended pregnancy.

11. Abortion Data

There are approximately 80,000 abortions performed in Australia each year, but obtaining accurate figures is fraught by bureaucratic impediments. What will your Party do to obtain more accurate and complete abortion data in line with the cross-party recommendation of the 2008 Senate inquiry into the Health Insurance Regulations?

• On 13 November 2008, the Senate’s Finance and Public Administration Committee tabled a report which noted that concerns had been expressed over the lack of data on abortions in Australia. It made a recommendation that all States and Territories through the Australian Health Ministers Conference work towards providing complete and uniform data for the Perinatal National Minimum Data Set.
• The Coalition supports the current Government’s response which included extra funding over four years for improved maternity data collections as part of its Improving Maternity Services Budget Package 2009-10. 

12. Chaplaincy

The 2009 research paper, “The Effectiveness of Chaplaincy”, showed that the Federal Government’s National School Chaplaincy Program was supported by more than 97% of the 688 participating school principals, who said that chaplains had been highly effective in providing pastoral care services for students and school communities. Does your Party commit to funding faith-based chaplaincy in schools beyond 2011, and at what level?

• A Coalition Government will make the National School Chaplaincy Programme an ongoing Programme and will continue funding at its present levels - $165 million over 3 years.

Chaplains play a valuable role in schools, supporting students and school communities by offering pastoral care and guidance across religious denominations and beliefs.

The National School Chaplaincy Programme was introduced by the former Coalition Government and enabled schools to employ a part-time school chaplain, with the purpose of providing pastoral care and non-denominational spiritual guidance in schools.  The Programme operates in 1,915 schools where the local community has sought to be involved with the programme, and enjoys strong support among principals, schools and in the community generally.

The chaplaincy programme has been particularly successful in helping students with behaviour management issues and those that may have difficulties in their social relationships.  If the Programme were to cease, this decision would most disadvantage those students that battle with loneliness or bullying at schools and students who have difficulties in their families.

The Coalition has already announced our commitment to continuing support for the great work chaplains are doing in our schools through the National School Chaplaincy Programme.

Labor have responded with only a temporary one year extension to the Programme until the end of 2011, at a reduced funding rate, with a review of the Programme being conducted by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

13. Youth unemployment

The national youth unemployment rate is 17% but in some locations it is over 40%. What policies will your Party implement to support and encourage young Australians to engage in active employment?

• A Coalition Government will take seriously the principle of Mutual Obligation that has been severely compromised under Labor.  The Coalition is determined to have a social security system which encourages people to work and not stay on welfare.  We firmly believe that the best form of welfare is a job. 
• While general unemployment is low, youth unemployment is very high under the Labor Government. The full time youth unemployment rate of 24.3% (June 2010) is up over 6 % since the Howard government (from 17.4% in June 2007).
• The Coalition knows that the worst thing for young people is to not be actively engaged in work or training. Doing nothing disengages young people from society and locks in patterns of welfare dependency.

14. National curriculum

The national curriculum stresses teaching all subjects from indigenous, Asian and environmental perspectives, but the proposed history curriculum fails to acknowledge the significance of Australia’s Judeo-Christian heritage. What actions will your Party take to ensure a more balanced approach to the national curriculum, one that properly recognises Christianity’s historical and on-going contribution to Australia’s social, political and legal structures? What place, if any, should the Bible have in the national English curriculum, given its status as the most printed and translated literary work, and its obvious effect on the development of Western culture, literature and art?

• The Coalition is concerned about key aspects of the proposed new National Curriculum.  If elected we will review the National Curriculum and widen the consultative process.  We will consider a broader based approach that encourages and fosters choice and diversity.

While some aspects of the Curriculum, such as the greater emphasis on achieving practical literacy and numeracy, are welcome improvements, we remain concerned with the direction the Curriculum drafters chose to take in a number of other areas, such as history and science.

The Curriculum still seems to be more about political correctness than practical education. 

15. School funding

Given that many of the students attending low fee independent and Christian schools come from families of a similar socio-economic background as those of public schools, will your Party guarantee that any review of funding for the non-government school sector will result in no reduction in the level of funding in both real and relative terms for these schools?

• The Coalition will continue the existing SES funding model until the end of the quadrennium and beyond.  We will consult on how to enhance the model in the lead up to the new agreement in 2013.
• The Coalition will also preserve the funding maintenance and funding guarantee provisions that exist for non-government schools in the SES model.

The Coalition has a long standing commitment to equitable funding for non government schools.  This commitment has not changed - the same cannot be said for Labor.

Labor has agreed that recurrent funding for non-Government schools will continue under the previous Government’s SES funding model until 31 December 2012 after which they will introduce a new funding system, based on the outcome of their school funding review.

The review has commenced, with the terms of reference to be announced by June 2010.  The review recommendations will not be available until after the election.

Labor will have no school funding policy at the election.  There are no guarantees that non-government schools won’t be worse off under the new system.

In contrast, the Coalition believes that schools need certainty about funding arrangements in order to plan effectively for the future.

16. Marriage

Marriage is clearly defined in the Marriage Act as the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. Would your Party commit to support this definition for the life of the Government and beyond?

• The Coalition Governement acted in 2004 to define in legislation that marriage is ‘the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life’.

The Coalition believes that this definition reflects the views of the majority of the Australian community and will continue to strongly oppose any action that would alter the status of marriage.  It will also continue to oppose any action which would create confusion over the distinction between marriage and same sex relationships.

The Australian Government does not regulate civil unions and relationship registers.  The regulation of same sex relationships is a matter for the States and Territories.  In that context, the Coalition has no plans to introduce civil unions or relationship registers for same-sex couples.

17. Parenting

Now that a paid parental leave scheme has been legislated and will begin operation on 1 January 2011, what policies will your Party implement to redress the inequality in Government support experienced by women who work exclusively in the home?

• The Coalition would like to give stay-at-home mums a better deal but currently the priority is getting Labor's debt and deficit down.

We are very proud of our record of providing help to Australian families. The previous Coalition government introduced Family Tax Benefits (FTB) A and B to help families with the cost of raising children. These reforms ushered in a new and generous era of family assistance in Australia, which continue to benefit families today.

We introduced Family Tax Benefit B to help families with single incomes. We place huge value on mothers who choose to work exclusively in the home. Today Family Tax Benefit B provides more than $4 billion a year in support to Australia’s stay-at-home mums.

The value of family assistance more than doubled under the previous Coalition government, from $12.5 billion in 1995/96 to almost $29.7 billion in 2007/08. In 2004 we introduced the “More Help for Families” package. This was easily the largest family assistance package put forward by any Australian government.

The paid parental leave scheme the Coalition has announced is good for mothers who choose to work because it helps them when they are at their most financially vulnerable. It allows them to spend a significant period of time with their children without having them forgo the option of returning to work later. It is important to remember that our parental leave is a workplace entitlement – not a welfare entitlement.

Our paid parental leave scheme is also good for the economy because it makes it easier for women to stay engaged with the workforce, if they choose to.

18. Surrogacy and ART

The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) intends to achieve uniform national surrogacy law. Some States allow surrogacy for single people and same-gender couples to obtain a child, who then has no possibility of having both a mother and a father. In constructing nationally consistent surrogacy laws, will your Party oppose any provision for single and same-gender surrogacy?

• The Coalition believes that, all things being equal, children should have the opportunity for the care and affection of a father and mother.
• States and Territories are responsible for the provision and regulation of health and medical care and treatment.
• While at present, the Federal Government does not have comprehensive powers to legislate with respect to IVF, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) or surrogacy, the Coalition will not support any measure which might open the door or otherwise give legitimacy to same-sex adoption, same-sex IVF or same-sex surrogacy.”

19. Classification

There are a number of Codes of Practice across a range of media platforms, with some types of media self-regulated, others falling under the scope of the ACMA or the Classification Board. This multiplicity of media regulation is ill-equipped to keep pace with rapid technological changes, lacks effective enforcement mechanisms, and leaves children vulnerable to harm from inappropriate media products. Will your Party commit to a comprehensive review of Australia’s media regulatory environment, with a view to establish an effective classification system across all media, including advertising and games?

• The Coalition believes that our current classification system is broken and is inappropriately applied in many instances. 
• A Coalition Government will review the current system, building on the work of the 2008 Senate Inquiry.  This review will be tasked with developing a new way of ensuring that proper community standards are applied to all media. We do not believe that that laissez faire appropriate in this area.
• The Coalition believes that the classification system must tale into account the new technologies available to deliver content to children, young people and adults and develop a comprehensive new framework that looks at the content, and not just the platform it is delivered over, when determining its appropriateness.

20. Internet safety

Recent Government trials have shown that blocking Refused Classification (RC) material at the ISP level is technically feasible. Will your Party commit to the filtering of RC material at the ISP level to provide a safer internet environment for children? Some ISPs already provide commercial filtering products for parents to protect children from legal but otherwise harmful internet content. What would your Party do to encourage wider availability of such services?

• The Coalition supports sensible and workable measures to protect children from illegal or inappropriate online content.
• As a matter of principle, we support ways to protect young people from content which it is illegal for them to access.
• The Coalition will continue to assess, monitor and test improvements in technology which may enhance online safety. But ultimately it will be a range of measures – such as strong and well funded online policing, support for teachers and parents, international cooperation and technology options that will keep our children safe in the online world.

Experts say that most predatory risks to children lurk in those areas of the online world that are largely immune to filtering, such as chat rooms, email and peer-to-peer networks. The Government’s proposed ISP filter will not protect children using chat rooms or social media such as Facebook.

We are very disappointed that the Rudd-Gillard Government cancelled the Howard Government’s free PC based filter option without another option for families.

The Government promised in December to produce internet-filtering legislation by now and it still hasn’t introduced it into the Parliament. This indicates the technical difficulties about how precisely the filter would work and whether it would really be effective.

The best internet filter a child can have is a parent that is engaged in what their children do and see on the internet.

21. Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted devastating effects of climate change on the global environment and population. At the same time a body of contrary scientific evidence is beginning to emerge in the debate. What is your Party’s position on climate change, and what are the policies it plans to implement on that basis, including for the world’s poorest?

• The Coalition has a direct action policy on the table ready to be implemented.  It does not involve further talkfests or delay.  The Coalition will go to this election with a detailed and costed plan outlining how we intend to reduce Australia’s emissions and delivering broader environmental benefits for all Australians.
• In addition, a Coalition Government will fund a standing green army of up to 15,000 people that will be available on an ongoing basis and supplemented by volunteers to tackle the local and regional environmental priorities that most urgently require the sustained application of labour.

While there are no cost-free approaches to reducing Australia’s CO2 emissions, the world has moved on from Copenhagen.  In the absence of action by major global emitters, the Coalition believes that we can achieve a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 through Direct Action. 

The Coalition’s climate action policy provides incentives for Australian families and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions.  It focuses on meaningful, effective and direct action whilst also providing funding for broader improvements to Australia’s environment beyond emissions reductions. 

The Coalition’s policy involves several measures, including the funding of emissions abatement through such forms as carbon sequestration and a once in a century rejuvenation of our soils, and the planting of 20 million trees. 

22. Sharia law

In 2009 the Islamic Council of Victoria rebuffed an attempt by one of its board members to propose the establishment of a Sharia court to handle disputes in the Muslim community over divorce, child access, wills and the like. Would your party commit to opposing the adoption of a parallel Sharia Law legal system within Australia?

• The Coalition will not alter the current law, according to which it is quite legal for any religious body to establish its own tribunal to determine purely internal matters, for example the appointment to religious offices or the resolution of doctrinal matters. 
• However, the Coalition will not countenance the creation of a parallel court system with the power to make determinations affecting the broader rights of individuals or property interests and, in particular, any parallel system that conflicts with domestic legislation.
• The Coalition makes it very clear that we reject any introduction of sharia law into Australia.

23. Human Rights Act

The National Human Rights Consultation recommended the enactment of a federal Human Rights Act. However many Christian churches and groups opposed a HRA because of little evidence of overseas versions improving human rights and their being used by activists to undermine freedom of religion. Given the time and expense of assessing Parliament’s present position on the HRA, will your Party rule out introducing a Human Rights Act or equivalent instrument in the next and subsequent parliament?

• The Coalition is opposed to the enactment of a federal Human Rights Act but would support in its place a new Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to provide greater scruitiny of legislation from a human rights point of view.

The Coalition hopes that if such a Committee were to proceed it would have sufficient regard to the substantial body of human rights that can be found within our own common law tradition, statute law and the Constitution, rather than from such international instruments as International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

24. Indigenous welfare

Social justice for indigenous people remains a major issue for Christian churches. What initiatives and policies would your Party introduce to ensure not only better health, housing, education and employment opportunities for indigenous Australians, but also to facilitate long-term social inclusion and a sense of hope and purpose for the first Australians? What would your Party do during the next term of Parliament to specifically address these goals?

• A Coalition Government will accelerate action to replace the inaction of the Labor Government on Indigenous affairs.  We will end Labor’s overly bureaucratic processes and deliver the support and infrastructure that Indigenous Australians were promised but failed to receive under Labor.
• The Leader of the Opposition has introduced a private members Bill into Parliament to overturn the Queensland Government’s Wild Rivers Act as it impacts on Cape York.  The Wild Rivers legislation won’t prevent the declaration of new national parks on Cape York but aims to permit ecologically sustainable development by the Indigenous population.

When last in government, the Coalition took decisive action to end the isolation and disadvantage experienced by Indigenous people. The intervention launched in the Northern Territory was an example of the Coalition’s resolve to improve the health, education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians living in the Northern Territory.

After delivering the historic apology to Indigenous Australians there was an expectation that the Labor Government would honour their promises to build houses, reduce unemployment and address the chronic health conditions suffered by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The Labor government’s two Closing the Gap Reports to Parliament have confirmed that no meaningful progress has been made by Labor on reducing Indigenous disadvantage.  The achievements of the previous government progress have been lost.

A national government which fails to become involved in a serious problem of a state government’s making, where it can, becomes complicit. Indigenous Australians cannot enjoy lives of hope and purpose if they are denied the sorts of economic opportunities available to other Australians.