View Australian Sex Party 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?

Churches should have freedom to employ staff who share their ethos but should not be allowed to discriminate against these people on the basis of their gender, sexual preferences or other employment choices. Discrimination on these grounds for people who otherwise share a basic philosophical or religious belief cannot be justified by the teachings of any of the founders of the major religions. So someone who is practising catholic and has no qualms with the religious teaching but happens to be gay or lesbian should not be disqualified from a teaching or serving position within the church. In such cases the organization to be subject to the full force of the local discrimination law.

• Freedom for religions to choose staff of similar belief
• No freedom to discriminate against them on grounds of sex, gender or occupation
• Churches liable to be sued for infractions

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?

We believe that an effective separation between church and state does not exist when a prayer from any established religion is used to open Parliament each day – especially the Lord’s Prayer. The line in the Constitution regarding reliance on blessing from a higher being has no specific or implied reference to the opening of Parliament. A far better option would be a non religious thought or commentary based on ethics, respect and tolerance. Any mention of ‘God’ in the opening of Parliament should be dispensed with as it immediately invites ownership and ‘my God’ as opposed to ‘your God’, becomes the order of the day.

• Prayer before opening parliament is divisive and exclusive
• It has no basis in the Constitution
• A statement reminding MPs of ethics, respect and tolerance would be far better

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?

As a new party based on sex, gender and personal liberty, we do not have policies developed yet on overseas aid or refugees.

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?

As a new party based on sex, gender and personal liberty, we do not have policies developed yet on overseas aid or refugees.

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?

On the issue of religious security we believe that people should be free to follow any religion or belief they choose to as long as they don’t ram it down other people’s throats. The best thing people could do to repeal apostasy laws in other countries would ultimately be to do away with religion altogether. Apostasy laws in some countries have been encouraged by the missionary zeal of other religions trying to take over from an established form of belief. This is a problem created by the inherent nature of organised religions and is not something that secular organizations can or should try to fix.

• People should be free to adopt any religion they wish
• Apostasy laws an inevitable consequence of organised religion

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?

We do not have polices on homelessness or housing affordability yet.

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 believe that FBT concessions for churches and faith-based charities should be abolished unless they can prove that all revenue goes to the provision of a charitable service and not to the furtherance of religion itself. We also believe that tax concessions for businesses who simply claim that they are ‘promoting religion’ should also be abolished. There is no demonstrable proof that religion contributes to a better society any more than clothing industries or gardening products and therefore they should be subjected to the same tax regime as the rest of the business community.

• No FBT concessions for churches
• No tax breaks for businesses who claim to be ‘furthering religion’
• Cessation of tax-exempt status for religious institutions.

• Establishment of a Royal Commission into child sex abuse in religious institutions.

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?

On the issue of ‘cloning’ we do not have a policy yet.

• Supports stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research, and maintains it is a vital medical issue, not a religious issue.

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?

This topic is fundamentally flawed through a misunderstanding of the nature of ‘life’ in this context. Life is not the opposite of ‘death’. ‘Birth’ is the opposite of ‘death’. Life is something that continues through both of these natural cycles and beyond.

Our party believes in the right of a person to die with dignity and to chose the time of their exit from this incarnation – especially if they are undergoing extreme suffering.

• Pro euthanasia.

• Voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide for patients with a terminal illness and suffering severe pain to be decriminalized.
• In addition to the patient’s primary medical practitioner a second and independent practitioner would be required to confirm his / her agreement with the diagnosis and prognosis.
• Information about palliative care options must be given to the patient and having been given this information the patient must confirm to the primary medical practitioner that all other options are not acceptable and that he or she wants assistance.
• A seven day cooling off period must then be allowed for before assistance can be provided.

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?

With regard to abortion our party supports ‘conscience’ votes on all issues and especially with abortion. We support a women’s right to control her own fertility and to terminate a pregnancy up until the developing foetus becomes an individual person in its own right, with an individual consciousness. We support Medicare funding for all terminations where a qualified doctor is involved.

• Pro abortion

• Supports women’s rights to have an abortion if they so choose.
• Calls for uniform state abortion laws and amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Act to allow milepristone (RU486) to be imported and distributed widely in place of the highly restrictive and cumbersome Authorised Prescriber process which resulted from the “Harradine Amendments” to the Therapeutic Goods Amendment Bill 1996.

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?

The question regarding our support for spending more public money to obtain (supposedly) more accurate figures on terminations is an insult to intelligence and sensitivity of the many women who reluctantly undergo this procedure each year. It assumes that women have abortions on a whim and use abortion as a form of birth control, lightly and without thought. Such a question could only have been posed by men with another agenda and we will not dignify it with a reply.

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?

We believe that the National School Chaplaincy Program is a waste of taxpayer’s money and should be stopped immediately.

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?

The Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 public education system should be secular in nature and not provide for any religious instruction whatsoever.
• An Ethics course along the lines of the current NSW trial, developed by the St James Ethics Centre, to be incorporated into the national curriculum.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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?

• Opposes a blanket ban on women wearing the burqa conditional upon it being the woman’s choice.

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 Sex Party has not yet answered this question.

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?

The Sex Party has not yet answered this question.