The Catholic Weekly 20 February 2022

catholicweekly.com.au 2 20, February, 2022 PRIME MINISTER Scott Mor- rison’s self-declared miracu- lous victory at the 2019 federal election could be attributed to a large extent to unexpected swings to theCoalition in elec- torates with large numbers of migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds, often with a strong commitment to religious faith. This was no accident. In Scott Morrison, these communities could see a Prime Minister with a com- mitted Christian faith, who could act as their ambassador in the face of any public at- tacks on religious institutions. And the Prime Minister made a concerted effort to demonstrate that this was not mere lip service through pushing for the introduction of a Religious Discrimination Bill (2021), aimed at ensur- ing that religious institutions FROM P1 Martin reportedly had given little indication she would cross the floor. By siding with Zimmerman and Archer, Martin prompted Sharma and Allen to add their votes to the push against their own government. The Defence Minister, Peter Dutton, said following the vote that the Prime Minister had been “misled” and that “the government doesn’t go into a vote like that unless there’s been assurances given”. Following the shelving of the bill, Martin said her decision to cross the floor was motivated by her clinical practice treating “People of faith should As the Coalition prepares to fight for a fourth term, it’s clear some ¾ Michael Kenny Has our PM let ‘One MP caused a rout’ could effectively assert their own values and ethos in the running of their own institu- tions. For Catholic schools, such legislation was long overdue, enshrining in law practices they had long followed, allow- ing them to recruit practising Catholics to key leadership positions and ensuring that staff and students were ex- pected to abide by the values and ethos of the school. High hopes of having this legislation passed by the par- liament before an election have now been dashed as a result of an extraordinary backbench revolt which has highlighted serious cracks in Scott Morrison’s authority as Prime Minister and which is expected to hurt the Co- alition’s standing with faith communities at the upcoming federal poll. After a long overnight sitting of the House of Rep- resentatives on 9 February, Liberal MPs Trent Zimmer- man, Fiona Martin, Katie Al- len, Bridget Archer and Dave Sharma crossed the floor, vot- ing with Labor to amend a key element of the religious dis- crimination laws championed by Prime Minister Morrison. While the Liberal Party has a tradition of allowing MPs to cross the floor and not be ex- pelled, unlike the Labor Party, a rebellion on this scale is un- precedented in recent times, especially coming as it does just months out from a federal election when party unity is so critical to electoral success. The last time a Coalition government faced such an internal parliamentary revolt was in 1982 when six Coali- tion senators crossed the floor to support a Labor bill to cur- tail the power of the Senate to bring down governments by blocking or threatening to block supply. Yet could these latest dis- sident MPs effectively be un- dermining not only their own re-election chances in their seats at the upcoming federal election, but also those of the Coalition as a whole, given the deep setback the failure to pass this legislation amounts to for Australians of faith? And should these MPs still be contesting their seats as endorsed Liberal MPs when they have openly defied their leader on what was one of his signature policies which had guided him to victory at the last election? One of the maverick MPs, Western Sydney Liberal Fiona Martin holds her seat of Reid by a marginal 3.2 percent and on the basis of current opinion polls, may struggle to retain it at the next election. Reid is highly culturally diverse with 52 percent of the electorate speaking a language other than English at home. Cen- sus data highlights there is a high concentration of Catho- lics in the electorate, making up around 27 percent of the electorate in the most recent Australian Census. It would I n this edition News Movies, books Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-13 10-11 28-29 32-33 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Kenny (02) 9390 5348 EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 Adam Wesselinoff (02) 9390 5400 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Katie Clarke (02) 9390 5402 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Faith in the trajectory of life catch it now at: thiscatholiclife.com.au Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5222. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204. DOWNLOAD THE OUR FAITH OUR WORKS APP Your one-stop location for Mass and Confession times, spiritual reflections and meditations, podcasts, local Catholic news, the Go Make Disciples mission plan, and much more. To download the app visit ourfaithourworks.org/app or scan the QR Code. Celebrating loved ones for over 90 years Trevor Lee & Son is a family business that has helped families celebrate and remember their loved ones for over 90 years. ♦ Intimate and personal funeral services ♦ Professional, compassionate staff, available 24 hours a day ♦ On site or in the comfort of your own home ♦ Servicing all areas of Metropolitan Sydney and Country NSW ♦ Pre-Paid Funerals available Contact Bernadette (nee O’Hare), Trevor or Darren Lee on 9746 2949 to arrange an appointment. Call Katie on (02) 9390 5402 www.catholicjobsonline.com. au Find the career you deserve not be discriminated against because of their beliefs, nor should children be put in harm’s way because of who they are,” she said. The 2016 Census recorded Reid’s Catholic population at almost 27%. Martin, who is of Greek ancestry, was edu- cated at Catholic schools and has regularly attended Catho- lic services in her electorate since she hit the campaign trail in 2019. Zimmerman said he vot- ed against his government to avoid making life harder for gay students. “Like so many of my peers, I went through that long peri- od of struggling with my sex- uality, where I lived in fear of discovery,” he said. Allen, who appeared on the ABC’s Q&A program following the vote, said, “I feel thrilled about the whole process. Our democra- cy does work.” Archer claimed “privi- leged” proponents of the bill were telling children “they are other and less than equal in this country”. Sharma said people should not be “vilified on account of attributes over which they have no choice”. While the bill passed the House of Representatives, it was pulled from the Sen- ate after Attorney-General Michaelia Cash received ad- vice from the Australian Gov- ernment Solicitor saying the amendments could have un- intended consequences. The Archbishop of Mel- bourne, Peter Comensoli, has been a consistent moderate supporter of the bill on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bish- ops Conference. In brief com- ments published after the bill was shelved he described the situation as “a little bit tragic”. Archbishop Julian Porte- ous, of Hobart, told The Ex- aminer that “Our politicians clearly understand how im- portant this bill is in stopping the attack on the intrinsic rights of religious organisa- tions in Australia”. “I look forward to seeing the bill introduced to parlia- ment in the future,” he said. ANALYSIS RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION