Wayne Speirs, Board Chair
As you will be aware, a debate surrounding religious discrimination legislation has been ongoing since before the last Federal election. However, the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in March this year posed a real and significant threat to faith and freedom of belief in Australia. The initial private draft of the government’s legislative package would have made it unlawful for Christian schools to actively choose staff who share and live the same Christian faith of our school communities.
In response, our national advocacy organisation, the Australian Association of Christian Schools (AACS), has been working in partnership with Christian Schools Australia and Associated Christian Schools as My Christan School to raise awareness about the valuable contribution of Christian schools in Australia and make our voice heard in a noisy and divisive political landscape.
As a result, Prime Minister Albanese recently confirmed that the Federal Government will not proceed with the religious discrimination legislation package, including the proposed removal of section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act without any balancing protections.
It is good news that the Government has not proceeded with the ALRC’s recommendations in their current form. Thank you to everyone who prayed, attended the Faith in our Future town hall events, and wrote to our political representatives. Your voice was heard, and it made a difference.
Unfortunately, we are no closer to securing a positive right for Christian schools to operate according to their ethos, and the future remains uncertain. It is more important than ever to keep our voices heard in the lead-up to the Federal election and secure clear commitments from both sides of politics about protecting religious freedoms for our sector into the future.
When the founders of Kuyper established our school in 1982, their mission was to uphold the biblical responsibility of parents to educate their children by providing a school that functioned and taught in keeping with the biblical values taught in their homes and churches. Our mission remains the same today.
I strongly encourage our Kuyper families to be informed about the issues that affect your school. The My Christian School website and Facebook page are good places to start. Your prayers and participation ensure our voice continues to be heard in the public square.