Challenging Law Reform 

The Albanese Government is considering a discussion paper by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) which is proposing a law to control who we can see or what we can think. It seems to be designed to take away from parents the right to teach their Chrisian faith to their children, as well as force Christian schools and universities to comply with potentially harmful LGBTQ+ ideology. Christian schools, on behalf of parents, would not be able to challenge any staff or student behaviours which were against their sincerely held religious beliefs. The ALRC proposal would mean that the Commonwealth would be able to strip schools of their right to sack or refuse to hire staff who did not share their religious beliefs. LGBTIQ+ political activists would be given special privileges in law so their ideology could trump the sincerely held religious beliefs held by many mainstream Australians. We probably think students and staff who believe in Christian ideas of marriage and gender should be able to attend schools which suit them, and not be compelled by law to bow to the views of those who support LGBTQ+ ideology.

Any free and tolerant society has usually allowed diversities of views and upholds the freedom of association for people to believe, practice and teach the views they believe in. That is what LGBTIQI activists want for themselves, but they do not make exemptions for faith-based schools in the Sex Discrimination Act to protect their integrity or protect the sex-based rights of biological girls in these schools. An American lawyer recently said. “In a democracy, the government has no right to pick and choose which viewpoints are acceptable. This is about expanding everyone’s freedom to express their views without unreasonable government interference.” Family Voice has launched a very successful campaign on this. By trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit we can develop a mental resilience that means we are not threatened by tough challenges and can pray with confidence.

So, let’s pray:

*   That all schools continue to have the right to seek to employ staff who share their ethos.

*   That the Australian society continues to be a free and tolerant one which allows a diversity of views that people can teach and allows them to practice these beliefs that they consider essential to our society. That we will bear in mind some may seek consequences that have a negative and disruptive impact.

*   That political activists will be denied the power to control the establishment of new legal frameworks that create an absence of freedom.

 

Electricity Policy

Electricity users face a heightened risk of blackouts during peak demand in NSW and Victoria this summer, with the energy market operator forced to bid for emergency supplies amid delays in new transmission lines and renewable projects. With so much uncertainty still evident in the role out of the Governments energy policy it is imperative that Governments sacrifice ideology for clear and rational action that meets the future energy needs of our nation.

Please pray:

*   That Governments take all necessary action to ensure that Australia has adequate power supply now and into the foreseeable future and place that need above ideological preferences they may have.

*   That development of alternative forms of energy will be made a priority and again not be limited by ideological preferences.

*   That both sides of politics will make clear their policies before the next election so that the voters have a clear choice of what they want for the future of our nation. 

Stand on the Right Side of History, Rabbis Implore Anthony Albanese

Recently Anthony Albanese personally assured the nation’s leading rabbis that he would “unequivocally fight anti-Semitism”.  They have now implored him to show moral clarity and reject a bid by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to put Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on trial for war crimes along with three Hamas terrorist leaders. Australia is a member of the ICC.  Should The two men be found guilty by the ICC, Labour refuses to say whether it would arrest them if they set foot in Australia.  Peter Dutton warned that a future Coalition government could cut ties with the ICC over its prosecutor Karim Khan’s bid to arrest the democratically elected Israeli leaders.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australia respected the role of the ICC and its choice to issue the warrants but also said there could be no equivalence between terrorist organisation Hamas and Israel. Rabbi Levi Wolff, from Sydney’s Central Synagogue, said the government needed to be “clear and decisive” on the warrant’s application, and stand “on the correct side of history”.  “In this sensitive and difficult time for Jewish Australians, we look to our leaders for strong moral clarity on issues pertaining to Israel’s self-defence war against Hamas, triggered by the unspeakable violence perpetrated on October 7, and Hamas’s outspoken desire to repeat such actions,” Rabbi Wolff said.”

Former UN assistant secretary-general Ramesh Thakur, who helped establish the ICC, said the prosecutor’s pursuit of Israeli leaders alongside Hamas terrorists was “a grotesque inversion of international criminal justice”.  He said he had come to question his role in its creation.  Alexander Downer, who signed Australia up to the ICC, and former prime minister John Anderson both condemned its decision. “We ought to make absolutely clear what we think of it, and I don’t see how it could be supported”, Mr Anderson said. He also said the Albanese government needed to show greater leadership in combating the rise of anti-Semitism.

Please pray:

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’  Psalm 91:1-2 MSG

*   Please pray for Jewish Australians who are experiencing such a difficult time at the moment.  Ask the Lord to protect and strengthen them.

*   Pray for Mr. Albanese and Mr. Chalmers, that they will “stand on the right side of history” and show moral clarity and strong leadership to our nation.  Pray they will reject the ICC’s decision to charge Israel’s leaders with war crimes.

*   Ask the Lord to give us Christians a heart for our Jewish brothers and sisters.  May we not abandon them in their hour of need, but instead may we show them the love of Christ. Pray that Australia again becomes a shelter and refuge for them.

 

Praying for Issues in the News

*    The Albanese Government has abandoned a plan to arm the navy’s Collins class submarines with Tomahawk missiles, scuttling hopes the 1990s boats could be transformed into potent long-ranch strike platforms. This is at a time when many experts are saying that our national defences are not fit for purpose and that we are terribly exposed should we be ever attacked. Please pray that people with a full and proper understanding of what it takes to defend a nation are put in places of authority and influence within our Defence Forces and Government.  Ask God to place His Angels around the perimeter of our nation to protect it in the case of external attack from hostile forces.

*    Despite our Government seeking to talk up the financial state of our nation and have us believe it is going in the right direction, the economy actually grew at its slowest pace in four decades (outside the pandemic period) in the year to March, new national account figures have revealed. Real GDP expanded by just 0.1 per cent in the first 3 month of 2024, versus 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter dragging down annual growth to just 1.1 per cent and its weakest since early 1992.   Please pray that people who will be affected by this slowing of growth will find ways of protecting themselves and surviving despite attempts by the Government to address the issue of slow growth and increasing inflation. Please pray that all Australians will look out for each other and find ways of assisting each other in times of need.

 

Praying for our Nation

The current condition of the land is a sign of the sin in the Church and the Nation. From the beginning of human habitation undealt-with sin and the resultant establishment of altars of offence have caused defilement of the land. Broken Covenant and Idolatry are two areas of sin that cause defilement of the land. We can no longer afford to leave this issue unaddressed.

This week let us consider through the study of His word and the revelation of His Spirit what covenants with God we His Church, and the Nation as a whole, have broken. Church: Deuteronomy 29:24-27, Isaiah 58:13-14, Mal 3:1-9. Nation: Isaiah 30:1-7, Joshua 7:10-12.

Source: Australian Prayer Network

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