Twitter just alerted us to the news that Treasurer Scott Morrison will be speaking at the Australian Christian Lobby’s 2016 conference at the Wesley Centre in the Sydney CBD on Saturday, April 23.
This piece in New Matilda reveals that the conference star turn is one Eric Metaxas, a Christian who believes there are parallels between the failure of church groups to resist Nazism in the 1930s and the growing acceptance by liberal US Christians of LGBTQI people. Metaxas has also backed gay conversion therapy.
We already know the ACL and its spokesman Lyle Shelton have campaigned, successfully it seems, to have the Safe Schools program gutted. We also know that the ACL has an inordinate amount of influence over our governments, including that of atheist PM Julia Gillard, whom Jim Wallace persuaded to keep the school chaplaincy program.
Why are our politicians beholden to this minority group of fundamentalist extremists?
Also speaking at the conference are Miranda Devine, Noel Pearson and Dr Jeffrey J Ventrella, whom New Matilda describes thus: A Senior Counsel at the litigious Alliance Defending Freedom, Jeffery Ventrella argued in 2012 that the US government should divert funds from LGBTI health programs and instead spend the money convincing those in the communities to change their sexuality.
There’s no doubt in my mind that if Morrison speaks at the conference without challenging its homophobic slant, he is endorsing that perspective.
He is billed on the conference website as The Hon Scott Morrison MP, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, so we can assume from this he is appearing in his official capacity, and thus as a representative of the Turnbull government.
It is most alarming that the Treasurer of this country should support the extreme discriminatory views expressed by Metaxas and Ventrella. It’s extremely alarming that Morrison should represent the Turnbull government at a conference that seeks to disseminate homophobic perspectives.
There is probably an argument to be made that politicians, particularly those holding high office, ought not to publicly support any religious views in their official capacity. We are a secular country. Our governments are not vehicles for the furtherance of religious beliefs of any kind.
There is definitely an argument to be made that no politician and legislator should publicly support views that are contrary to our anti discrimination laws, such as those held by Metaxas and Ventralla.
As usual, I don’t support no platforming. I do support protest, and support for protesters if you can’t actually be there on the day.
No Place For Sheep 
Even Morrison can’t be so silly as to appear in support – for so it must be seen – of this fringe group.
Or perhaps he is.
This one doesn’t need to be no-platformed; it needs to be publicised!
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I agree DQ. Doing my bit to that end 🙂
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Yes well. it does seem to me that the appearance at this forum of a bloke who’s even more conservative than Abbot, Abetz and whoever else, and who is also in Malcolm Turnbull’s inner circle, could be rather destabilising.
… and going by my intuition, I can’t help but feel a sense of affinity and commonality with Scott Morrisson’s sense of kink. Not to mention Miranda Devine… I’m sure Scott would love for her to spank him as much as I would, and vice versa*-) Perhaps if he’s so anti-LGBTQI then he might care to declare what he’s actually into, as if there’s anything left…
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He is an opportunistic crank, narcissist and happy-clapping bigot.
As if he, of all people, would be interested in an adult discussion rather than a Nuremburg rally, given he was so eager to stamp out press and public scrutiny of detention centres.
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Good point
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Argh, Sam, there’s an image I’m stuck with for the day.
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There’s plenty left! Your imagination is a little limited. 🙂
As Sam mentions below, spanking (ie bdsm) would feature in his fervidly heterosexual imagination, and perhaps even in his reality/ignorance.
LOL
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Oh no my imagination’s going wild now… I imagine SM’s sense of self would benefit greatly from having his buttocks waxed and shiny. Undies down just isn’t vulnerable enough for someone who’d subject his fellow creatures to incarceration in Nauru. Thank you M’am may I have another!!
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Have you ever considered erotic writing? 🙂
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Honestly, I fear that ex-pound-ing on my deepest desires might be deleterious to the general public*-)
As for Townsville Shaun, I’d like to remind us all of something I remember our erstwhile (or hopefully not!) friend Gerald Oosterman said – which is that the collections of photos of naked women that miners or soldiers often stick up in their lockers or above their beds are best described as “shrines”.
Which is to say, it’s a little bit tragic that mens’ sexual desire has been so pathologised by the all-too-common occurrence of rape and harassment perpetrated by people who barely deserve to be here – since you’d have to be a complete misanthropist to believe that all men are capable of that sort of behaviour. And as the bumper sticker on my late and lamented VW Beetle said, love is all there is!
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Sam, I have never taken advantage of a woman in my life, I do agree to a large extent that “love is all there is” however income in order to eat is also a little bit important, I have never had sex with a woman except the time I was raped, all other encounters of a sexual nature were “making love’ the comparison to sex is like chalk and cheese.
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Yes, I believe Gerard was right about the shrines.
But the BACWAS only permit the worship of sexuality within marriage. Oh, I better not get started on this I’ve got too much to do
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Doug, I’m not kinky in anyway straight sexual encounters making love appreciating every part of a woman’s body and being reciprocated will satisfy me every-time, spanking etc is not on my list.
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Now I’m imagining a dialogue between Townsville and Sam.
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Jennifer that would be Shaun and Sam, what a combination
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Um……
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DQ, my imagination has no limits. 🙂
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Oh! Jennifer, does Mr Wilson know about this ???
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The sense I got from your last article was that the BACWA are mobilising on sex like the government is mobilising on unions. The old story, they hammer out bullshit, get refuted then immediately turn around and repeat the process in the teeth of logic, like a steamroller which is classic borrowed Tea Party stuff.
Not strictly on topic but readers might find a resonance as to this Asbestos Mittens posting from Huffpo.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/mack-major-masturbation-satan_us_570c47cae4b01422324a02ee?cps=gravity_2425_-6869608430640722327&kvcommref=mostpopular§ion=australia
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Sex and unions. Hmmmm
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Sex and unions, I’m all for both!
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I just got round to looking at that link PW. At first glance I thought all those dildos were scented candles. Now I want to open all the links in the article and I haven’t got time.
Satanic masturbation. Oh yeah.
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Jennifer, do you need a hand with that lol.
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Don’t bother, you’ll never get your 30 minutes back again.
This is a genuine ignoramus fundamentalist. A result of Reagan’s destruction of education. And a sign of where we may go if the conservatives like Kevin Donnelly, Abetz and Morrison get their way.
The BACWA is still alive; it just smells as if it is dead.
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Doug, let’s do our best to rid ourselves of all of the dirty bastards on 2nd July
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I found it risible, roflmao’d and thought others more cogniscint may find it an underlyingly remarkable piece of logic .
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Dirt brain morons..
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ole’ Hillsong will dazzle them all with quotes from the scriptures of the Holy Bible as seen by the lunatic ultra right wing USA cult, the assembly of god. This cult seems to ‘hate’ everyday people, who are not connected with their cult and paying 10% of their income to the cult leaders. They create a them and us situation, and “we are the only pure religion” situation to divide people. The old divide and conquer theory in action, thank Christ their Family First party receives only about 1.5% of the vote. Unfortunately some have integrated with the Liberal Party making them a dangerous “delcon” faction within the LNP. Just another reason we must oust this austerity policy government on July 2nd.
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“This cult seems to ‘hate’ everyday people”
Slight correction, these extreme fundamentalists hate EVERYONE, from the ‘everyday’ through to the eccentric, as you said, anyone who does not fall into line with their belief system.
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Important to note that this cult is made up of fundamentalists, all who walk through their door are converted to the fundamentalist cause. Some of them have even infiltrated the Labor Party, strangely enough, obviously to soften social policy if they can.
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Yes – even the Wombles!
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What’s to hate about the Wombles. Are they still a thing?
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See my reply to Townsville re catholic church & Telstra
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And now the Catholic church is attempting to intimidate Telstra with the threat of taking away its business if the company doesn’t withdraw its support for SSM. I wish I had time to write a post about that.
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So do I Jennifer
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