Why Should Malcolm Turnbull Extend Such Privileges?

For more than 80 per cent of the nation’s workforce — who earn less than $200,000 per year — their primary concerns centre on high electricity costs, rising prices, and poor prospects for wage-growth to compensate. The clamour by churches and religious lobbyists for more “religious freedom” will not register on their radar. When pressed, most are aware that people can belief what ever they wish, and churches have a well established authority within society. And they are correct.

Religious institutions have nothing to fear — they are secure in their constitutional right to promote religion, and retain a gilt-edged financial status. But few citizens will recognise the extent to which organised religions exercise political influence, while retaining economic entitlement and privilege.

Why then, would Malcolm Turnbull extend such privileges?

Leaders of
The core agenda of lobby groups, religious leaders, and some parliamentarians is to gain new exemptions from anti-discrimination laws. Central to it all is a demand for all marriage celebrants — religious and civil — to refuse to marry gay couples, and for devout business owners in the marriage industry to deny retail services to gay couples.

To enable amendments to the Marriage Act to pass — and as a sop to his conservative LNP — Malcolm Turnbull established the ‘Religious Freedom Review’, headed by former Liberal minister Philip Ruddock.
Precisely what additional entitlements are to be conjured up by this Ruddock Review, and what does this say about the political influence of Christian lobbyists and parliamentarians in a secular democracy?

“Freedom” has nothing to do with it. What they desire in not freedom — which is enshrined in our constitution — but rather the American concept of “religious liberty” to discriminate further against the LGBTI community, and to others who do not share their interpretations of the Old