Inner Sydney Voice Summer 2021

VOICE

INNER SYDNEY

SUMMER 2021–2022 | ISSUE 141 Inner Sydney Voice is the journal of the Inner Sydney Regional Council for Social Development Inc. We are a non-profit organisation committed to the idea of information as a tool for community development. Inner Sydney is defined as the LGAs of City of Sydney, Bayside, Randwick, Waverley, Woollahra, and Inner West.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional custodians of the lands across the areas we service, particularly the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which our office is located. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present.

EDITOR Christopher Kelly CONTRIBUTORS Dominic Brookes | Shana Chandra Hall Greenland | Sarah Hathway | Joel Jenkins Jake Kendall | Scott McKinnon | Ben Raue Robert Reynolds | Tim Ritchie Shirleene Robinson | Dallas Rogers Paul Sendziuk | Nevo Zisin DESIGN Stevie Bee MEMBERSHIP + SUBSCRIPTIONS Saskia Eichler-Cheney PRINTING Goliath WEBSITE innersydneyvoice.org.au PUBLISHER Inner Sydney Regional Council for Social Development Inc trading as Inner Sydney Voice ABN 86 770 127 254 Rear 770 Elizabeth Street Waterloo NSW 2017 PHONE 9698 7690 EMAIL admin@innersydneyvoice.org.au FACEBOOK facebook.com/innersydneyrcsd TWITTER @innersydneyrcsd DISCLAIMER + COPYRIGHT The opinions expressed in Inner Sydney Voice magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher, the publication nor our funders. Unless stated otherwise, opinions belong to contributors, not the organisation or group with which they work. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher for any contributions.

Copyright belongs to the contributors.

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EDITORIAL The number of non-religious Australians has accelerated over recent years. In the 2016 Census, 30 percent, a third of the population, reported having no religion at all — that’s 2.2 million more Australians ticking the no religion box than in 2011. No doubt the results of this year’s Census will also record a further increase of nonreligionists. And yet religion is front and centre of political life in Australia. Most of the nation’s parliaments — federal, state and territory — open with a reciting of the Lord’s Prayer.

Then there’s our Pentecostal prime minister, whose open devotion to a supernatural wizard in the sky has long been a source of unease. Ever since Scott Morrison was pictured hand aloft at an evangelical church service, questions have rightly been raised as to whether his religious affiliation influences his political thinking — an affiliation with a movement that believes God is everpresent and intervenes in everyday events (although — much like Morrison — the Almighty was awol during the Black Summer bushfires). Our happyclappy PM — who believes he has been “called to do God’s work” — did just that by personally introducing the religious freedom bill to federal parliament. If it becomes law, the legislation threatens to override existing protections for minority groups, such as trans students. By allowing faith-based schools and other institutions to positively discriminate, the bill — zealously supported by Morrison — is a mandate to hate.

And what of NSW premier Dominic Perrottet (see page 10)? Perrottet has

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links to a fringe wing of the Catholic Church — the ultra-secretive, ultraconservative Opus Dei. But no worry.

Perrottet and his defenders insist he “doesn’t wear his religion on his sleeve, and certainly not politically”.

Which is about as believable as, well, a supernatural wizard in the sky.

Perrottet has in the past voted against same-sex marriage and the decriminalisation of abortion. Both of which are high on the sin list. Perrottet also strongly opposes assisted dying.

Opening the debate on the euthanasia legislation, Perrottet said: “Once we accept the principle of this bill, we cross a line . . . as we will have started to define the value of a life.” Which, of course, is God’s call. He and He alone gets to decide which kid dies of cancer.

In a new poll, almost two-thirds of NSW voters said they support voluntary assisted dying. Despite this, Perrottet chooses to ignore the people he’s supposed to represent and instead lip syncs Catholic dogma. How can

Australia possibly be considered a secular democracy when our political leaders’ religious doctrines dictate their decisions?

I could go on and denounce Christmas. As a devout atheist I can’t help but resent being compelled to take a religious holiday. But I’ll spare you that rant. After all, ’tis the season to be jolly . . .