As many will be aware the polls for the Qld Election are open and voting will continue until 6pm Saturday 26th Oct 2024.
This election is critical for the survival of the Church and all associated institutions in Qld.
We understand that many churches choose not to be involved in politics, but sadly the government does not have the same consideration for the church.
Politically driven challenges in Qld include:
- Legislation that promotes the death of our most vulnerable, and ignores the God given consciences of our medical professionals who swore an oath to ‘first, do no harm’. Newborn babies are delivered breathing, with a beating heart, but are being treated as medical waste. Palliative care of our unwell, old and our very young has been horribly neglected.
- Legislation that allows any Queenslander to self-identify. This allows people to legally change what is recorded on their birth certificate (ie: male or female), since June 2024 hundreds of men have applied to changed this legal document, now pretending they are women.
- Most recently the freedom to have a conversation in the workplace (or anywhere in the state!) has been threatened. The ‘Respect at work’ legislation passed without robust debate late in the evening, the day BEFORE it was scheduled for tabling. This legislation will result in offended minorities being supported by the taxpayer to legally challenge regular Queenslanders who voice mainstream views. Views like: Men are men, women are women, parents are responsible to raise their children, drag queens are not good role models for children, public spaces should be G rated, Jesus is Lord! Anything that anyone could take offense to is fair game. This comes into effect in June 2025, unless the new government repeals it.
We need the Church to pray. But for those who are tempted to do only that… please ask yourself, are you leaning on the shovel and praying for a hole?
It is a privilege to live in a democracy, and with that privilege comes responsibility. The bare minimum is to show up to vote, and we would suggest that voting should be done prayerfully, with all the relevant information at hand.
We have some non-partisan material that you may wish to consider and share with your church family, friends and relatives.
- The Australian Christian Lobby has published a website called Qld Votes that summarises how sitting members have voted on certain matters AND profiles the candidates for this election, this information is collected from candidates via an online questionnaire.
- The Australian Christian Values Institute has conducted independent profiling of the parties contesting the Qld. election against a set of questions of concern to Christians, available online and to print on one page.
Remembering that each voter is 100% in control of their own preferences, we at Family First Queensland have made suggestions on our website here: How to Vote.
We hope that this is helpful, our team are passionate about providing the option for voters to vote with a clear conscience this election.
In Christ,
Alex Todd
Qld Campaign Director
Family First