Senate debates

Wednesday, 1 March 2006

Separation of Church and State

3:54 pm

Photo of Lyn AllisonLyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—
(a)
notes that:
(i)
on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Insiders program on Sunday, 26 February 2006, the Treasurer (Mr Costello) said that he thinks ‘we can offer a tolerant Australia which respects the rights and liberties of all as long as we’ve got agreement on a few key points. One is a secular state’, and
(ii)
on Monday, 27 February 2006 during question time, the Minister for Finance and Administration (Senator Minchin) said ‘It is a fact that in Australia, as a long part of the Western tradition, there is a separation of church and state’; and
(b)
calls on the Government, if it is serious about a secular state, to take steps to:
(i)
remove religious references from statutory oaths and pledges,
(ii)
abolish official parliamentary prayers,
(iii)
remove tax advantages that solely apply for religious purposes, and
(iv)
consider other ways of achieving a true separation of church and state.

Question put.