Welcome to Sight's special 'Election 2010' page where you'll find all our stories in the lead-up to the federal election on 21st August. Have a read and help inform your vote...

I am in favour of a big Australia.

     But I don't mean a big Australia in population terms which has dominated so much of the federal election campaign. I mean a nation that is big in terms of its vision, its compassion and in identifying its place in the region and the world.

     Sadly the election campaign appears to have become a foreign policy-free zone. It is also a campaign bereft of hope. Neither of the major political parties has sought to define Australia's role in the world. For a host of reasons we are a fortunate nation that has escaped the worst impacts of the global financial crisis.

     Little wonder that more than one political commentator has lamented the domestic, poll-driven nature of this election by citing the acerbic reflections of 19th-century French democrat Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin: "There go the people - I must follow them, for I am their leader."

      In article first published in the Sydney Morning Herald, TIM COSTELLO, chief executive of World Vision Australia, puts a different spin on why Australians should be thinking big...  | more...|

A group of prominent Christians say they expect hundreds more people to sign up to a document declaring the importance of issues such as religious freedom, marriage and the sanctity of human life in the lead up to next month’s federal election.

     Called the Canberra Declaration, the document was formally launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday. Among the more than 20 Christian leaders involved in drafting the document were Dr Graham McLennan, convenor of the National Alliance of Christian Leaders, Bill Muehlenberg, founder of ethics and apologetics ministry CultureWatch, Dr Lachlan Dunjey, of Morality in Medicine, and Ros Phillips, of FamilyVoice Australia.

     Release of the document follows that of the Westminster Declaration – released in the UK ahead of the British election earlier this year – and the Manhattan Declaration – released in the US in late 2009.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: What do you think of the 'Canberra Declaration'?...  | more...|

“Why do we vote for ourselves and not for others?” A friend asked this question some years ago. This certainly challenged the way I voted in that year’s election. As a voter, it is natural for us to vote according to how a prospective government would affect ourselves. It is natural for us to ask how it would affect the future of our children, how much tax we would have to pay, and whether our mortgage payment would increase. This is not wrong. But, as Christians, we should carefully examine our value system in everything we do. We need to remember that our whole Christian life is based on Christ's self-giving love. The cross itself is a symbol of Jesus’ sacrificial life, and he has called us to love our neighbour as ourselves. How we vote in an election is an expression of that. Do we vote for ourselves? Or do we vote for others?

     Our interest

     Throughout the election campaign period, we hear all sorts of news about the political parties’ policies. They include, for example, macroeconomic policies, healthcare reform, funding of government and independent schools. It is easy for us to think first about ourselves when we hear these policies. Will we pay more or less taxes? Will the private health insurance premium increase? Will our children’s school get more funding? These are important questions, and cannot be dismissed.

     With Australia's federal election to be held on 21st August, SIU FUNG WU says it's important Christians consider the wider ramifications of their vote...  | more...|

CHRISTIAN LOBBY WELCOMES NEW PM BUT THANKS RUDD FOR COMMITMENT TO HOMELESSNESS, POVERTY, RECONCILIATION AND MARRIAGE
The Australian Christian Lobby said it would expect Labor under new Prime Minister Julia Gillard to “confirm its concern for the poor and the disadvantaged” along with “the values in society that proved attractive to many Christians throughout Australia” under former PM Kevin Rudd.

     Ms Gillard was sworn in as Australia’s 27th prime minister at Government House in Canberra this afternoon after Mr Rudd stepped down from the office following a leadership challenge this morning.

     The Australian Christian Lobby’s managing director, Jim Wallace, congratulated Ms Gillard on what he said was an "historic occasion".

     “However, we also want to thank Kevin Rudd for the commitment and energy he brought to issues such as homelessness, poverty, reconciliation and the importance of marriage in particular,” he said in a statement.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

ESSAY: PRINCIPLED POLITICS?

When the former Prime Minister announced that there would be a leadership vote in the caucus, he made this telling remark: "I was elected by the people of Australia as prime minister of Australia. I was elected to do a job."

     He also pointed out that he was not elected by the Labor Party's parliamentary factions. Sadly, at least for those who put their trust in the "Kevin 007" campaign at the 2007 election, Mr Rudd decided that he would not contest the challenge and has stepped down. So even this final phase of his prime ministership, presents us with a problematic interpretation of how Mr Rudd saw the office of prime minister in the Commonwealth of Australia.

     Put it this way: even in the terms by which he defended his office as PM against the caucus vote, Kevin Rudd's explanation presents us with ambiguity. It is an ambiguity basic to Australian political life.
     BRUCE C. WEARNE takes a look at what today's dramatic events reveal about the Australian political system...  | more...|

Tens of thousands of Christians gathered in churches across Australia this week to watch Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott talk about their Christian faith and to address issues ranging from asylum seekers to climate change, marriage, school chaplains and the sexualisation of children.

     The event at Old Parliament House in Canberra, hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby and attended by 200 Christian leaders, was beamed out live via the internet to churches across the country.

     Called ‘2010 Make It Count’, it followed a similar event ahead of the 2007 Federal Election which was addressed by then Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd.

     Speaking at the event on Monday night, Mr Abbott, in his first appearance at such an event, stressed that he was  “a Christian in politics, not a Christian politician”.

     “(A)nd I am not asking Christians to vote for me because I am of like mind. Faith has influenced my life but it does not and I believe should not shape my politics.”

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

ESSAY: LEADERS' QUESTION TIME REVEALS STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

On Monday night, 21st June, Rudd and Abbott both spoke in turn to an audience full of church leaders assembled in Canberra to hear them, and to ask them questions.

     The event was telecast and hundreds of churches around Australia put up big screens and watched the event live. I sat in the Doveton Baptist Church in Melbourne, to observe and take notes.

     How did it go? Will it influence people to vote for one or the other major party? Or will it reinforce in people’s minds the party they prefer already?

     A former Federal Greens candidate, JIM REIHER was among the tens of thousands who watched the live event. He gives his view on how he thought the two leaders performed...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: Did you watch the event live? What did you think? Have your say here...  | more...|