28th March, 2008
GLYNIS QUINLAN

The effect of Christian engagement in the political sphere has come to the fore again in recent weeks, with a respected election analyst finding that the Christian vote had a significant impact on the 2007 Federal election results.

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?: Glynis Quinlan says the fact Christian voices played a significant role in last year's Federal election underlines the need for politicians to listen to Christian views. PICTURE: Daniel Wildman (www.sxc.hu)   "For obvious reasons, politicians tend to listen more to a constituency if it has an effective influence on election outcomes."

The findings are an encouragement to people looking to bring a Christian influence to bear on government and society as they highlight the need for political parties to pay attention to the Christian constituency.

Opportunely, they have been released in the lead-up to the Australia 2020 Summit, which provides a further opportunity for Christians to be involved in the long-term development of our nation.

Research and demographic marketing group, Australian Development Strategies, conducted the election assessment, which has been reported in The Australian Financial Review on 29th February and The Australian on 8th March. The research group is led by former Queensland ALP Senator John Black who, according to the media, is “one of the most astute observers of electoral politics”.

“The most surprising of his findings is that the religious affiliation of swinging voters played a more decisive role in determining the outcome than any other single factor,” Christopher Pearson wrote in The Australian. “Plainly commentators who’ve blithely assumed that religion is an increasing irrelevance in Australian politics will have to think again.”

John Black is reported as saying that the strongest correlate of the swing to the Federal ALP were Pentecostal churchgoers, alongside Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Lutherans, the Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventists and the Uniting Church. He said that these “activist religions” represent 10 per cent of Australians in total and were located in important places, “providing the leverage and the key seats”.

This demographic assessment provides valuable confirmation of the importance of the Christian vote and the fact that it is not held captive by one particular party, but can be won or lost by either side. While it would be incorrect to suggest that Christians vote in a block, they often tend to weigh up their votes and consider the respective parties’ strengths in terms of both moral and social justice issues.

For obvious reasons, politicians tend to listen more to a constituency if it has an effective influence on election outcomes. This new assessment has reinforced the need for politicians to listen to Christian views when developing policies and framing laws. It is a useful development as we work towards having a more moral, compassionate and caring society.

Contributing to Australia’s 2020 Summit

On thesubject of developing policies, Christians have an opportunity to have an input into Australia’s future development by contributing ideas to the Prime Minister’s Australia 2020 Summit to be held at Parliament House on 19th and 20th of April.

The Government is bringing together 1,000 leading Australians to debate and develop long-term options for the nation across 10 critical areas. One key area which may be of particular interest to Christians is ‘strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion’. Other areas which also could be of interest include those dealing with indigenous Australia, open governance, climate change, health,education, and so on.

The summit provides an important opportunity to help influence our nation for Christ. Not everyone can attend but all Australians have been invited to make submissions.

These will be submitted to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet which will act as the secretariat for the summit.

Submissions can be made online or by post, but must be received by Wednesday 9th April. Please click here for details or to make an online submission.

Being proactive in the policy ‘debate’

As we look towards the 2020 Summit, it is interesting to consider the importance of Christians not only being ‘reactive’ in defending Christian positions, but also being ‘proactive’ in helping to develop and shape public policy.

In the upcoming edition of Debate magazine Dr Greg Clarke, director of the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney, makes the point that “some of the most significant and widely accepted ideas in our society spring specifically from the teachings of Jesus and the worldview that emerged from his followers”.

He writes that “even those who do not wish to consider the spiritual claims of Jesus do well to recognise that some of the most important underlying concepts that will be brought into the Ideas Summit - ideas such as loving your neighbour, treating every human being as equal, and caring for the disadvantaged - arise out of the Christian understanding of the world, its inhabitants and its God.”

Debate is a joint initiative of the Australian Christian Lobby and Fine Line Design & Publishing. It was launched last November with the specific aim of helping bring a Christian influence bear on the development of public policy - seeking to underpin discussion and debate of Christian perspectives on public policy in a more structured, academic and professionally credible way.

The next edition, due out in early April, focuses on policy ideas in the three areas of family, education and healthcare. Several expert writers look at different policy initiatives for building up and supporting families. Although each brings a different perspective there is an over-arching recognition that economic prosperity is not the only measure of success for a society - and that even this measure is often intertwined with stable family relationships and a caring community environment.

For example, in an article entitled 'Social justice, pathways to poverty and the family’, Dr Samantha Callan, takes an in-depth look at the Breakthrough Britain report, which was released last year in the UK. She explains that family stability should be treated as a social justice concern as it is at the core of tackling key poverty issues such as educational failure, welfare dependency, serious personal debt, and addiction. The article goes further, detailing specific initiatives for building families which have been recommended in the report and which could also be effectively implemented in the Australian context.

Articles on education look at different aspects of the private/public schooling debate, as well as suggestions for a way forward.

On the topic of health, Dr Cliff Smith puts forward the case for a re-evaluation of Australia’s health system, writing that over the last decade there has been a fundamental shift in the philosophy underpinning it. He promotes the need for an ‘equity’ system based on basic care for all, rather than continuing on the path towards an ‘opportunity’ based system such as the one which exists in the United States. 

Debate is specifically targeted at Federal and State politicians and bureaucrats and provides another valuable way of bringing a Christian influence to bear on Australia’s future polices. For more information please go to www.debate.net.au.

Glynis Quinlan is the public relations manager for the Australian Christian Lobby and a journalist with Debate magazine.

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