Australian Christian Lobby
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a conservative Christian lobby group, which aims "to see the Christian vote and opinion count". [1]
Its Executive Chairman Jim Wallace delivered the Acton lecture for the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) on Wednesday 23 November 2005, on the topic Christian Political Engagement: Time to go global. The CIS website introduced Wallace' lecture as follows:
"For some 30 years the Church tortured over the rights and wrongs of being engaged in the domestic political process. However the widely recognised influence of the Christian constituency in the 2004 Australian election is a positive signal that it has dealt with this ‘devil’. The question is where to from here?"
Wallace' lecture was introduced by Professor Ian Harper, the newly appointed head of the proposed Fair Pay Commission, and a member of the CIS's council of academic advisors.
On its website, the ACL states "at this stage of growth in the organisation the effort is being directed into activating the churches and other Christian constituents and forming relationships with parliamentarians at the Federal and State levels." [2]
In the ACL's October newsletter Jim Wallace writes of his concern that the debate on the Anti-Terrorism laws had sparked a call for a Federal Human Rights Act: "While well intended, this is not the sort of legislation we want. Human rights acts and bills of rights have been exploited wherever they have been introduced by those wanting to neutralise Christian values or promote minority agendas. We must stay vigilant on this issue."
The ACL is seeking donations from its members to fund its work: "As we continue to see the rightful influence of Christians on this nation’s public policy I would like to remind you that most of our work is done quietly behind the scenes, as effective lobbying must be. Your continued support in this is essential whether it be through prayer or giving and we thank you for that." [3]
Wallace' message to members in June 2004 was entitled "Congratulations on defending marriage"; "There is no doubt that the weight of emails that flowed into the Parliament over the weekend before the decision by Government to go ahead with this, had a very timely and strategic effect...The amendments to the Act are not as water tight as we would have liked, but we believe that the context has been so clearly set in the debate, PM's announcement and the exclusion of overseas homosexual marriages, that it would be difficult for even the most activist of judges to mischievously interpret it. We will however remain vigilant." [4]
On its FAQ page it says "we encourage all our supporters to practice defending positions on various issues without using direct references to the Bible, even though this is where we derive our position".[5]
In May 2009 their Tasmanian director Nick Overton spoke against voluntary euthanasia legislation saying "No society has the right to create an expectation that you should terminate your life if you would otherwise be an inconvenience to society".[6]
Contact information
National Office
Suite 9, 1st floor, National Press Club
16 National Circuit
Barton ACT 2600
Phone: + 61 2 6259 0431
Fax: + 61 2 6259 0462
Email: natoffice AT acl.org.au
Web: http://www.acl.org.au
