- Joined
- Aug 6, 2016
- Messages
- 25,486
- Reaction score
- 29,089
The Christian pollie factory: a new blood National and the religious discrimination bill
Scott Morrison's family of brothers and sisters in faith is a large one and many siblings are groomed to be 'wise leaders' in politics and society.
DAVID HARDAKER CRIKEY
We know of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Pentecostal brothers in the government — Brother Stuie (Stuart Robert) and Brother Matt (WA Senator Matt O’Sullivan) — but what about Sister Anne?
Dr Anne Webster, a National Party MP from Victoria elected in 2019, has the plum role of chair of the federal Parliament’s joint committee on human rights which is set to examine the government’s contentious religious discrimination bill.
As chance would have it, Webster is a product of the Christian politician factory known as the Lachlan Macquarie Institute. In her first speech to Parliament, Webster paid tribute to her local pastors in Mildura, Bruce and Margaret Sharman of the Diggerland church, a self-described “vibrant” Pentecostal church affiliated with CRC Churches International, previously known as the Christian Revival Crusade.
Webster has let it be known that the human rights committee’s inquiry into the religious discrimination bill should not cross into discrimination on the grounds of sexuality. This puts her at odds with Labor and moderate Liberals who want it to consider questions of religious exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act.
What speech will the religious discrimination bill protect?
Read More
Lachlan Macquarie Institute
The fine print of Webster’s CV reveals that she graduated from a Lachlan Macquarie Institute (LMI) training course in 2011. As we reported last week, the secretive institute works hand in hand with the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) which wants stronger “religious freedom” guarantees in the Morrison government’s legislation.
A key LMI figure is influential Christian businessman Tony McLellan who has been appointed emeritus chairman of the ACL, reflecting his years of work there. McLellan is a director of LMI and donates to it. Two other LMI directors, James Wallace and David Burr, are also directors of the ACL.
The institute’s objective is to prepare Christian men and women for political and cultural leadership — what it calls “wise leaders”. It runs training programs jointly developed by the LMI and ACL. The most sophisticated is a 14-week course aimed at producing leaders in politics and public service. The course costs $30,500, with an LMI scholarship meeting $26,000 of that. It offers “unparalleled access” to Christian leaders, experts and influencers.
The institute’s namesake, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, is held up as a conservative disciplinarian who believed that the Protestant religion and British institutions were indispensable for liberty and a prosperous civilisation. Macquarie launched two British-based organisations: the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Sunday School movement.
Anne Webster and who else?
The LMI keeps secret the names of those who have undergone its training. However, Crikey has found a record of Lachlan Macquarie Internship alumni, published on its site in 2016.
The publication came with the warning that it was a secure page and available only to interns and alumni: “[It] is not to be shared publicly due to the sensitive nature of some of the alumni working environments. I encourage you all to continue to keep in contact and pray for the wider LMI alumni that we hope to see begin to redeem policy and politics in Australia.”
The page lists 45 names, including Webster’s, who at that stage had made an unsuccessful attempt at preselection for the seat of Mallee with the National Party.
Other alumni went on to work in political offices and religious lobby groups. They include:
Martyn Iles Iles is managing director of the ACL. According to his LMI bio he was a member of a Reformed Brethren church, the conservative, evangelical movement which once counted Morrison as a member. Iles was part of a 2014 training program.
Matthew Hochman Hochman attended LMI in 2012 and went on to work with Tasmanian Liberal MP Eric Hutchinson. For the past seven years he has been a senior adviser to Guy Barnett, now a senior minister in the Tasmanian government. (Barnett describes himself as pro-family with Christian values and as being “instrumental” in the 2004 Howard government amendments to the Marriage Act.)
Religious discrimination bill to return, but will it get through Parliament?
Read More
Philip Fusco Fusco, who attended in 2011, had been involved in the Liberal Party since he was a teenager and had twice run for preselection in Victoria. Fusco stood for the Liberals in the 2019 election for the Victorian seat of McEwen but was beaten.
Peta Simpson Simpson attended an LMI program in 2013. In 2015 she was elected vice-president of the Women’s LNP in Queensland. She ran for preselection in the seat of Fisher for the Liberal National Party, coming second to former Howard minister Mal Brough.
Rohan McHugh McHugh worked at the ACL before studying with LMI. He is executive director of Freedom for Faith, a Christian legal think tank that exists to see religious freedom protected and promoted in Australia.
Rhys Vallance Vallance became the ACL’s Western Australian director after his LMI training. After four years he left to become an official with the conservative Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association.
Grant Dusting Dusting is a non-executive director with the Bible Society. He previously held positions with the WA Liberal Party and was on the staff of WA MP Matt Taylor. Dusting attended LMI training in 2012.
Kezia Doughty Doughty attended LMI in 2013. She did her placement with National Party MP Adrian Piccoli, then NSW education minister, and also helped then federal Liberal MP Louise Markus organise the Australian National Prayer Breakfast. (Markus is a member of Hillsong and entered politics when Morrison was director of the NSW Liberal Party.)
Allan Starr At the time of his LMI training in 2013 Starr was working with Liberty Ministries, which aimed to “support people with unwanted same-sex attraction”. Liberty warned on its website that its work might not result in “people being healed of their same-sex attractions”: “Ultimate healing and wholeness is found only in Jesus Christ when we meet Him face to face.”
Liberty Ministries no longer exists. Its site redirects anyone interested in “navigating same-sex attraction and gender incongruence” to “Living Faith”, a new Sydney Anglican ministry.
Starr was part of the autumn 2013 program and did his placement with the Canberra Liberals in the ACT Assembly.
Scott Morrison's family of brothers and sisters in faith is a large one and many siblings are groomed to be 'wise leaders' in politics and society.
DAVID HARDAKER CRIKEY
We know of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Pentecostal brothers in the government — Brother Stuie (Stuart Robert) and Brother Matt (WA Senator Matt O’Sullivan) — but what about Sister Anne?
Dr Anne Webster, a National Party MP from Victoria elected in 2019, has the plum role of chair of the federal Parliament’s joint committee on human rights which is set to examine the government’s contentious religious discrimination bill.
As chance would have it, Webster is a product of the Christian politician factory known as the Lachlan Macquarie Institute. In her first speech to Parliament, Webster paid tribute to her local pastors in Mildura, Bruce and Margaret Sharman of the Diggerland church, a self-described “vibrant” Pentecostal church affiliated with CRC Churches International, previously known as the Christian Revival Crusade.
Webster has let it be known that the human rights committee’s inquiry into the religious discrimination bill should not cross into discrimination on the grounds of sexuality. This puts her at odds with Labor and moderate Liberals who want it to consider questions of religious exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act.
What speech will the religious discrimination bill protect?
Read More
Lachlan Macquarie Institute
The fine print of Webster’s CV reveals that she graduated from a Lachlan Macquarie Institute (LMI) training course in 2011. As we reported last week, the secretive institute works hand in hand with the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) which wants stronger “religious freedom” guarantees in the Morrison government’s legislation.
A key LMI figure is influential Christian businessman Tony McLellan who has been appointed emeritus chairman of the ACL, reflecting his years of work there. McLellan is a director of LMI and donates to it. Two other LMI directors, James Wallace and David Burr, are also directors of the ACL.
The institute’s objective is to prepare Christian men and women for political and cultural leadership — what it calls “wise leaders”. It runs training programs jointly developed by the LMI and ACL. The most sophisticated is a 14-week course aimed at producing leaders in politics and public service. The course costs $30,500, with an LMI scholarship meeting $26,000 of that. It offers “unparalleled access” to Christian leaders, experts and influencers.
The institute’s namesake, Governor Lachlan Macquarie, is held up as a conservative disciplinarian who believed that the Protestant religion and British institutions were indispensable for liberty and a prosperous civilisation. Macquarie launched two British-based organisations: the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Sunday School movement.
Anne Webster and who else?
The LMI keeps secret the names of those who have undergone its training. However, Crikey has found a record of Lachlan Macquarie Internship alumni, published on its site in 2016.
The publication came with the warning that it was a secure page and available only to interns and alumni: “[It] is not to be shared publicly due to the sensitive nature of some of the alumni working environments. I encourage you all to continue to keep in contact and pray for the wider LMI alumni that we hope to see begin to redeem policy and politics in Australia.”
The page lists 45 names, including Webster’s, who at that stage had made an unsuccessful attempt at preselection for the seat of Mallee with the National Party.
Other alumni went on to work in political offices and religious lobby groups. They include:
Martyn Iles Iles is managing director of the ACL. According to his LMI bio he was a member of a Reformed Brethren church, the conservative, evangelical movement which once counted Morrison as a member. Iles was part of a 2014 training program.
Matthew Hochman Hochman attended LMI in 2012 and went on to work with Tasmanian Liberal MP Eric Hutchinson. For the past seven years he has been a senior adviser to Guy Barnett, now a senior minister in the Tasmanian government. (Barnett describes himself as pro-family with Christian values and as being “instrumental” in the 2004 Howard government amendments to the Marriage Act.)
Religious discrimination bill to return, but will it get through Parliament?
Read More
Philip Fusco Fusco, who attended in 2011, had been involved in the Liberal Party since he was a teenager and had twice run for preselection in Victoria. Fusco stood for the Liberals in the 2019 election for the Victorian seat of McEwen but was beaten.
Peta Simpson Simpson attended an LMI program in 2013. In 2015 she was elected vice-president of the Women’s LNP in Queensland. She ran for preselection in the seat of Fisher for the Liberal National Party, coming second to former Howard minister Mal Brough.
Rohan McHugh McHugh worked at the ACL before studying with LMI. He is executive director of Freedom for Faith, a Christian legal think tank that exists to see religious freedom protected and promoted in Australia.
Rhys Vallance Vallance became the ACL’s Western Australian director after his LMI training. After four years he left to become an official with the conservative Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association.
Grant Dusting Dusting is a non-executive director with the Bible Society. He previously held positions with the WA Liberal Party and was on the staff of WA MP Matt Taylor. Dusting attended LMI training in 2012.
Kezia Doughty Doughty attended LMI in 2013. She did her placement with National Party MP Adrian Piccoli, then NSW education minister, and also helped then federal Liberal MP Louise Markus organise the Australian National Prayer Breakfast. (Markus is a member of Hillsong and entered politics when Morrison was director of the NSW Liberal Party.)
Allan Starr At the time of his LMI training in 2013 Starr was working with Liberty Ministries, which aimed to “support people with unwanted same-sex attraction”. Liberty warned on its website that its work might not result in “people being healed of their same-sex attractions”: “Ultimate healing and wholeness is found only in Jesus Christ when we meet Him face to face.”
Liberty Ministries no longer exists. Its site redirects anyone interested in “navigating same-sex attraction and gender incongruence” to “Living Faith”, a new Sydney Anglican ministry.
Starr was part of the autumn 2013 program and did his placement with the Canberra Liberals in the ACT Assembly.
