mgpcpastor's blog

Here are my notes on Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s address and answers to questions at Make It Count 2010.
Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott’s address and answers are posted here.

These are detailed notes and should not be considered a transcript.
I’m trying to get these up in a timely fashion.
If anything in these notes is wrong I’ll try to correct it and note my mistake.

Kevin Rudd:
Acknowledged the broad Christian church and the role of the churches in shaping the fabric of Australian society.
Rudd is on the record as being proud of the church’s role in Australian history. So many social institutions have been shaped by the church at their formative stages: e.g. universal education, public hospital, orphanages and care for the poor.
The Christian traditions have made mistakes, but that does not negate the positive balance of the contribution that the churches have made.
No established religion decided in the 1890s. We welcome those who are of non-Christian faiths and those of no faith. It should be acknowledged that those of no faith contribute to moral and ethical debate.
The government have invested in schools – state and non-state. All Australians have benefited from the government’s investment in schooling.
School chaplaincy program continued. Effectiveness needs to be measured as public funding is involved, the positive feedback suggests it will go on.
The contribution of the churches to health, hospitals and disabilities was acknowledged. Fundamental reform of healthcare is part and parcel of that work. The system would have broken down without this change.
The problem of homelessness and public housing was mentioned. 100,000 homeless with 10,000 sleeping rough. Some folk are hard to help. People are being turned away. 9 out of 10. Working with NGOs – e.g. Common Ground. Homelessness is a final manifestation of other problems: relationship breakdown, mental illness, indebtedness, lack of skills. These problems have to be addressed.
Rudd considers the government are pretty hardline on the question of welfare. Not just provision of a cheque. They are endeavouring to move to a non-discriminatingly policy to move people from welfare. Welfare reform in Northern Territory is taking place to apply conditional support on a non-discriminatory basis.
Fairness for all in the workplace. Bargaining for conditions should be available.
Chose to step into Global Financial Crisis. Fundamental commitment to not see high levels of unemployment. The dignity of having a job is a fundamental dignity. Second lowest unemployment level in developed world.
Climate change is real, cannot be ignored. Emissions trading scheme. Renewable energy investment. Energy efficiency. Global action.
Proper stewardship requires responsible action with regard to the environment.
Finishing point: Wesley treated the world as his parish; Australia is increasing overseas aid to 0.5 of GDP.

The Questions and Answers followed. It appeared that the questions had been formulated amongst the church leaders and were shared around. The same topics were directed toward Abbott during his time for questions, but different church leaders asked them. This suggests to me that the totality of the questions can be attributed to all of the churches, not necessarily any to any particular church.

Questions:
Philip Wilson, President Australian Catholic Bishops.
Indigenous living standards: better value for money and the status of the ‘Little Children are Sacred’ issues.
Rudd: Intervention two and half years down the track. Children at school, fed at school and sleeping in houses. Numbers are rising. Mistakes will be made. Discriminatory elements will be removed by extending requirements to all recipients. Mark out 10, low pass mark. (5.5 or 6 out of 10). Practical suggestions about how to do it better.

Representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church: Will the opening of parliament with the Lord’s Prayer continue?
Rudd: No suggestion to stop it and no support for doing so by Rudd. (Rudd made what I found a humorous aside that he’d found that church meetings that started with prayer never resulted in disagreement.)

Keith Gardner, Superintendent Wesley Mission: Status of Asylum seekers?
Rudd: Refugees convention, holocaust, the Jewish problem in 1938, the world turned its back on the Jews. After the war came the Geneva convention, 2010 world circumstances more complex, human and humane responsibility to protect those who genuinely fear persecution, and orderly immigration. Changes to processing refugees from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have seen changes in no children behind razor wire, no Pacific solution. Not going to engage in the politics of out extreming the opposition. Tried very had to get balance right. Will be a long term problem.

Robert Benn, Moderator General, Presbyterian Church of Australia: status of marriage as the union of a man and woman.
Rudd: No authority over states in the matter. Marriage is between a man and a woman. People in same sex relationships should not be discriminated against. Nationally consistent approach to relationship recognition. Marriage is between a man and a woman.

Phil Pringle, C3 Churches Global. School Chaplaincy. Expansion of program a possibility?
Rudd: Universal experience of principals positive about chaplaincy. No negative feedback. Two year extension. Evaluation to confirm anecdotal feedback.
Wallace: extension of funding? Get data in. Nothing to fear from the facts. Scope and expansion.

Ken Vogel SDA: preventing premature sexualisation of children. Preliminary response to enquiry of sexualisation of children. As a father of three he shares the concern, every child has a right to a childhood. Proper standards for the media industry, social and family attitudes. Floundered a bit.

John Beckett CEO Micah Challenge: restate party’s position on climate change, poor, (and peace). Can’t deny the science.

[At this stage we lost our audio, so I don’t know the rest of Rudd’s answer to the question. Apparently there was also a question about the preparedness of a Rudd government to shift on policy positions in order to gain support from the balance of power parties in the Senate. I don’t know Rudd’s reply to that either.]