Christian Lobby Targets Liberal MPs Who Wrecked Morrison’s Religious Discrimination Bill
Image: MPs Trent Zimmerman, Dave Sharma and Bridget Archer.
The Australian Christian Lobby has launched a campaign that targets Liberal MPs who crossed the floor earlier this year to vote for amendments that sank Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Religious Discrimination Bill in Parliament.
Last week, the Lobby said that it was launching its “national election campaign” that was “powered” by its volunteers. The organisation said it was distributing flyers, placing digital ads, undertaking phone canvassing and setting up billboards in the electorates of the MPs.
Some Sydney residents took to social media about receiving the Lobby’s pamphlets in their letter boxes. The flyer depicted the MPs as crane operators聽taking a wrecking ball to a Christian school and demolishing it.聽
Just landed in North Sydney letterboxes. Subtle,huh?Zimmerman is depicted as crane driver smashing a wrecking ball into 鈥淔aith-Based Schools鈥�.
Authorised – in barely decipherable small type on the back by the Australian Christian Lobby.— Rob Harris (@serpenteye)
The Truth About ‘Liberal Rebels’
The Lobby claimed that it had conducted a survey of 4,063 voters in some of the Liberal-held seats, which revealed that local voters were unaware of the “truth about these Liberal rebels”.聽
“The survey of 4,063 voters in the Liberal-held seats of Bass (Bridget Archer), North Sydney (Trent Zimmerman), Reid (Fiona Martin), Wentworth () and the independent seat of Mayo (Rebekha Sharkie) found 49 per cent were unaware of the role played by their MPs in ending a bid to protect religious Australians from discrimination,” the Lobby claimed in an email.聽
“The purpose of the campaign is to highlight the record of certain MPs and Senators 鈥� both good and bad 鈥� with a special focus on those who refused to protect people of faith from discrimination and tried to severely compromise Christian schooling,” ACL Managing Director Martyn Iles said in a statement.聽
The Lobby said that it was emphasising people over parties and asked its followers to vote for MPs who will support faith communities and Christian schools.
鈥淚 urge Christians to take the time to learn the truth about each of the candidates and understand where they stand on the important issues of religious freedom and protections for Christian schools,” added Iles.聽
Liberal MPs Sink Morrisons Bill
In February, for amendments that would protect LGBTQI students in schools.
This had upset the Lobby and other conservative Christian organisations who had till then supported the Religious Discrimination Bill introduced in Parliament by PM Scott Morrison.聽
Once the organisations found out that they would lose their right to discriminate against and expel gay and trans students, . Subsequently, the Morrison government withdrew the Bill, which has now been indefinitely shelved.聽
Star Observer has reached out to some of the MPs for their comments on the Lobby’s campaign and will update the story when they respond.
