Australian Christian Lobby: the rise and fall of the religious right
The political culture of Australia, unlike the United States, frowns on explicit religiosity
We see their spokespeople quoted in the papers and their ads on TV, but beyond that we know very little about how Australia’s lobby groups get what they want. This series shines a light on the strategies, political alignment and policy platforms of ten lobby groups this election campaign.
June 13, 2016 4.12pm EDT
Geoffrey Robinson
Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) was formed in 1995 and rose to great heights after the 2004 federal election when John Howard was re-elected with an increased majority and Family First won a Senate seat.
But from 2013, the ACL’s political influence has notably declined, as Labor began to adopt progressive positions in the culture wars about sexuality and gender. Not only is the ACL losing relevance, it has had to appeal to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to pay attention to the group in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Many observers likened Howard’s 2004 triumph to George Bush’s re-election the same year and concluded that in both countries, conservatives had attracted traditional left voters by campaigning on “values” such as opposition to same-sex marriage.
Religious conservatives had always been well represented in the Coalition. But after 2004, Labor also sought their endorsement, for the same reasons as the US Democrats hastily inserted “God” into their platform at this time.
http://theconversation.com/australian-christian-lobby-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-religious-right-60624
