Vic Ambulance chaplaincy policy change; referenda doomed?; secular humanism under attack

Published: Wed, 10/18/23

RSA Daily

For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Rationale, the magazine of the Rationalist Society of Australia

Good morning ,

Last night we had an RSA board meeting and discussed just how we might measure our effectiveness as a campaigning organisation. From the time I learned about politics in my thirties through the Women's Electoral Lobby, I've realised that this is a particularly difficult task. Who knows whether your group had an impact rather than some other group? And what do you have to do to 'get through' to the decision-makers, who are on the receiving ends of dozens of reform demands from hundreds of lobby groups?

But I think it's fair to say that the RSA was responsible for an admittedly small but significant win recently through a combination of legal logic and perseverence. Check our lead story.

Lead stories

Human rights commission's intervention sparks chaplaincy changes at Ambulance Victoria | Rationalist Society of Australia

The RSA has been successful in getting Ambulance Victoria to reform its chaplaincy hiring policy after we pointed out to the Vic Equal Opportunity Commission that it was effectively unlawfully discriminating against non-religionists!

Republic could be 'doomed for a generation' after Voice referendum

In which I am quoted, as deputy chair of the Australian Republic Movement ...

To hear more about how Australian referendums could actually work to update our thin and workmanlike constitution (a "small brown bird" of a document, unlike the soaring eagle of the American constitution, or the constitutions of South Africa and Canada, replete with assertions of rights and values), sign up for the RSA's next webinar with Dr Ben Jones:

Webinar: How to modernise our 'frozen' constitution

Other stories of interest

Majority of Australians support truth in political advertising laws

An Australia Institute poll shows that almost 9 out of 10 Australians support 'truth in political advertising' laws. An idea whose time has come.

Imagining Trump's second term

Reviews of 2 books: Canada Alone and Trump's Australia. The prospect induces a "vice in the chest and tightness in the stomach".

Victoria's electric car charge outlawed by the High Court

As an early adopter of an electric vehicle, I must admit to being pleased!

How secular humanism at our universities fuels antisemitism

From the right wing Spectator: "One of the core principles of humanism is the erroneous belief that man has an innate ability to act ethically and justly .. explains why many academics blame Israel for the ongoing conflict with her Palestinian neighbours .. clear distinction between the intentional unprovoked rocketing by Hamas of Israeli civilians and the tragic but unintentional deaths of Palestinian civilians caused by legitimate defensive measures .." Thoughts?

Got a comment on any of these stories?

Write to me at president@rationalist.com.au