This week, ABC Radio in North Queensland gave me the opportunity to make the case for secular reform at Mackay Regional Council. And I again called on the mayor to stop imposing Christian prayers and sermons in meetings. In response, the ABC interviewed councillor and former Nationals MP George Christensen. See the articles and video below.

If you happen to live in the Mackay Regional Council area, or know someone who does, please urge them to write to Mayor Greg Williamson on this issue: greg.williamson@mackay.qld.gov.au.

17 Nov: The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has told Liberal National party members the party “does not exist for culture wars” in an address seeking to stare down potential division about his positions on abortion rights and nuclear power. Read the full article

17 Nov: As part of an effort to “crack down on school bullies”, new Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has instructed his education minister to “expand school chaplaincy”, among a number of measures. Read the full article

17 Nov: Campaigns against assisted dying that claim to be led by healthcare workers and disabled people are being secretly coordinated and paid for by conservative Christian pressure groups, an investigation has found. The “grassroots” campaigns have been central to the debate on legalising assisted dying in England and Wales before a landmark vote by MPs this month. Read the full article

16 Nov: Former prime minister Julia Gillard has called on Australia’s attorneys-general to urgently consider how to deliver justice to survivors of child abuse after the High Court ruled that a Catholic diocese was not liable for the historical sexual abuse of a young boy in Victoria. Gillard, who in 2012 established the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, said she was “deeply concerned” about the High Court ruling. Read the full article

15 Nov: Bangladesh's top legal officer, Attorney General Mohammad Asazzaman, has proposed significant changes to the country's constitution. During a High Court hearing, Asazzaman called for the removal of "secularism" and "socialism" as principles enshrined in the document. Read the full article

15 Nov: Less than a quarter of people in Britain think the Church of England should remain part of the state, a survey has revealed. A YouGov poll found only 21% of Brits think the connection between Church and state should continue, with 50% saying the Church should be separated from the state. Thirty percent said they didn't know. Read the full article

One to watch

Speaking on ABC Radio yesterday, our Executive Director Si Gladman called on Mackay Regional Council in Queensland to stop imposing Christianity in its meetings. What do you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au

Opinion / Analysis

Paul Monk: That the liberal democracies are floundering has been widely observed. That’s not to say that the new autocrats are offering a better, more attractive model of governance. But it is to say that, from the United States to the democracies of Western Europe – not least Britain and France, where it all began – the mechanisms of popular sovereignty and accountable government that we upheld, throughout the 20th century, against Nazism and communism, are malfunctioning. They need renovation. Read the full article

Briana Fiore: Tom and Tam are former members of the Brethren. Both grew up in the church, and both felt compelled to make a break. The church, they say, has had lasting impacts on their lives, especially when it comes to family. Read the full article

Bernard Keane: Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has laid down the law, telling his joint partyroom there would be no change under a government he led, and that the debate was “done and dusted”. History — specifically Liberal party history — shows that simply isn’t true. Read the full article

In the wake of the US election and with the Donald Trump administration due to take office in January, many women across the US are now trying to navigate the laws to ensure they continue to have access to abortions and related basic healthcare rights. Listen to the full episode

Alexandra Koster: United States president-elect Donald Trump hasn't begun his second term yet, but already people are concerned about what it means for reproductive rights around the world. Experts are increasingly worried that the administration's stance on reproductive rights could send shock waves through health services around the world because of a controversial anti-abortion policy known as the Global Gag Rule. Read the full article

White evangelicals came out in force for Donald Trump in 2016, and again in 2024. Now, it seems, there are other religious voters to add to his base — Latino evangelicals. So, what role did religion play in the voting booth for them? Listen to the episode

Michael Clarke: Species extinction is the rule, rather than the exception, when we consider the history of life on this planet. Some estimates suggest that over 99 per cent of organisms that have ever existed are no longer with us. So why is there such a cacophony of alarm and concern about the state of the world’s ecosystems and species declines? Read the full article

Maryam Namazie: Gods and religions are great — for patriarchs and misogynists and those happy to be confined within the roles religions provide. For those of us wanting freedom, women’s rights and equality, there is always feminism. Read the full article

Harriet Sherwood: As the faithful give thanks to God in England’s 16,500 parish churches on Sunday, beneath the comforting ritual of prayers and hymns will run a strong undercurrent of shame, anger, sadness and dread. The Church of England is facing its biggest crisis in modern times, and there is no clear pathway to recovery. Read the full article