Members of Parliament, academics and faith leaders gathered in Sydney recently to discuss current religious freedom issues and pending legislation in New South Wales.
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Professor Michael Quinlan, Professor Keith Thompson, The Hon. Mark Latham MLC, Elder Mark Peteru, Dr Christopher Hartney, Dr Zoe Alderton © 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Hon. Mark Latham, who introduced the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Freedoms and Equality) Bill 2020, reported on the progress of the Bill.
Ms Tania Mihaihuk, NSW Member of the Legislative Assembly, state member for Bankstown, and member of the joint select committee on the religious freedom bill, urged religious communities to continue building bridges and fostering discussion in the community.
Elder Mark Peteru, Area Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shared examples of contributions religious communities are making to strengthen the social fabric of society through service.
He referred to JustServe.org, a community service platform open to all, where charitable organisations can post their community volunteer needs and volunteers can sign up to participate.
Dr. Christopher Hartney, member of the Sydney South East Asia Centre (SSEAC), and senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, spoke on some of the challenges facing citizens who belong to a minority religion in Australia.
Attendees at the event watched a short highlights video from last October’s International Law and Religion Symposium, sponsored by the International Law and Religious Studies Center, in Provo, Utah, USA.
Dr Keith Thompson, Associate Dean at Sydney School of Law, University of Notre Dame, Australia, moderated the discussion.