If no one stands up for our values, then we as a nation will
be valueless. A party or an entity has no soul other than the people engaged in
the delivery of its pursuits. Our party is made up of a wonderful tapestry of
open, aware, and loving people who have come together with several common
purposes. The biggest of these is re-empowering the voice of the people of
Australia.
As Chairman of the party, I personally embrace the values
here articulated. Our core leadership team across the country have also
affirmed their commitment to these values. Please note that this is a
short-form explanation: it is true of who we are, but cannot capture every
dimension of our ethical and moral perspectives, in every area. Given our
commitment to openness and dialogue, we will endeavour to continue to
communicate well along these and similar lines; if offence is caused by any of
our positions, we are also open to feedback in every respect to broaden our
collective understanding, as we cherish unity across our nation.
1. Protecting Life
It is the responsibility of all to protect life. At the
Australian Federation Party we are diametrically opposed to full term and late
term abortions. We find State legislation to legalise these types of abortions
reprehensible, as also the passivity of Federal Governments, in view of public
funding via Medicare. Especially where this has been coupled with the removal
of the crime of child destruction from state criminal codes, we believe that
the failure to address this legislative cascade, is out of step with community
standards of morality and belief and with the sacred place of human life in
indigenous culture and other traditions.
Expansion of abortion laws proposed by Federal Labor is not
acceptable. The Australian Federation Party promotes principles of informed
consent, adoption and social programs that support women to carry pregnancies
to birth and care for their children beyond.
2. Protecting Our Children
The Australian Federation Party is opposed to the
funding/teaching of gender fluidity theory (or any other sexual theory) in
schools. Our schools should focus on safe and responsible relationship
practices. Education is about the expansion of knowledge and developing one’s
ability to think critically: it is not about using our children for programming
and social experimentation.
3. Protect Women and Women’s Rights
All women must be protected and have their rights
championed. Harsh criminal penalties for rape and other serious crimes against
women, including corporal punishment models, must be considered into the
future. The definition of a woman is a mature adult female. There should be
free and open dialogue, so that Australia can achieve proper balance and
equality for women in all spheres of our society.
4. Christian Values and the Australian Parliament
The Federation has its roots in Judeo-Christian values.
First Nations people also have The Dreaming and the multicultural evolution of
Australia now means that there are a range of religions in our country that all
should enjoy freedom of speech and expression.
The Australian Federation Party embraces a multicultural
society, including all elements and with a view to promoting a spirit of unity.
Given that Christianity is the founding faith tradition for the Federation and
the Australian Parliament, we support the continuity of this tradition in the
use of Christian prayer at the opening of Parliament and the seeking of
spiritual guidance for our nation. We do not support an absolutist separation
of the religion and state, but do support the continued and free expression of
these practices, which have present from our founding.
5. Christian Values and Australian Schools
A key policy of the Australian Federation Party is Education
Choices. Our party remains deeply concerned regarding the development of
curricula that seek to socially program our children and erode the capacity to
think independently. Education Choices is about creating individual learning
programs for our children that reflect the expectations, needs and values of
family units. The state should never interfere in the sound values and choices
of families.
We need an education system that is responsive to the needs
of the individual child and family. As part of this, Education Choices is
envisioned to attach funding to the individual, rather than the institution,
thus broadening the scope of learning opportunities within public and private
schools, as well as within a home-schooling context.
As part of the Australian story, the Christian history and
heritage of this nation should never be diminished and continues to be central
element of understanding our core values, which have shaped and
continue to shape who we are. The Australian Federation Party does not advocate
for the imposition of any religion upon anyone and believes in a broad
education regarding multiple faith traditions.
6. School Chaplaincy
I was once asked to request of the Prime Minister of
Australia, John Howard, for the exclusive right of Christian
Chaplaincy in Australian public schools. I declined on the basis that I do not
believe in exclusivity for one group over and above the interests of another
group. Australia must find pathways of unity to enable us to work together.
We believe School Chaplaincy should continue to be funded
and available in Australian schools and that programs should be expanded to
enable multiple chaplains in Schools. We must connect with our children and
restore a basis of values and meaning in our country with serious endeavour and
focus, especially after the aftermath of the pandemic. The loss of our children
to suicide, and the rise of mental illness, alcoholism and drug abuse must be
tackled head-on.
7. First Nation People
As a nation, Australia has failed to find a pathway of unity
with our First Peoples. A process must be agreed with the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples to bring us together and build unity once and for
all. We support amending our Constitution to give recognition of our indigenous
as First Peoples, which would help bring greater unity. From my personal
experience, the legal profession has taken advantage of elders on behalf of
mining companies, where no due process has been followed. We believe that
extensive independent reviews must be undertaken to uncover systemic corruption
and institutional bias and abuse.
8. Private, Public and Home Schooling
Australia needs the best education system available to build
a generation of passionate, creative, and critical thinking young people. We
need to help develop young people who can think, problem solve and
adapt to changing circumstances. However, the choice of the diverse options for
education must be safeguarded into the future.
Some families will choose a home-schooling experience for
their children, some will choose a public-school learning experience and others
will choose a private schooling experience, which may or may not have a
specific religious focus. If a family decides to have an education with a
religious focus for their child/children, then they should be able to
participate in a learning stream with this goal, alongside all other relevant
educational goals. No matter what funding models are applied to education, these
should be equitable; specifically, funding allocations to religious schools
should be the same as for public schools.
There is no obvious reason, when a family chooses to send
their children to a particular school because of the particular learning
pathway that the school represents (religious or otherwise), why a school
cannot employ a teacher who is likeminded and can support education in the
values and principles that reflect the parents’ choice. Progress towards
limiting this freedom of schools to choose such staff has lost sight of the
priority of parents in the education of their children.
9. Freedom of Speech
We now live in a society where people are fearful to freely
express their viewpoints. Whether this extends to perspectives on religion,
sexuality, gender identity and more, all people deserve to have freedom of
expression. Of course, that freedom of expression must be respectful and uphold
an individual’s right to choose. A state should never legislate to stifle
discussion and debate on a range of matters in society and Australian
Federation Party is committed to repealing legislation that seeks to divide
Australians rather than draw us together.
10. Guarding Freedom of Religion
As a multicultural society and a free society, freedom of
religion and its expression privately or publicly is always critical. It
enables us to understand each other and celebrate our society no matter what
our belief system.
11. Individual Freedom, Choice, and Bodily Autonomy
The Australian Federation Party fundamentally believes in a
person’s right to choose a medical treatment of any sort, based on proper,
reliable and accurate information being published and specifically provided to
an individual, leading to genuine informed consent. All such information must
be able to be discussed and debated openly. AusFedParty rejects any forceful
vaccination “mandates” imposed anywhere across our great nation, since they
cause disunity, fear and ultimately mistrust of Government and the Health Care
Sector. On the other hand, freely exercised and informed choice promotes
respect for and empowerment of the individual.
12. Centralised and Digital Identity
To date, federal and state governments and the two-party
system of Liberal/Nationals and Labor/Greens that exercises power have
demonstrated a lack of apprehension in the use of technology to track, trace
and potentially control populations in Australia. This was reflected in the
recent pandemic, but perhaps more so in existing or proposed legislation, such
as the Digital Identity Bill. Any use of technology to impose excessive control
on the people by a state entity is in disjuncture with the spirit of the
Federation and the Constitution which binds it together. Technology should be
used to promote and protect self-determination, whilst also improving
efficiency of services and providing a means to listen to the voice of the
people.
13. Australian Sovereignty
Australian sovereignty is in peril because of the behaviour
of the Liberal/Nationals and Labor/Greens. Australia should first and foremost
be able to protect its sovereignty so that it is never compromised again.
Additionally, we should have alliances that extend our capacity to protect our
sovereignty that include USA, UK, India and Japan whilst they remain likeminded
nations. Aggressors in our region must be curtailed and therefore core
relationships with other countries must be nurtured.
14. Family Law
Failed relationships are inevitable in any society. Family
Law systems should be fair and balanced and provide a pathway to peaceful
resolution without extensive costs being incurred by 3rd parties.
A fresh look at the process of family law, especially with a view to the
welfare of children, is an important objective for the Australian Federation
Party.
15. Drug Addiction
It is time Australia stands strong against the drug trade.
Australia needs to introduce corporal punishment for people who trade drugs and
destroy the lives of countless thousands of Australians.
In addition, we need to measure and publish the success of
various forms of drug rehabilitation programs. Funding must be made in
abundance for those programs that have long term and successful track records.
Our education system must play a part in drug education and promote abstinence
programs at the very earliest opportunity.
16. Unlawful Internet Content and Filters
It's time the Australian Government assists law enforcement
agencies to stop unlawful internet content. Unlawful content is no different to
other attacks on our nation that seek to destabilise and destroy the minds of
our people. Australian Federation Party supports the introduction of the latest
Internet Service Providers (ISP) filters to track, block and report unlawful
content (featuring illegal pornography and violence) in Australia. Based
especially on the need to protect children from the harm of pornography, we
also advocate federal legislation to ensure a default ‘clean feed’ to
Australian homes, to the effect that pornographic content would be available
only as an ‘opt-in’ service (at the level of ISPs).
17. Poverty
Our nation has progressively sold itself into poverty. Today
we have largely lost our manufacturing and supply chain industries, our
standard living has progressively declined, while cost of living has increased
and wages have stagnated. The values we once perceived as central to the
Australian spirit have been dismantled. Millions of Australians have been
displaced and forgotten because of misjudgement, incompetence and corruption of
our political class who make one rule for themselves and another hundred for
hard working Australians.
Focus must be on re-building industry, adding value to our
raw materials and restoring dignity for Australian workers, on the generation
of jobs and on national security. We need to create a society that creates
opportunity for all. Care for the poor is paramount, as it reflects the soul of
the nation; where restoration can be achieved it should be and where long-term
care is needed it should be available.
18. Environment
Our environment is being destroyed because of practices that
create multi-dimensional consequences in our environment and climate. We are
stewards and custodians of this beautiful land, from which we are nourished.
Australians have the task of preserving and protecting our environment in all
its variety for future generations.
Soil regeneration programs are key to the bio-sequestration
of carbon, the retention of water and the health of our agricultural sector.
The Australian Federation Party has a core environmental policy that focuses on
this issue as well as practices, which are destroying our soils with subsequent
climate impact.
19. Elderly
People ageing in Australia realise that they have been in a
sense abandoned and that many in fact do not enjoy an acceptable standard of
living, after a lifetime of working. It is a matter of honour for this nation
that we afford the highest respect and value for our elders, the generations
that have preceded us and built what we currently enjoy. We must not be caught
out being under-resourced to meet the health care and other needs of our
elderly in the next decades and must plan accordingly; in health workforce
terms and other ways.
The entire process and economic model associated with ageing
must be reviewed in a thorough and system-wide manner. We must ensure that all
ageing Australians have a decent opportunity to fund themselves as they age, in
a way that maximises dignity and self-determination, with the best possible
quality of life in view. In Australia, this should be done without stripping
intergenerational wealth from families.