CHURCH leaders responding to Julia Gillard’s appointment as Australia’s first female Prime Minister were mainly hopeful, but some were having reservations particularly on pro-life issues.
Those who have worked with Ms Gillard in the past, report she has actively sought the advice of Catholic and other Church groups in formulating approaches to such issues as the global financial crisis (GFC).
However, reservations remain about the Government’s attitude to asylum seekers and a Brisbane pro-life spokeswoman said she was concerned about the new Prime Minister’s stance on abortion.
Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) executive director Frank Quinlan said he “had been lucky enough to work with Julia on a community response task force to the GFC” and had always found her ready to take advice directly “from the coal face”.
St Vincent de Paul Society’s national council chief executive officer Dr John Falzon said he was looking forward “to working with Julia Gillard in her new role as Prime Minister, having enjoyed a good working relationship with her in her former role as Deputy Prime Minister and especially as Minister for Social Inclusion”.
Edmund Rice Centre director Phil Glendenning said on a national radio program after Ms Gillard’s appointment he had high hopes that, based on her previous attitudes, she would adopt a more humanitarian approach to the treatment of asylum seekers.
Marist Father Jim Carty, long-time refugee advocate and champion, said he was concerned Ms Gillard in her first speech on the issue mentioned she shared Australians’ concerns about the number of unauthorised boats reaching our shores and had vowed “to manage our borders”.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) executive director Graeme Mundine said he noted with some optimism Ms Gillard’s choice of words that she would “negotiate rather than consult with miners”, adding he hoped this attitude would flow into a new Federal Government approach to indigenous affairs.
Cherish Life Queensland president Teresa Martin said “the fact that Julie Gillard is a pro-abortion feminist is deeply concerning”, raising fears that abortion could be promoted as part of the proposed new national education curriculum.
Dr Falzon said the St Vincent de Paul Society looked forward to an ongoing positive and productive relationship with the new Prime Minister.
“The St Vincent de Paul Society will continue to work both constructively and critically with the Federal Government, especially by championing the rights of the people who continue to be pushed to the edges of society,” he said.
Mr Mundine said he hoped the attitude of the Government to indigenous affairs would be modified under the new Prime Minister.
“In matters such as the Northern Ter-ritory Intervention the research behind it was flawed for a start,” he said.
“Those implementing the intervention had a set agenda. The local people had to accept these decisions if they wanted to get any help at all.
“There was no attempt to find out the hopes, dreams and desires of the people being affected by these policies.
“This attitude continued when the Labor Party took over.”
Mr Mundine said the appointment of a new Prime Minister offered an opportunity for “a new beginning”.
“Julia Gillard has said she will be looking to negotiate rather than consult with the mining companies,” he said.
“Let’s hope for a similar change in attitude to indigenous affairs, so it’s not all about just enforcing the latest ideas from Canberra and the rest of the world.”
Mr Mundine paid tribute to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for implementing the national apology to the Stolen Generations although he said “the follow-up to this great and important event had not been good”.
Ms Martin said Ms Gillard’s support of abortion was well known and highlighted by her membership of the international pro-abortion group Emily’s List.
“At the moment there is no national law on abortion, but this could change under Julia Gillard,” she said.
“Cherish Life also is concerned that information on the availability of abortion could find its way into the new national education curriculum that Ms Gillard has been pushing.
“It could creep into the national curriculum under a title like Personal Development.
“Cherish Life would have no issue if the full story of abortion and its fallout was told in such a course.
“But what you would be more likely to get under such a program would be some half-story saying only that abortion is available, leading to poor decision-making.”
