Sahmain 1998 Newsletter Religious Freedom Update

I will be attending a discussion group at the end of April at the Human Rights Commission about the discussion paper "Free to believe?" that I responded to last year. The forum will be discussing issues raised in the paper, and working on a time frame for the Commissioner to release his final report. The issues that will be discussed are:

1. Freedom of religion and belief. Defining these concepts.
2. Legislation to make religious discrimination unlawful.
3. Legislation to make incitement to religious hatred unlawful.
4. Legislative protection of Indigenous beliefs.
5. Religion and medical practices, including autopsies.
6. Coercion in respect of freedom of belief. How do we protect against coercion?

My paper also was quoted in an article written in the South Australian Advertiser earlier this year. So its nice to see that, even as a "minority" organisation, we can stand up and be counted, and have a say about freedom of religion in Australia. I'll update you all in future issues about how the report is progressing. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to give me a ring.