The sound of Hillsong

GIMME that old-time religion, that old-time religion … every second politician seems to be singing that song these days.

Among them, chalk up British PM Tony Blair (muscular Christian), Peter Costello and Bob Carr (Hillsong groupies), Tony Abbott (reproductive crusader) and Tasmania’s own federal reps Senator Guy Barnett (leader of the campaign against gay marriage and adopting) and Michael Ferguson MHR for Bass (family first, lower case) as well as your actual Family First (upper case) senator, Steven Fielding from Victoria.

Desperate to do a bit of catch-up in the holier-than-thou stakes, the ALP has set up a Faith, Politics and Values working group to remind relevant parts of the electorate that the preachings of Jesus form part of the Labor tradition.

So what is wrong with politicians wearing their religious affiliations on their sleeves? Don’t we need more values in public life?

Well, it seems to depend on whose values you are talking about.

Treasurer Costello hastily re-thought the question of Christian values this week when the new Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall attacked the Federal Government’s IR reforms.

The Tasmanian-born churchman, now the Archbishop of Brisbane, said he was concerned the gutting of unfair dismissal laws would lead to serious injustice in the workplace.

“The key principle the church would want to defend is proper protection for the weakest and most vulnerable in our community,” he said. “That is a prime value of the Judeo-Christian tradition, one that rings through the prophets and the Gospel.”

Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews made it clear that Archbishop Aspinall — and all those other meddlesome priests — should butt out of the IR debate. “I don’t mind church leaders or church spokesmen having views on issues, but I think they ought to be informed when they have views on issues,” Mr Andrews said.

And Mr Costello whined that it wasn’t fair that only “left-wing clergy” were listened to in the social arena. “Hillsong can’t be good because it is not supporting a left-wing view, whereas an Anglican archbishop, that is good. Uniting Church, even better.”

“Nobody questions the right of anybody to speak out, you know, so Phillip Aspinall has the same right as everybody else, [but] just because he has a theological degree doesn’t mean he is an industrial relations expert,” Mr Costello said of the former director of Anglicare in Tasmania.

That other notorious left-winger, Sydney Catholic Archbishop George Pell, has also opposed the IR changes, saying they could push the “preponderance of power in one direction”.

Family First’s new senator Steven Fielding, who wants the Federal Government to run a family-friendliness detector over every policy, is yet to reveal which way he’ll vote on IR, but has said: “It’s great to have a job, but you need a secure job.”

Oh dear, Christian values can be a nuisance in public life, it seems.

Tasmanian media professional Gabfest believes that Opinions are like assholes — everyone has one.