When government fails, people must fight for their rights
Mark Latham MLC, NSW State Leader, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Media Statement, 3 September 2021
NSW One Nation supports people fighting for their rights through the Australian legal system during this time of massive government failure in our State.
We have record mental health cases, youth self-harm, businesses collapsing, and people losing their jobs and being isolated socially.
The NSW Lockdown has failed in every respect.
This is why we support the court challenge by NSW religious bodies to return to religious practice in a Covid safe and responsible way.
Churches and Synagogues are essential services. Public worship provides significant spiritual, psychological and emotional support for millions of NSW residents, especially for those suffering during this Lockdown period. Lives and livelihoods are being ruined – and the NSW Government is sidelining the very places people need to go to receive support.
We offer our backing for the multi-group of religious Christian and Jewish congregations and aggrieved parishioners who have jointly submitted a landmark filing with the Federal Court of Australia seeking an expedited injunction against the NSW and Victorian Governments’ current Lockdown policies.
NSW One Nation stands with them and all they represent. These discriminatory practices must end.
We wish every success to those who have filed the injunction.
During this time of crisis, we must trust in good people to act responsibly, and reclaim their rights within Australian laws and constitutional provisions.
Under the current NSW Health Orders public worship is forbidden in Houses of Worship. People of faith are banned from congregating.
Yet every morning 30– 40 people travel from across Greater Sydney to tightly congregate and listen to a daily sermon delivered from the pulpit of the 11am press conference. An activity banned for those of a religious faith but approved for the political class.
The double standards don’t stop there.
While Churches and Synagogues are classed as “non-essential services” and threatened with sanctions if they provide spiritual and material comforts to their congregations, NSW citizens are still free to congregate at retail outlets and bottle shops.
One can stand in line at the supermarket, but not in a pew.
How is any of this based on the best health outcomes for our citizens?
NSW One Nation has been supporting various religious groups as they determined the best course of action. We proudly do so, as we believe this religious discrimination must stop.
