Link highlights - Election 2016
Thursday, 23 June 2016
| Ethos editor
Link highlights – 2016 Federal Election Special
Below is a selection of links to online news and opinion pieces related to the 2016 Australian Federal Elections, posted on the Ethos Facebook and Twitter pages over the past two months. To keep up-to-date with our posts, ‘like’ us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter.
Articles posted are selected by the editor, Armen Gakavian, at his discretion. Neither the editor nor Ethos necessarily endorse the views expressed in the articles posted.
A prayer
An election day prayer by John Sandeman of Eternity News.
Election guides by Christian organisations
Australian Christian Lobby
Catholic Social Justice, Welfare and Educational Agencies
Common Grace
Eternity News
FamilyVoice Australia
Uniting Church in Australia
Voter compass
The vote compass is a tool developed by political scientists for exploring how your views align with those of the candidates.
Unsure who to vote for? YourVote can help you decide before you head to the ballot box.
Ethos – Engage.Mail and blog
John McKinnon unmasks the powers behind economic jargon and discredited theories underlying the recent federal budget.
Nils von Kalm argues that Christian voting means voting for the party that will do the most for the most disadvantaged.
No party has a moral or spiritual monopoly on Christian votes, argues Gordon Preece, who outlines biblical principles for voting across a range of Christian values.
The major parties have failed us in key policy areas, especially immigration, and our best hope is 'a thorough mix-up' of winners on July 2nd, writes Mary Fisher.
Christian blogs
Akos Balogh discusses six things that should have been discussed in the election, but weren’t.
Christian voting must be guided by a concern for the common good, writes Scott Higgins.
Parties have been replaced by 'public relations firms', writes Bruce Wearne.
Nathan Campbell offers 11 common sense steps for voting on Saturday.
Sheridan Voysey draws on the Sermon on the Mount to address 3 destructive forces in recent politics, both in Australia and abroad: anger; false promises and retaliation.
Stephen McAlpine draws on the story of Daniel to put today's ballot in perspective.
Christian media
During the campaign neither of the major parties addressed seriously the major challenges facing Australia: climate change, inequality and the forced movement of peoples, writes Andrew Hamilton.
Frank Brennan looks at how we can vote with a good conscience in the elections.
Neither the Labor Party nor the Coalition during this election campaign is prepared to suggest any realistic solution on asylum seekers, writes Frank Brennan.
Not a great deal has been said in the election campaign about Indigenous Affairs. Here's a commentary from Common Grace.
Watch this PEACEtalk discussion between Michael Jensen and Vrasidas Karalis on politics in a cynical age.
Richard R Glover helps us to come to terms with the perplexity and disappointment of voting.
Richard Glover suggests 5 diagnostic questions to help us vote when ‘no party is perfect’.
Richard Glover and Michael Allison ask: Is there a clear Christian choice in the ballot box? How do Christians make up their minds? (From 2013)
The elections are an opportunity to ‘help bend the arc of the moral universe that little bit further towards justice’, writes Tim Costello.
The ‘Christian vote’ is a vote for the good of the nation, not an attempt to impose religious law on a secular society, writes John Dickson. (From 2013)
Tony Payne, Director of Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living, argues that this election is different because it may impact on the opportunities for Christians to preach the gospel.
Mainstream media
ABC Radio reports that religion is still a factor in Australia's upcoming federal election.
ABC radio asks: What role will religion and faith have in the 2016 federal election?
Abuse survivor advocates push for national redress scheme in lead-up to election day.
A National Values Survey reveals that politicians in election mode are failing to address the key value held by Australians.
Annabel Crabb argues that the very existence of the NDIS is evidence that big policy reforms being are possible.
As part of a series of articles on Australian lobby groups, this article looks at the history, role and impact of The Australian Christian Lobby.
Eva Cox argues that this election ‘fails the feminist test’, with neither major party addressing key areas of gender inequality.
Jarrod Saul McKenna explains why most politicians would want nothing to do with Jesus as he is described in the Bible.
Politicians and economists sometimes say a rising tide lifts all boats, but people in fast growing Melbourne suburbs like Mernda are stuck in a dinghy that is at risk of capsizing, writes Philip Freier, Anglican Primate of Australia and the Archbishop of Melbourne.
Ross Gittins calls for a ‘grown-up debate about where we're headed’.
The difference between Labor and Liberal isn't as big as they want you to believe, writes Ross Gittins.
There’s a deafening silence in the ongoing Australian election campaign over the environment.
What does Brexit mean for Australia’s federal election? Laura Grattan (USA) discusses with Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens.