It was telling that there was no press conference or media release about the Coalition’s plans to reintroduce special religious instruction into Victorian state schools.
This was a pitch aimed at religious conservatives, who are having a growing influence on Victorian Liberal Party politics, so it made perfect sense to unveil it at an Australian Christian Lobby event.
Taking to the stage of Crossways Baptist Church for the pre-election event in Melbourne’s east on Saturday, Opposition leader Matthew Guy told the captivated audience he’d bring back religious instruction during class time because "it’s very important".
But while it was welcome news to the crowd who had gathered at one of Australia’s largest Baptist churches, it was perhaps not a message the Coalition wanted to promote more broadly.
You see, the 30-minute classes in Victorian state schools have been controversial for the most part of a decade.
The move to an opt-in system led to a 42 per cent decline in enrolments in the religion classes.
Trouble struck a few years later in 2014 when volunteers from Access Ministries, the main provider of Christian religious instruction, distributed "biblezines" to students which described homosexuality as a sin.
You won't be seeing it at Glen Park Primary while I'm Principal there!
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