Dominic Perrottet has promised not to ban prayer or preaching as part of laws to be introduced in the next parliament to end so-called gay conversion therapy after he last week announced his support for the reforms.
Speaking to a crowd of mixed-faith leaders and voters in Parramatta on Wednesday night, the New South Wales premier vowed to take a “balanced approach” and protect religious freedoms as the government cracks down on harmful practices.
“We will not ban prayer, we will not ban preaching. That is fundamental to freedom of religion,” he told the forum of about 150 voters at the faith communities town hall.
“We can do both.”
Some religious leaders are concerned that any legislation might place limitations on what can be preached about marriage, human sexuality and gender.
But Perrottet assured Monica Doumit of Sydney’s Catholic Archdiocese that it would not or stop someone who “wants to live in accordance with their religious beliefs seeking prayer-based support”
Perrottet also announced his government would put $10m towards securing places of worship including religious schools and community facing “demonstrated” security risks.
Money could be put towards measures including security services, lighting, fencing, CCTV and staff training.
Leaders present from the Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Islamic communities thanked him for the support, while pushing him to do more to strengthen legal protections for people of faith including a provision to deal with the vilification of religious people.
The premier said he was open to working with the recently formed NSW Religious Communities Advisory Council to develop ways to strengthen the laws around religious freedom but did not want to make the same mistakes of the previous federal coalition government.
“We will always make changes in a respectful way,” he said.
“The previous federal government’s views in relation to this- we don’t want to make these issues worse. We shouldn’t need to have those rules in the first place because we respect people’s backgrounds… then we will truly become, in my view, one of the leading lights anywhere in the world.”
The premier also promised to work with faith leaders on the council to improve religious teaching at public schools.
“There is an important place for our faith leaders to be engaged with how their faith is taught in public schools,” he said.
“You’re the ones who know that better than anyone else.”
He also promised to look into anecdotal reports that hospital and prison chaplains were hard to find at some facilities.
More than 100 questions were submitted for the premier ahead of time but he faced just a handful selected by the leaders.
He was not asked about his recent admission that he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday, nor did he mention it during the event hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.
Board chief executive, Darren Bark, welcomed the funding for extra security at faith centres.
“An attack on one faith is an attack on us all, and this much-needed funding will go a long way to keeping all communities in NSW safe from harm,” he said.
