Simon Longstaff’s effort to put “ethics as a complement to scripture” finds itself now marketed with plain packaging and images of tumours to prevent kids from taking it up at the cost of more wholesome Church run instruction Image “THE AUSTRALIAN”

The level of mendacity and obstruction going on in NSW around the glacially slow program of “ethics” – continues to baffle us.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-04/certainty-demanded-for-nsw-ethics-classes/4406362

Church activists have sandbagged the government, and only after children have “opt-ed out” of “SRE” – can they be informed of the existence of “ethics”

Longstaff has offered the people of NSW a “non solution” to the problem of discrimination, and special dealing to deliver children to the clutches of increasingly strident evangelical activists who want to use our schools as “mission fields”.

Rather than take the view that the 1880 era compromise designed to allow public education to exist at all (over the objections of churches in Australia) – has now run its useful life, and what students in modern Australia need is good education about religions – what Longstaff has done is essentially affirm the practice of SRE.  His efforts to win the support of churches has been a farce – he was fought in the most strident and ugly of ways, and now years in, finds himself having to still ask, “pretty please”.

Simon, your patience is no longer a virtue, the children of NSW deserve better.  If Churches want to “make disciples” let them do it on their own time.

If you are a NSW parent and feel like you’ve been duped – FIRIS has a message for you:  SRE is should not be in the curriculum – it is a private matter between families and their religious institutions – and the promised land of “Ethics” will be a long time in coming.