(LifeSiteNews) — In a demonstration of collective civic action, Christian supporters have reversed the decision by the annual Melbourne Royal Show to ban the 108-year-old “Good News Booth” (GNB). The exhibit is Christian, volunteer-run, and multi-denominational. It offers free Bibles, coloring-in activities for children, and information for anyone curious about the Gospel.
The refusal to renew the permission was expressed as an overtly anti-religious policy. It sat oddly with the history of the event, which is a long standing, family-focused showcase of Victoria’s rural industry that includes animal exhibitions, agricultural competitions, carnival rides, showbags [Ed: type of sample bag popular in Australia], and live entertainment.
An email to GNB’s organizers said, “After careful consideration and review of patron feedback, we have decided not to offer religious groups exhibition space at the Melbourne Royal Show moving forward. Therefore, we are unable to progress your application. Whilst this will not be the news you wish, we would appreciate your understanding and respect for the decision.”
Representatives of GNB said the sales representative asked for “understanding” and “respect”. The implication was that the Christian group was intolerant of criticism. Why else would they “lack understanding” and “respect”? In response, representatives for GNB merely expressed disappointment at the decision, pointing out that the Good News Booth is “non-confrontational and apolitical”.
One Melbourne pastor, involved with the GNB for eight years, said that the excuse didn’t match his experience, claiming that, to his knowledge, there had never been any formal complaints, and patrons always seem to give the Booth a “warm reception”. It was also profitable for the Show. GNB volunteers had to raise $10,000 (approximately $6,521 US) to get approval.
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The move aroused suspicions there was an effort to marginalize Christians, something that is becoming increasingly common in Australian civic life. Mike Foster, managing director of Answers in Genesis Australia, commented that the decision wasn’t just about one booth: “it’s a disturbing sign that Christian voices are being excluded from public spaces, pushing faith to the margins.” He asked, “If this silence is allowed, what’s next?”
Bernie Finn, a former Victorian MP and Family First Senate candidate, described the ban as a “outrageous attack on freedom of religion in Victoria” and a “wake-up call for every Christian that the “right to express our faith is no longer a given.”
The move raised several legal and institutional questions. One is constitutional. Australia, unlike the United States, does not have a formal separation of Church and State, but the High Court (Australia’s top court) has stipulated that Australia operates under a model of “non-establishment pluralism” whereby various religions are accommodated and can have a presence in the public square although no single religion is officially established. Given that the Melbourne Royal Show is funded by Australia’s federal and state governments, this suggests an anti-religious policy would create legal pitfalls.
Also problematic is the possibility that the move would have breached sections 8 and 9 of Victoria’s 2010 Equality Act, which says that “direct discrimination occurs if a person treats, or proposes to treat, a person with an attribute unfavourably because of that attribute.”
There was also a branding issue. Not only is the exhibit a long standing part of the Show’s provenance, the event is called the Melbourne Royal Show: the name alludes to the fact that Australia’s head of state is the British king. King Charles is the head of the Anglican Church. That does not sit well with a ban on Christians.
The response was vigorous. Dave Pellowe, a Christian conservative writer and founder of the non-denominational and non partisan education ministry Church and State, stated that “Good Christians should now – organically and without coordination or organization – flood the Melbourne Royal Show with old-fashioned, organic street evangelism.”
A significant backlash was organized, and the Melbourne Royal Show ultimately apologized and reinstated the exhibit. The show’s executives explained that the cancellation was due to an “internal error” made during the “initial application review.”
That claim leaves lingering suspicions. The decision “not to offer religious groups exhibition space” seems more like a deliberate policy than an error on the forms. Still, the decision has been reversed and Foster, one of the earliest and most vocal critics, has said it is “time to respond with grace” by sending an expression of appreciation to the Melbourne Royal Show’s organizers. “The Gospel belongs in the public square,” he declared.
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