Important Upcoming Events & Notices

Babette Francis stepping back

Supporters of Endeavour Forum should be aware that the grand old lady who founded Endeavour Forum and has continued to inspire its work ever since is stepping back. At the age of ninety and experiencing increasing frailty, Babette informed committee members at our latest annual general meeting that she would be retiring as national co-ordinator, and Lucy de Summa has accepted the role in her stead. We hope to hold one of Babette's customary afternoon tea functions to mark the occasion early in the New Year, after the quarantine lockdowns are ended.

Lucy's ongoing committee members are John Ballantyne (newsletter editor), Greg Byrne (IT and circulation manager), Philip Osmak (Endeavour Forum online news items) and John Morrissey (treasurer). Babette's able and faithful lieutenants of many years, Margaret Butts and Prue Oldham, have retired from active involvement.

As for so many others, the past two years have been difficult for us and we apologise for delayed publication of this newsletter, owing to ill-health and other factors. We are grateful for the continued financial assistance which we have received from our supporters, including some very generous bequests and donations from charitable foundations. In the future we will be partnering with another Christian conservative organisation, which will assist us in our work, without compromising Endeavour Forum's identity and freedom of action. Again we thank you for your support and wish you all of God's blessings.
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Coalition government's bid to abolish small political parties

Three-quarters of Australia's minor political parties, including pro-life ones, could face deregistration this year under a new law initiated by the Scott Morrison Coalition government.

The government's Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Act 2021, which was passed by Federal Parliament on August 26, will require each minor party to prove it has 1,500 members (triple the current requirement of 500).

Under the new law's provisions, a minor political party will have only until the end of November to meet the new stringent eligibility test. Should it fail to do so, it will be deregistered.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) will conduct random checks of names on party membership lists and contact these individuals to confirm that they are in fact members.

Endeavour Forum is a non-party political body, but nonetheless urges its supporters at all times to support pro-life, pro-family parliamentary candidates, be they Liberal, National or representatives of smaller parties with proven pro-life track records, such as (in alphabetical order) Australian Christians (AC), Christian Democratic Party (CDP), Democratic Labour Party (DLP), and Katter's Australian Party (KAP).

Endeavour Forum considers that public life would be impoverished, and Australian voters denied a genuine choice, if any of these smaller pro-life parties was barred in the future from fielding candidates for parliament.

A number of Endeavour Forum supporters live in federal electorates where none of the major party (Liberal, National or Labor) candidates is pro-life.

In this situation, a pro-life voter may consider joining one of the small pro-life parties and thereby help prolong its existence. Membership of such parties is usually inexpensive, and in some instances free of charge.

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