Australian Christian Lobby
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| Founded | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Registration no. | 40 075 120 517 (ABN) |
| Location |
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Area served
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Australia |
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Key people
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Chairman, Jim Wallace AM Managing director, Lyle Shelton Chairman Emeritus, Tony McLellan |
| Slogan | Voice for values |
| Website | www |
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a Christian public company based in Canberra lobbying both national and state/territory governments and running campaigns to change public opinion.
It is similar to the Christian right lobby groups found in the United States.
As at 2016 it is conducting a high-profile campaign to support the retention of the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman as found in the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 No. 126, 2004 and seeks to allow open expression of its opposition to same-sex marriage through exempting debate from hate speech laws.
Its critics have stated that it overstates its base of support with its policies created by a small number of company owners. Critics have variously labelled it a hate group, and operating from a Christian dominionist and reconstructionist theology, although it rejects those labels.
The ACL is registered as a public company, limited by guarantee and files political expenditure returns with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Funding comes mostly from individuals but names are not disclosed by the organisation itself. It has no political affiliation and makes no statements regarding faith. Eternity House, the Deakin ACT headquarters of ACL is registered as a separate not-for-profit entity.
ACL activities include:
The Australian Christian Coalition (ACC) was founded in 1995 by John Gagliardi, a lay leader of a large Pentecostal church in Brisbane. Gagliardi had held journalistic positions as editor of the Townsville Bulletin and as a presenter for Channel 10 news. Co-founders include John McNicoll, a retired Baptist minister turned lobbyist in Canberra, and John Miller, a Baptist who held lay leadership positions within his Canberra church.
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