Page 5096 - Week 16 - Wednesday, 27 November 1991
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preferable in all the circumstances, to have further consultation with the mainstream religious groups, if I can use that term, before we decide upon a definition. Mr Duby has quite accurately pointed out to me that the definition advanced in my amendment is monotheistic, even though in my view the Acts Interpretation Act would cure that. The singular imports the plural, as some of the lawyers here know.
That amendment has come from the High Court's decision in Church of New Faith v. Commissioner for Pay-Roll Tax, reported in Australian Law Journal Reports, Volume 57, 1983, at page 785. Justices Wilson and Deane referred to the following indicia as aids in determining what a religious body is:
(i) that the particular collection of ideas and/or practices involved belief in the supernatural, that is, belief that reality extended beyond that which was capable of perception by the senses;
(ii) that the ideas related to man's nature and place in the universe and his relation to things supernatural;
(iii) that the ideas were accepted by adherents as requiring or encouraging them to observe particular standards or codes of conduct or to participate in particular practices having supernatural significance;
(iv) that, however loosely knit and varying in beliefs and practices adherents might be, they constituted an identifiable group or identifiable groups.
There was also comment that the test of a religion was not one which confined the concept to theistic religions. I am reading - I hope members are listening to this - from a test case involving Scientology.
I believe that we need to come back to this issue at a later date. I accept the Attorney's request that I defer this amendment. I wish to flag it at this stage and sound a warning about misuse of the provision. In accordance with those comments, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
MR STEVENSON (4.21): We were talking about discrimination and the definition of "discrimination" and where one finds one's definitions. I mentioned that I found the definition in a 1943 dictionary. I think it is worthwhile to mention that that is not the only dictionary I have. I also have a
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