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Andrew Thorburn, who was recently appointed CEO of the Essendon Football Club, has been pushed out of his job on account of the views and moral beliefs of the church he belongs to and on whose board of management he sits.

Those views, which even the club itself accepts were not stated personally by Mr Thorburn and which had to be found by scouring a database of sermons back to 2013, represent views on moral issues that are shared by Christians, Muslims, Jews and many other religious believers.

They are not “radical” or “hateful” or “bigoted”. It is arguable that the Club has breached Victorian anti-discrimination law, while the intervention of Daniel Andrews has made it an issue for the November state election.

Guilt by Association

Mr Thorburn was recruited as someone with top managerial experience in the banking sector, and a long-time Essendon fan. But as soon as the announcement was made, it was apparently discovered that he was a member of the board of management of a church called “City on a Hill”, which is linked with the Anglican Church but has its own corporate governance.

The “media story” has been to repeat that the church “equated abortion with concentration camps and claims “practising homosexuality is a sin”.

Yet, to its credit, here is what the Guardian reports on the topics with more detail:

“A City on a Hill article from 2013, titled Surviving Same-Sex Attraction as a Christian, advises those who ‘struggle with same-sex attraction’ to “speak to a mature Christian whom you trust, so you can receive the support and accountability you will need in the long term to survive these temptations.

“Those views were reiterated in a 2016 sermon stating ‘practising homosexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin’…

“Another sermon, published in 2013 and titled, What Should Christians Think About Abortion, said:

‘Whereas today we look back at sadness and disgust over concentration camps, future generations will look back with sadness at the legal murder of hundreds of thousands of human beings every day through medicine and in the name of freedom.’”

Hence, Andrew Thorburn’s sin is guilt by association.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews bluntly condemned Andrew Thorburn’s views as “absolutely appalling… I don’t support those views, that kind of intolerance, that kind of hatred, bigotry. It is just wrong.”

The next day Mr Thorburn tendered his resignation, but it seems clear that he did so because of pressure from the Board.

The President of the Club said:

“As soon as the comments relating to a 2013 sermon from a pastor, at the City on the Hill church came to light this morning, we acted immediately to clarify the publicly espoused views on the organisation’s official website, which are in direct contradiction to our values as a club.

“The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he couldn’t continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill.”

Mr Thorburn later released a comment on LinkedIn, in part of which he said:

“[T]oday it became clear to me that my personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square, at least by some and perhaps by many. I was being required to compromise beyond a level that my conscience allowed.

People should be able to hold different views on complex personal and moral matters, and be able to live and work together, even with those differences, and always with respect. Behaviour is the key. This is all an important part of a tolerant and diverse society.”

Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and Essendon supporter, Peter Comensoli, entered the debate attacking the Victorian Premier for using words like “intolerant” and “bigotry” — warning that Victorian society was in “big trouble” if that was the reaction to people of faith.

Archbishop Comensoli pointed out that it was the premier’s comments that were “harmful”, saying,

“The Premier’s own words about his beliefs and how they play out for the sake of others, have tended toward the harmful, because they have sought to uphold the good of one by undermining the good of another.”

What Happens Now?

The background to this decision is the increasing hostility of Western elites to mainstream Christian views. They aim to silence religious believers in the public square. Its possible implications are spelled out with great clarity in posts by Stephen McAlpine (here and here) and Murray Campbell (here and here).

Also, there are legal implications for the Essendon club.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (the “EOA”) makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone in employment (s 18) “by dismissing the employee or otherwise terminating his or her employment”, where that decision is on the basis of the attribute of “religious belief or activity” (s 6(n)), or “personal association (whether as a relative or otherwise) with a person who is identified by reference to any of the above attributes” (s 6(q)).

It seems fairly clear that while formally Mr Thorburn resigned, he was in effect forced to do so, and that would seem to be either a dismissal or termination. It seems clear from what has been said that a significant reason for this dismissal was either his own personal faith, or else his “association” with an organisation (City on a Hill church) with particular religious beliefs.

The EOA says that discrimination occurs “if a person treats, or proposes to treat, a person with an attribute unfavourably because of that attribute.”

It is also possible that this action could be seen as unlawful under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth.) Under s 351 of that Act it is unlawful to take “adverse action” against an employee on the basis of their religion, unless it can be shown that the action was taken “because of the inherent requirements of the particular position concerned” (s 351(2)(b)).

Talking Points

In a free, democratic society, all views and beliefs should be tolerated. That means Christians, Jews, Muslims and other people of faith have the right to express their beliefs without being sacked from their job, which is discrimination on the basis of their religious beliefs.

The premier’s statement — “There’s no place for bigotry… That kind of intolerance, hatred and bigotry is just wrong” — is itself bigoted and expresses hatred as it is saying that only one moral view will be tolerated in Victoria. Other beliefs will not be tolerated in the pubic square. Yet, Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act says it is unlawful to dismiss a person from their job on the basis of their religious beliefs.

What has a person’s religious belief got to do with managing a football club? This is cancel culture at its worst. Andrew Thorburn is condemned for comments by someone else in his church about their historical cultural beliefs, and then sacked. His sin is guilt by association. He should be going for unfair dismissal, given the Equal Opportunity Act protects his right to hold and manifest his beliefs.

Australians used to be able to associate with causes they believed in, be they churches, lobby groups, political parties, sporting clubs, or whatever, without looking over their shoulders. Now, as corporate Australia complies with the agenda of LGBT activists, people like Israel Folau, Andrew Thorburn and other prominent Australians, are no longer welcome to voice their opinions if they aren’t in lock-step with the new moral orthodoxy.

This is not diversity, this is imposed uniformity.

Action

1. Support Archbishop Comensoli for defending the right of Andrew Thorburn to express and live by his religious beliefs.
Email: archbishop@cam.org.au  
Write a letter to: Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, PO Box 146, East Melbourne. VIC 8002

2. Comment at the Herald Sun by going to the bottom of this page to JOIN THE CONVERSATION and make your comments. More articles will appear soon, so comment on those articles also.
Send letters to the Herald Sun here.

3. Protest to the Essendon Football club. Emails: generalenquiries@essendonfc.com.au or windyhillvenue@essendonfc.com.au
Write letters to the Club: PO Box 17, Essendon, VIC, 3040, or phone: (03) 8340 2000.

4. Call/email 3AW and make your comments heard:
Email: digital.products@3aw.com.au  Open Line: 133 693

5. Push out your comments on social media.

Yours Sincerely,
Patrick Byrne
NCC National President