Scott Morrison and the teachings of Jesus

#988 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 2 Nov 2014.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison’s increasingly harsh asylum seeker policies continue to generate substantive critical responses as well as more light-hearted social media commentary.

One social media meme I saw this week featured an image of Mr Morrison, a devout Christian, in Parliament with the words, “I don’t always read the Bible, but when I do I skip the bit about Jesus.”

Humour aside, there is prima facie evidence for this assertion. I know very little about Mr Morrison’s personal faith, but the policies he champions seem to directly contradict the teachings and example of Jesus. There is no way, for example, that Jesus would support a policy of cruelty to children in order to deter refugees from attempting to come to Australia.

Some find such social media commentary distasteful, or politically offensive. We are all entitled to our middle class morality, just as the asylum seeker children currently in hospital on Nauru are entitled to human rights protection.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.