Labor is favoured to win Saturday’s by-election for the NSW State seat of Kiama. But the crowded field of 13 candidates, its turbulent recent history, and changing demographics make the result unpredictable.
The Labor government of Chris Minns is two seats short of a majority and has to rely on crossbenchers to pass legislation. Another seat would make Minns’ life much easier.
The byelection was triggered by the resignation last month of MP Gareth Ward after he was convicted of sexual offences. He is currently in jail awaiting sentencing.
Minns has endorsed Labor’s Katelin McInerney, who narrowly lost to Ward in 2023. Like Ward, she is a local. That could stand in her favour, as half of the candidates live outside Kiama. “The closest connection some of these candidates have to the electorate is that they’ve driven through it on their way to somewhere else,” commented a local journalist sardonically.
On 8 September, Freedom for Faith, a Christian legal think tank, hosted a forum for the candidates. It took place at Calderwood Christian School, near Albion Park, to the south of Wollongong. Five of the hopefuls – all women – shared the stage and answered questions ranging from the right to life to gambling to religious freedom.
Special religious education
There was a big divide amongst the candidates about the need for periods of voluntary Christian instruction in state schools. “If I’m fortunate enough to be elected,” said McInerney. “I will absolutely continue to support SRE in our schools, as well as alongside secular activities.” The Liberal candidate, Serena Copley, a former Shoalhaven councillor, agreed.
However, Greens candidate Dr Tonia Gray complained that the school curriculum is already crowded. “I firmly believe we can’t be adding more and more on,” she said. “We’re here to represent the whole community, which is secular.”
Kate Dezarnaulds, an independent, was brutally frank. “I am not supportive of special religious education within our public school system. I think that we have a separation between church and state for good reason in our democracy, and I don’t think it should be taking up time within the school programme within our public schools.”
Freedoms for faith-based organisations
Lisa Cotton, an independent who highlighted her Christian credentials, argued that schools should be able to hire and fire people who agreed or disagreed with their fundamental values. “I’m sure that Serena and the Liberal Party would probably not consider hiring Labor Party believers. Or TEALS, for example, would probably not like somebody like me who doesn’t believe in climate change. That would just be kind of ridiculous.”
Copley, the Liberal candidate, agreed that faith-based organisations should be able to hire staff who support their values. “It’s a no brainer,” she said. Gray, the Greens candidate, placed a two-way bet. “Yes, I support anti-discrimination laws being strengthened, but I also support cultural best fit,” she responded.
As before, Dezarnaulds called for clarity. The debate about hiring and firing is really about hiring and firing LGBT people, she said. “Absolutely, you should be able to recruit based on values and principles and skills and suitability, but you should not be able to once you have recruited that person or said yes to an enrolment if you then discover something about somebody’s sexuality, something fundamental to who they are, something that they cannot change.”
Abortion and euthanasia
“The right to life is a Christian value, and as you can guess, I’m a Christian and I believe in the right to life,” said Cotton. She said that, as a victim of domestic violence and rape, she understood the pressures that women face but she still opposed abortion. The other candidates, however, all agreed that abortion should be legal, or, as McInerney put it, “I support access to quality healthcare no matter what your postcode is.”
Dezarnaulds said that she had some reservations about voluntary assisted dying in NSW, although she supported the current law. “I get very worried about elder abuse,” she said. “When you have the option of a right to die, I want people to be making that decision for their own dignity and not for their family’s convenience or somebody else’s financial opportunity or relief.”
