Neglected Australian essays advocating separation of Church and State include:

  1. John Brunner, “The new idolatry,” in Rebirth of Britain (London: Institute of Economic Affairs & Pan Books, 1964), pp. 32-43. Excerpt: “[H]ave we merely substituted one set of symbols for another? Is our present deference to economists and other experts who think they can identify ‘the public interest’ with the aid of the computer so very different from the deference of the ancient Greeks to the priests and acolytes who interpreted the word of the oracle for the populace to learn the will of the gods?”
  2. Matthew, Mark, Luke & John Pty. Ltd. Advertising Agents — John Singleton, These Thoughts are Genuine (Kensington, NSW: Blake & Batcheler, 1971), pp. 29-32, which is an address by John Singleton during a debate, “Advertising is Immoral,” held during the 1969 Seminar of the A.A.N.A.’s Victorian Branch on October 30. Also republished in: Advertising & Newspaper News, November 14, 1969, p. 4; and Rip Van Australia (Stanmore, NSW: Cassell Australia, 1977), pp. 6-9, as “Advertising”.
  3. A Modest Member of Parliament [Bert Kelly], “Is the Budget a cargo cult?,” The Australian Financial Review, August 13, 1971, p. 3. Excerpt: “Everyone is expectantly looking to Canberra …”
  4. A Modest Member of Parliament [Bert Kelly], “What the MP could say to the Bishop,” The Australian Financial Review, May 12, 1972, p. 3. Reprinted in Economics Made Easy (Adelaide: Brolga Books, 1982), pp. 158-60, as “Trouble with Bishops.”
  5. A Modest Member of Parliament [Bert Kelly], “A modern Moses for the masses?,” The Australian Financial Review, July 6, 1973, p. 3. On looking to politicians for moral leadership. Excerpt: “a mob led by a modern Moses would carry such placards as ‘Feed us’ or ‘We want more manna’ or ‘I’m tired, someone ought to carry me’ or messages such as that.”
  6. The “Festival of Light” entry in Rip Van Australia (1977) — Excerpt: “We do not doubt the sincerity, or the good intentions, of the Festival of Light’s leaders or members. We might even accept some of their arguments. But we totally oppose their attempt to force the community to accept them.”
  7. Any unintended consequences of Christian Social Justice? — Rev Dr John Williams, “Christians, the free society, and the free market: A Christian Libertarian argues for capitalism, and against the welfare state,” Church & Nation, February 10, 1982, pp. 7-10. Excerpt: Laissez faire, laissez passer (let things alone) is not a popular slogan. Yet, thought through, it is not far removed from another cry: ‘Let my people go!'”
  8. John Hyde, “We’re living in the shadow of the 1,010th Commandment,” The Australian Financial Review, April 6, 1984, p. 13.
  9. Hyde, McGuinness and Sturgess on Chaining/Changing Australia — John Hyde, “Exploiting the churches as stalking horses for socialism,” The Australian Financial Review, June 8, 1984, p. 15; P. P. McGuinness, “Wages and the young unemployed,” The Australian Financial Review, September 3, 1984, pp. 2-3; Gary Sturgess, “Chaining or Changing Australia?,” Quadrant, January-February 1985, pp. 135-38; Editorial, “Social Justice Reports … better ways of achieving Church goals,” IPA Review, Spring 1984, pp. 117-18; and Rev Dr John Williams, “The ‘Rocky Road’ … stumbling blocks not stepping stones,” IPA Review, Spring 1984, pp. 122-27. These are on two major Australian “Christian” documents Changing Australia and It’s a Rocky Road.
  10. Bert Kelly, “A thought to make thin blood run cold,” The Bulletin, September 27, 1983, p. 142. On freeloading as justification for government. Excerpt: “Bill listened to Fred’s case more than I expected in a young man. ‘But what about the freeloaders, Dad?’ he asked at the end. ‘It surely isn’t fair that they should get the advantages we pay for.’ I thought that this had Fred cornered, but he replied, ‘Well, what about the freeloaders? I suppose that about half the people that parsons bury are freeloaders, people who have not gone to church for years and have not paid a cent towards the church’s upkeep. Do you think we ought to have a compulsory levy to sustain churches so that there will be no freeloading there?'”
  11. Bert Kelly, “Hitting out with a halo,” The Bulletin, July 24, 1984, p. 150. Defends a Hugh Morgan speech. Excerpt: “Many of you will be pleased to learn that our orebodies definitely have a place in orthodox Christian doctrine. Just as Christian ceremonies such as blessing the fishing fleet or blessing the plough are well established both in Christian tradition and orthodox theology, so our orebodies — and the equipment we use to mine them — are part of the divine order.”
  12. John Ralph, “Profits and Christianity,” speech presented to the Senior Business Executives group of the Inter-Church Trade & Industry Mission (Victoria), Melbourne, July 25, 1984.
  13. The McGuinness and the Devine — Religious leaders talking politics and economics led to unconventional articles, from the Devine to the McGuinness, in the early 1990s. They remain relevant and mutually reinforcing, and occasionally refer to each other, so they are all together now in their life after death.
    Excerpt: “Many aspects of the welfare system in fact deprive people of their human dignity, and corrupt them morally, as well as promoting the disintegration of the family, so necessary to the welfare of children.” And: “[M]uch of the content of the document is a load of codswallop. It is a hotch-potch of all the stuff about income redistribution, wealth redistribution, the ‘preferential option for the poor’ (a frequently repeated piece of jargon), Latin American liberation theology, anti-imperialism, women’s rights, and so on that grew out of the 1960s and 70s. It is what one might sum up as ABC social theory, all prejudice and feeling and precious little analysis or factual support. It is the economics of the warm inner glow.”
    Those articles are mostly on Fred Nile, B.A. Santamaria and the major Australian Catholic document Common Wealth and Common Good.
  14. New slogan for ageing feminists and their ideological children — Padraic P. McGuinness, “A serious politician takes up cudgels against selective moralisers,” The Sydney Morning Herald, March 23, 2004, p. 11.
  15. Justin Jefferson, “The God-State,” Economics.org.au, February 12, 2011.
  16. Neville Kennard, “The tribal chief and the witch doctor,” Economics.org.au, March 3, 2011.

See also the click-to-expand middle column Economics.org.au section titled, “Individual rights explored and answer to whether libertarianism is a cult.”