Below is a list of the issues on which the Church and Nation Committee is currently conducting some form of research or action.
It is important to know that any reports and papers listed reflect the views of the writer of the report only and are not necessarily the official views of the Presbyterian Church. The Committee consistently looks at an issue from a range of viewpoints. Any report that has been adopted as the official view of the Church or the Committee will be clearly marked as such.

While the Committee leaves the question of who members of the Presbyterian Church vote for ti individual discretion, it watches how issues develop in an around election time. With independent members, including Green members, holding the balance of power in Federal Parliament, issues such as Same Sex "Marriage", Euthanasia, are on the negotiating table.

The Committee has written to the major parties to confirm, in particular, their continued affirmation of the concept of marriage as a bond between one man and one woman, undertaken for life, to the exclusion of all others. We are pleased to note that both Labor and Coalition party leaders in Federal and the NSW parliaments have written back to affirm that view.

Environmental issues are matters for individual perceptions. However the Green Party now has a lot more than that in its party platform and we can only advise church members to exercise discernment when considering who to vote for.

This is always a continuing issue for our committee, and is unlikely ever to go away.

Presbyterians have traditionally advocated temperance in the consumption of alcohol. It is a matter of deep concern that excessive alcohol consumption causes horrific deaths on the road, street violence, health problems and family breakdowns, among other things. The amount of underage drinking together with poor role models by celebrities and sporting heroes in their attitudes to alcohol adds to that degree of concern. Alcohol is also becoming available in forms (such as mixer drinks) that appear to be directed at young and underage drinkers.

The Church and Nation Committee has found it effective to write on regular occasions to members of Parliament advocating tighter government controls on the sale of alcohol, advertising, public sponsorship, marketing techniques, and many other issues as they arise.

The Committee has taken up the problem of forced and servile marriage, and associated violence in some cultural groups. It believes that there is sufficienct protection in Law for under-age girls. However the protection of adults depends on their access to knowledge about the Law and the avalibility of Protective Orders. There appears to be a need for wider action by authorities to protect these people.

The Committee is seeking more information on these matters and expects in the near future to make representations to state and federal governments as more information comes to hand.

This is the big issue of the new Millenium, a problem which needs to be solved in the next fifty years. Our Assembly has declared its strong support for action to reduce human-induced climate change.

The Committee, as the agency of the General Assembly, will monitor all developments closely and sees it as one about which all Christians should be concerned as it involves the future of the world created for us by God, and for which we have been given a duty of stewardship.

Quite apart from the calls to Australians to contribute in times of calamity and tragedy such as the Christ Church Earthquake, the Queensland floods and the Japanese tsunami, the Committee believes that Australians should be taking the lead in making its contribution to internation aid programs at a level of at least 0.7 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product.

This aid should be gratis in that it is distinguished from international trade and any advantage that may benefit Australian industry, although fair trade is an important way to improve the lot of Third World countries.

The Church and Nation Committee has made representations to the Australian government to maintain a strong humanitarian component in our relationships with developing countries.

The Presbyterian Church maintains affiliations with the NSW Council of Churches and the responsibility falls on the Church and Nation Committee to maintain the links with our representatives on that Council.

Other groups with which connections continue in one form or another include the Festival of Light, the Bible Society and the Temperence Society.