News & Views
Raymond Bradley / Matthew Flannagan Debate
Former NZARH president Bill Cooke has written this article on the recent Raymond Bradley / Matthew Flannagan debate on the question "is God the source of morality?"
Review of Immigration Policies for Religious Workers
The NZARH has made this submission to the Department of Labour on the immigration policies for religious workers.
The NZARH would like to see one policy that can be applied to all organisations regardless of whether they are founded upon religious, ethical, political, sporting or other principles. This could be accomplished by adding a new Talent category for benevolent work.
Atheist Billboards Go Up
The NZ Atheist Bus Campaign has unveiled billboards in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.
For further information visit the website of the NZ Atheist Bus Campaign.
Auckland
- Parnell Rise
"In the Beginning Man Created God." - Newton Road
"Good without God? Over One Million Kiwis Are." - South Eastern Highway
"We Are All Atheists About Most Gods. Some of Us Just Go One God Further."
- Whiteleigh Avenue
"We Are All Atheists About Most Gods. Some of Us Just Go One God Further." - Lincoln Rd
"In the Beginning Man Created God."
- Boulcott Street
"In the Beginning Man Created God." - Willis Street
"We Are All Atheists About Most Gods. Some of Us Just Go One God Further." - Waterloo Quay
"Good without God? Over One Million Kiwis Are."
The Atheist Bus Campaign
Due to NZ Bus refusing to run the New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign ads, approximately half the donated money is to be spent on a billboard campaign to get the message out there.
While retaining the original "There is Probably No God" slogan as a logo, the billboards will feature new messages. The public are currently being invited to come up with slogans.
For further information visit the website of the NZ Atheist Bus Campaign.
2010 NZARH Scholarship Winner
The NZARH is pleased to award it's 2010 scholarship to Velimir Gayevskiy. Velimir is researching the Biogeography of Wine Yeasts in New Zealand for his Masters of Science degree in Biological Sciences.
NZARH unhappy with HRC Freedom of Religion and Belief draft
The Human Rights Commission will host three lunch meetings to get more feedback on the final draft section on the right to freedom of religion and belief in its status report Human Rights in New Zealand Today. For dates and more information visit the HRC Religious Diversity Website.
The NZARH has made the following submission. We are unhappy that some parts of the draft HRC document discriminate against the non-religious and that the document contains some information that we think is misleading.
Submissions sought for Natural Health Products Bill
The Ministry of Health has released a consultation paper and is seeking submissions for a natural health products scheme that would regulate products on the New Zealand market. For more information visit the Ministry of Health website.
The NZARH has made the following submission.
The Atheist Bus Campaign
NZ Bus has changed its mind and is now refusing to run the New Zealand Atheist Bus Campaign ads. Following the success of the original UK campaign and other campaigns around the world, the NZ Atheist Bus Campaign was planning to put ads carrying atheist and humanist messages on buses in major NZ cities, encouraging Kiwis to think critically about their beliefs.
The NZ Atheist Bus Campaign raised over $20000 after NZ Bus had given the green light for the same "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." slogan as was used in the UK campaign.
For further information visit the website of the NZ Atheist Bus Campaign.
Guidelines on Religion in the Workplace
NZARH President Andrew Geard has accepted an invitation from the Human Rights Commission to be part of the Reference Group for the development of guidelines on religion in the workplace. A draft document should be ready for public consultation in July or August with the final release planned for late 2010 or early 2011.
For more information visit the HRC Religious Diversity Website.