Adventists Join Election Call on Australian Aid

Seventh-day Adventist leaders have joined heads of other Australian Christian denominations in writing to political leaders, urging them to protect Australian aid ahead of Australia’s federal election. Terry Johnson, president of the Australian Union Conference, and Denison Grellmann, CEO of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Australia, both added their names to the open letter coordinated by Micah Australia, a coalition of Christian development and justice agencies, of which ADRA Australia is a part.

The letter is addressed to the leaders of Australia’s major political parties, as well as independent members of parliament, and calls for these leaders “to affirm [their] commitment to maintaining Australia’s aid program and continuing to build on the stability that has been achieved.” Micah Australia is calling for Australian aid to rise to 1 percent of Australia’s national budget, increasing from the currently historically low figure of 0.68 percent that places Australia as one of the least generous developed nations in the world.

“We are called the lucky country, and as such we should be even more generous!” Johnson said. “As a nation we can and should be more involved in the Pacific and further afield in sharing God’s goodness to us.”

In addition to Adventist leaders signing this letter, Adventist pastor Moe Stiles, chaplain to Adventist university students in Melbourne and pastor of Crosswalk Melbourne, has been working with the Micah Women Leaders Network and fronted the explanatory video that accompanied the letter, copresenting the video with Micah Australia’s national director Matt Darvas.

“When we talk about aid, it isn’t just a foreign concept,” Stiles, a Samoan, said. “It actually impacts my country of birth, my people, but also impacts people I don’t know. So when Micah asked if I would be willing to be part of this, I said that whatever way I can serve, I will be there.”

Stiles said it is particularly important for Christians to be speaking up on these issues in the context of an election. “As we are seeing in other parts of the world, there are real implications for the way in which we vote,” she commented. “We need to vote for policies that are kind, policies that are compassionate, policies that actually reflect what it means to love our neighbors well.

“And when we speak up for aid, for caring more for our Pacific neighbors, as part of the larger Christian church, we actually have an opportunity to influence our politicians in such a powerful way.”

The letter from Christian leaders noted people in need in Australia and highlighted what churches are doing to address this. “Our churches are deeply involved in supporting those doing it tough—from food relief and crisis care to mental health support and pastoral care,” the letter reads. “We wholeheartedly support efforts to ensure that domestic needs are met. At the same time, we believe we are also called to care for our neighbors beyond our shores.”

“Biblically, we should speak up on behalf of those in need, whether it’s in our country or abroad,” explained Johnson, citing Proverbs 14:31: “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him” (ESV).*

The federal budget announced before the beginning of Australia’s current election campaign included a small increase in Australian aid funding, but a step down when measured as a percentage of the growing national budget.

*Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Text Edition: 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The original version of this story was posted on Adventist Record.