The Atheist Foundation of Australia congratulates the judges of the High Court of Australia in their decision to disallow funding of chaplains in state schools.
This is a victory for democracy, for secularism, and for students in state schools around the country.
The founding fathers understood the importance of Jefferson’s wall of separation between Church and State when they wrote s.116 into the constitution. Their intentions were subverted by the 1981 High Court in the Defence of Government Schools case. This more enlightened decision in Williams v The Commonwealth gives us hope that perhaps the judiciary has turned the corner and shown the way for the executive and the legislature.
Mr Ron Williams’ tireless efforts demonstrate how the ‘little man’ on the street can alter the course of history and in doing so benefit future generations immeasurably.
He deserves more than congratulations for his relentless efforts in pushing for the procuring of this long awaited judgment. The personal financial cost to Mr Williams and his family has been great. The AFA calls for equally concerned people in Australia to donate generously to ensure that Ron’s sacrifice is shared by us all at highcourtchallenge.com.
We congratulate Ron on taking this risk in our name and his great success!
Ron will be remembered as one of the heroes who stood up to make a difference and attempted to make purposeful change and succeeded admirably.
David Nicholls
President
Atheist Foundation of Australia
Private Mail Bag 6
Maitland SA 5573
Phone: + 61 8 8835 2269
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.atheistfoundation.org.au
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