Scientology in Australia
Encyclopedia
Scientology
has existed in Australia
since the mid 1950s. Their numbers vary depending upon the source: according to the 2007 census it has a growing population, 2507 members, up from 1489 ten years ago, while Scientology itself has claimed 150,000 members in Australia. It has headquarters in Sydney
, Melbourne
, Perth
, Adelaide
and Canberra
and has a mission
in Tasmania. The Church of Scientology Australia is the regional headquarters for the entire Asian and Pacific area.
In 1959 L. Ron Hubbard travelled to Australia and delivered lectures on 7 to 8 November at the Melbourne Congress and the First Melbourne Advanced Clinical Course from 9 to 30 November.
has run an anti-drug campaign in dozens of schools in Melbourne, giving presentations and handing out brochures. Scientology members have also attended events like the Big Day Out
to give out anti-drug information.
One school in Australia, the Athena School
in Newtown
, Sydney uses Scientology study technology. The Athena School has 90 pupils ranging from pre-school to year 10. It has eight teachers, who have completed six months' training in L. Ron Hubbard teaching techniques but do not hold formal qualifications. Some children at the school are involved in Scientology community out reach programs operating under different names, including Drug Free Ambassadors.
by British writer Andrew Morton
, had been pulled from sale in the UK, and made a number of claims against Tom Cruise and claims about Scientology trying to influence Nicole Kidman
. The Australian arm of publisher Pan Macmillan had planned to print a local Australian edition, but decided not to, after legal advice that the Church would act against them. This resulted in the book not being stocked by the Borders chain in Australia. Though certain bookstores in Australia refused to sell the book due to legal concerns, it was the number one bestseller in Australia for publisher AbeBooks
in 2008, and the number one most-borrowed non-fiction book at libraries in Brisbane
in September 2008.
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography was published in January 2008, and reprinted with an update in February 2009. In a New York Times review, Janet Maslin wrote "... Mr. Morton has found a number of former Scientologists who are willing to speak freely, and in some cases vengefully, about the group’s purported inner workings. Mr. Morton’s eagerness to include their voices leads him to push the limits of responsible reporting." Maslin added that Morton "provides a credible portrait extrapolated from the actor’s on-the-record remarks and highly visible public behavior." Writing in Entertainment Weekly
, Mark Harris gave the book a grade of "C-", and said "Cruise emerges from Morton's takedown moderately scratched but as uncracked as ever." Another review in the New York Times by Ada Calhooun said:
Teresa Budasi of the Chicago Sun-Times
described the book as "fascinating", although Budasi also brought up a "question as to what’s true and what isn’t." Budasi summed up her impression of the work, writing "Morton’s book is as much an indictment on Cruise’s chosen faith as it is the life story of one of the world’s biggest movie stars. And by the end you realize that 'Scientologist' is what will end up being the role of his lifetime." In a review in The Buffalo News
, Jeff Simon wrote of the author: "To give Morton the credit he’s clearly due: he is one of the best around at constructing a 250-page gossip column."
Upon its publication, Cruise's lawyer and the Church of Scientology
released statements which question the truthfulness of assertions made by Morton in the book. In a 15-page statement released to the press, the Church of Scientology called the book "a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies." The book was not published in the UK, Australia
, or New Zealand
due to strict libel laws in those countries.
, Dr Eric Cunningham Dax
.
Based on the findings of the 1965 Anderson Inquiry
, to which Dax contributed, the Church of Scientology was restricted from forming under that name in Australia. The ban in Victoria lasted from 1965 until 1973, in South Australia
from 1968 to 1973 and in Western Australia
from 1968 until 1972. As a response to the banning of Scientology in WA and SA, Scientology changed its name to the Church of the New Faith
, a body incorporated in Adelaide
in 1969, and continued to operate in those two states. However, it closed its Spring St office in Melbourne, Victoria.
The magistrates in the 1983 Victorian Court actions (see below) referenced the Anderson Inquiry, particularly that it was "Uncompromising in its denunciation of Scientology as a profoundly evil movement from which gullible - and the not so gullible - members of the community required protection", that it had "gained publicity in countries and states where the organization was entrenched"; that the leaders of the Scientology movement succumbed to the temptation to avoid "destruction" of the movement by simulating, so as to become accepted as, a religion; that "the ecclesiastical appearance now assumed by the organization is no more than colourable in order to serve an ulterior purpose"; and, ultimately, that Scientology
Anderson's tone was strident, but offered in his own defence:
In Victoria this enquiry led to a ban and was legislated in the Psychological Practices Act, 1965, which prohibited using an E-meter
or teaching Scientology for fee or reward. In the understanding that Scientology was a form of psychology
, this law required anyone practising psychology to register with the newly established Victorian Psychological Council. However, it exempted any religious denomination recognised by the Australian government under the federal Marriage Act since it used a definition of psychology broad enough to include the counselling traditionally done by priest
s and ministers of religion. Although similar laws were later passed in Western Australia
in 1968 (the Scientology Act) and South Australia
(the Scientology (Prohibition) Act, 1968 replaced by the Psychological Practices Act, 1973), the Church remained active in these two States.
In January 1973, the newly elected federal Labor
government recognised the Church of Scientology as a religious denomination under the Marriage Act, making it effectively exempt from the provisions of the Victorian Psychological Practices Act. Western Australia had already repealed its Scientology Act in the previous year.
On 25 February 1981, officials of Scientology urged repeal of the Victorian Psychological Practices Act, which was subsequently amended by the Psychologists Registration (Scientology) Act, 1982 to remove all references to Scientology. This Act was repealed by the Psychologists Registration Act, 1987. The South Australian Psychological Practices Act has remained in force and has a necessary role in regulating the activities of psychologist
s and hypnotists in that State. However, neither this Act itself nor the current regulations now contain any reference to Scientology. The Western Australian Scientology Act, 1968 was repealed in 1972, and replaced by a Psychologists Registration Act, 1976. with similar provisions to regulate psychologists.
In 1983, the matter went to the Courts in the State of Victoria and subsequently to the national High Court. Scientologists argued a $70 payroll tax should not be paid due to its status as a religious organisation. The Commissioner of Pay-Roll Tax in Victoria had ruled that Scientology was not a religion. This decision was upheld in the Supreme Court of Victoria (Judge: Crockett,J) and then on appeal in the Full Court. The judgement concluding Scientology was not a religion relied on the premise that Scientology was a philosophy rather than a religion and that the trappings of religion had only been acquired after its establishment in order to give the organisation the semblance of a religion. Some support of this position was found in Scientologist writings: Scientology's predecessor in Australia was the Hubbard Association of Scientologist International ("H.A.S.I."), This association had published, at some time not earlier than 1961, a magazine which unequivocally asserted "H.A.S.I. is non-religious -it does not demand any belief or faith nor is it in conflict with faith. People of all faiths use Scientology."
The full bench of the Victorian Supreme Court affirmed that the
Thus the Victorian court found that a considerable transformation had ostensibly occurred. The court found that "the ecclesiastical appearance now assumed by the organization is no more than colourable in order to serve an ulterior purpose", namely, the purpose of acquiring the legal status of a religion so that the organization might have the fiscal and other benefits of that status in Australia and elsewhere and the purpose of avoiding the legal disabilities to which the organization was subject by reason of the Psychological Practices Act 1965 (Vict.). He expressed his clear conviction that the purported transformation of Scientology to a religion was
Though the court found that at least some parts of Mr. Hubbard's writing contained merely pretended doctrines and practices of Scientology, he also found that members of the Scientology movement are "expected to and, apostates excepted, accord blind reverence to the written works of Mr. Hubbard. Although the sincerity and integrity of the ordinary members of the Scientology movement are not in doubt, Scientology is no less a sham because there are others prepared to accept and act upon such aims and beliefs as though they were credible when they can not see them for what they are. Gullibility cannot convert something from what it is to something which it is not".
All these judgements were subsequently overturned by the Scientologist's appeal to the High Court of Australia
in 1983, in Church of the New Faith
v. Commissioner Of Pay-roll Tax. The court ruled that the government of Victoria could not deny the Church the right to operate in Victoria under the legal status of "religion" for purposes of payroll taxes. All three judges in the case found that the Church of the New Faith (Church of Scientology) was a religion. Justices Mason and Brennan said:
but that:
Justice Murphy said:
and
Wilson and Deane said:
The High Court of Australia restored Scientology's tax exempt status in 1983. The High Court's decision, dismissing the earlier judgements, now serves as the current precedent for defining religious groups.
After the incident, Australian Church of Scientology vice-president Cyrus Brooks in Sydney continued to criticise Psychiatry and Psychiatric drugs, while the Australian Medical Association President Dr Rosanna Capolingua, speaking on ABC Radio, said if "the girl had had access to appropriate medical treatment it could have changed the course of her life."
Linda has since been found not guilty by reason of insanity and has been taken to a hospital for further treatment.
case, the gunman, Frank Vitkovic, had been tested by the Church of Scientology two months before he shot a number of people in the Queen Street Massacre. "Vitkovic took a personality test carried out by a Church of Scientology volunteer. The results of the test, the Scientology volunteer believed, made her suspect that he might have hit rock bottom. The voluntary worker, Ms Eleanor Simpson, who had no formal training in psychology, believed Vitkovic was extremely depressed. She could recall only one other personality test having a worse result. She did not refer Vitkovic to a psychiatrist but suggested he enrol in the Ups and Downs in Life course run by the Church." Forensic psychiatrist Dr Alan Bartholomew presented evidence at the Inquest concerning Scientology's testing of gunman Frank Vitkovic. Bartholomew indicated that the Scientologist's testing of the gunman Frank Vitkovic, though revealing that Vitkovic was suffering a serious mental condition, did not result in him being treated effectively. Bartholomew also stated that the test itself may have contributed to Vitkovic's mental state before he shot 8 people in 1988. While repeating some of these comments the Coroner said in his findings "there is no evidence that Vitkovic was influenced by his being provided with the written results of a Scientology Personality Test". The Coroner also noted the day before coming into the Church of Scientology Vitkovic was prescribed "appropriate medication" for stress related headaches and hypertension. An alternative interpretation of events is provided by the Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology Adam Graycar:
spoke in the parliament about the organisation, describing it as a "criminal organisation" and saying that he had letters from former followers which included "claims of abuse, false imprisonment and forced abortion." His staff interviewed a number of people who made the claims. Xenophon called for a parliamentary enquiry to investigate the Church's activities and its tax-exempt status. In March 2010, Xenophon's call for an inquiry was "overwhelmingly rejected" by the Australian Senate
, the senators voting 33 to 6 against, with 37 abstentions; Xenophon said he would "continue to push for an inquiry when parliament reconvenes in May."
"It's not appropriate for the Church of Scientology to distribute materials," Ms Firth said.
. Media tycoon James Packer
has been involved with the church but left in 2008. Aaron Saxton
, a former member of the Sea Org
, rose to prominence as a whistleblower in 2009, when allegations he had made in his correspondence with Senator Xenophon were discussed in the Australian Senate
.
The Volcano billboard was "33 metres wide, 10 metres high and projects three-and-a-half-metres from the Metro's facade. It is internally illuminated by 150 special display lamps synchronised to create a stylised simulation of lava flowing down the sides of the volcano. Each eruption heralds the screening of ads on the TV screen. Non-toxic smoke will spew from the crater at regular intervals." The billboard was used to promote Dianetics books.
Free Zone
Critical sites
General
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
has existed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
since the mid 1950s. Their numbers vary depending upon the source: according to the 2007 census it has a growing population, 2507 members, up from 1489 ten years ago, while Scientology itself has claimed 150,000 members in Australia. It has headquarters in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
and has a mission
Scientology Missions International
Scientology Missions International is a Californian 501 non-profit corporation, which is located in Los Angeles, California. SMI is part of the Church of Scientology network....
in Tasmania. The Church of Scientology Australia is the regional headquarters for the entire Asian and Pacific area.
In 1959 L. Ron Hubbard travelled to Australia and delivered lectures on 7 to 8 November at the Melbourne Congress and the First Melbourne Advanced Clinical Course from 9 to 30 November.
Interaction with education
Scientology has arranged at least one anti-psychiatry exhibition in Australia, and is active in the media about what it claims are the dangers of psychiatric drugs and the treatment of ADHD. Scientology, through its group NarcononNarconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
has run an anti-drug campaign in dozens of schools in Melbourne, giving presentations and handing out brochures. Scientology members have also attended events like the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
to give out anti-drug information.
One school in Australia, the Athena School
Athena School
The Athena School is an independent, co-educational school located in Newtown, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
in Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, Sydney uses Scientology study technology. The Athena School has 90 pupils ranging from pre-school to year 10. It has eight teachers, who have completed six months' training in L. Ron Hubbard teaching techniques but do not hold formal qualifications. Some children at the school are involved in Scientology community out reach programs operating under different names, including Drug Free Ambassadors.
Banning of Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography by Australian book retailers
A book released detailing Tom Cruise's activities within Scientology was banned by the major Australian booksellers in Australia, including Dymocks and Angus and Robertson, after threats of legal action by the Church of Scientology. The book, Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized BiographyTom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography is a biography of actor Tom Cruise, written by Andrew Morton. The book was published in the United States in hardcover format on January 15, 2008 by St. Martin's Press, with a first printing of 400,000 copies, and an audio format on five CDs by Macmillan Audio...
by British writer Andrew Morton
Andrew Morton (writer)
Andrew David Morton is a former British Fleet Street journalist, a notable writer and biographer.Before moving into a career in journalism, he attended grammar school, then studied history at the University of Sussex....
, had been pulled from sale in the UK, and made a number of claims against Tom Cruise and claims about Scientology trying to influence Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
. The Australian arm of publisher Pan Macmillan had planned to print a local Australian edition, but decided not to, after legal advice that the Church would act against them. This resulted in the book not being stocked by the Borders chain in Australia. Though certain bookstores in Australia refused to sell the book due to legal concerns, it was the number one bestseller in Australia for publisher AbeBooks
Abebooks
AbeBooks is an online marketplace for books. Most books listed are used, many are rare or out-of-print, and a growing number are new books. The company is based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Düsseldorf, Germany, and in the US. It was incorporated in 1995 and launched its...
in 2008, and the number one most-borrowed non-fiction book at libraries in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in September 2008.
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography was published in January 2008, and reprinted with an update in February 2009. In a New York Times review, Janet Maslin wrote "... Mr. Morton has found a number of former Scientologists who are willing to speak freely, and in some cases vengefully, about the group’s purported inner workings. Mr. Morton’s eagerness to include their voices leads him to push the limits of responsible reporting." Maslin added that Morton "provides a credible portrait extrapolated from the actor’s on-the-record remarks and highly visible public behavior." Writing in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Mark Harris gave the book a grade of "C-", and said "Cruise emerges from Morton's takedown moderately scratched but as uncracked as ever." Another review in the New York Times by Ada Calhooun said:
- However shady Scientology may be, Morton’s language in “Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography” is extreme. He and his sources compare the church and its leadership to fascists, the Roman Empire, storm troopers, Machiavelli, Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” Napoleon, Stalinists and North Korea. He also repeatedly invokes Nazism, and quotes without censure the German Protestant Church’s comparison of Cruise to Joseph Goebbels.
Teresa Budasi of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
described the book as "fascinating", although Budasi also brought up a "question as to what’s true and what isn’t." Budasi summed up her impression of the work, writing "Morton’s book is as much an indictment on Cruise’s chosen faith as it is the life story of one of the world’s biggest movie stars. And by the end you realize that 'Scientologist' is what will end up being the role of his lifetime." In a review in The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...
, Jeff Simon wrote of the author: "To give Morton the credit he’s clearly due: he is one of the best around at constructing a 250-page gossip column."
Upon its publication, Cruise's lawyer and the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
released statements which question the truthfulness of assertions made by Morton in the book. In a 15-page statement released to the press, the Church of Scientology called the book "a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies." The book was not published in the UK, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, or New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
due to strict libel laws in those countries.
Banning and legal status
Government criticism of the Church of Scientology was begun by a Victorian public servantCivil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, Dr Eric Cunningham Dax
Eric Cunningham Dax
Dr Eric Cunningham Dax, AO, BSc Lond, HonMD, FRACP, FRANZCP, HonFRCPsych was a British psychiatrist resident in Australia from 1952.-Clinical Work in England:...
.
Based on the findings of the 1965 Anderson Inquiry
Anderson Report
The Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965.-Background:In 1959, L...
, to which Dax contributed, the Church of Scientology was restricted from forming under that name in Australia. The ban in Victoria lasted from 1965 until 1973, in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
from 1968 to 1973 and in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
from 1968 until 1972. As a response to the banning of Scientology in WA and SA, Scientology changed its name to the Church of the New Faith
Church of the New Faith
Church of the New Faith was a name used by the Church of Scientology in Australia from 1969 until 1983, owing to laws in various States of Australia that attempted to restrict or ban the practice of Scientology.- History :...
, a body incorporated in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1969, and continued to operate in those two states. However, it closed its Spring St office in Melbourne, Victoria.
The magistrates in the 1983 Victorian Court actions (see below) referenced the Anderson Inquiry, particularly that it was "Uncompromising in its denunciation of Scientology as a profoundly evil movement from which gullible - and the not so gullible - members of the community required protection", that it had "gained publicity in countries and states where the organization was entrenched"; that the leaders of the Scientology movement succumbed to the temptation to avoid "destruction" of the movement by simulating, so as to become accepted as, a religion; that "the ecclesiastical appearance now assumed by the organization is no more than colourable in order to serve an ulterior purpose"; and, ultimately, that Scientology
"... is, in relation to its religious pretensions, no more than a sham. The bogus claims to belief in the efficacy of prayer and to being adherent to a creed divinely inspired and also the calculated adoption of the paraphernalia, and participation in ceremonies, of conventional religion are no more than a mockery of religion. Thus scientology as now practiced is in reality the antithesis of a religion. The very adriotness - and alacrity - with which the tenets or structure were from time so cynically adapted to meet a deficiency thought to operate in detraction of the claim to classification as a religion serve to rob the movement of that sincerity and integrity that must be cardinal features of any religious faith".
Anderson's tone was strident, but offered in his own defence:
If there should be detected in this Report a note of unrelieved denunciation of scientology, it is because the evidence has shown its theories to be fantastic and impossible, its principles perverted and ill-founded, and its techniques debased and harmful. [...] While making an appeal to the public as a worthy system whereby ability, intelligence and personality may be improved, it employs techniques which further its real purpose of securing domination over and mental enslavement of its adherents. It involves the administration by persons without any training in medicine or psychology of quasi-psychological treatment, which is harmful medically, morally and socially.
In Victoria this enquiry led to a ban and was legislated in the Psychological Practices Act, 1965, which prohibited using an E-meter
E-meter
An E-meter is an electronic device used during Dianetics and Scientology auditing. The device is a variation of a Wheatstone bridge, which measures electrical resistance and skin conductance. It is formally known as the Hubbard Electrometer, for the Church's founder, L. Ron Hubbard...
or teaching Scientology for fee or reward. In the understanding that Scientology was a form of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, this law required anyone practising psychology to register with the newly established Victorian Psychological Council. However, it exempted any religious denomination recognised by the Australian government under the federal Marriage Act since it used a definition of psychology broad enough to include the counselling traditionally done by priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s and ministers of religion. Although similar laws were later passed in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in 1968 (the Scientology Act) and South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
(the Scientology (Prohibition) Act, 1968 replaced by the Psychological Practices Act, 1973), the Church remained active in these two States.
In January 1973, the newly elected federal Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government recognised the Church of Scientology as a religious denomination under the Marriage Act, making it effectively exempt from the provisions of the Victorian Psychological Practices Act. Western Australia had already repealed its Scientology Act in the previous year.
On 25 February 1981, officials of Scientology urged repeal of the Victorian Psychological Practices Act, which was subsequently amended by the Psychologists Registration (Scientology) Act, 1982 to remove all references to Scientology. This Act was repealed by the Psychologists Registration Act, 1987. The South Australian Psychological Practices Act has remained in force and has a necessary role in regulating the activities of psychologist
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
s and hypnotists in that State. However, neither this Act itself nor the current regulations now contain any reference to Scientology. The Western Australian Scientology Act, 1968 was repealed in 1972, and replaced by a Psychologists Registration Act, 1976. with similar provisions to regulate psychologists.
In 1983, the matter went to the Courts in the State of Victoria and subsequently to the national High Court. Scientologists argued a $70 payroll tax should not be paid due to its status as a religious organisation. The Commissioner of Pay-Roll Tax in Victoria had ruled that Scientology was not a religion. This decision was upheld in the Supreme Court of Victoria (Judge: Crockett,J) and then on appeal in the Full Court. The judgement concluding Scientology was not a religion relied on the premise that Scientology was a philosophy rather than a religion and that the trappings of religion had only been acquired after its establishment in order to give the organisation the semblance of a religion. Some support of this position was found in Scientologist writings: Scientology's predecessor in Australia was the Hubbard Association of Scientologist International ("H.A.S.I."), This association had published, at some time not earlier than 1961, a magazine which unequivocally asserted "H.A.S.I. is non-religious -it does not demand any belief or faith nor is it in conflict with faith. People of all faiths use Scientology."
The full bench of the Victorian Supreme Court affirmed that the
"Introduction of a service, ceremonies and other external indicia of a religion is no more than a cynical desire to present Scientology as what it is not for such mundane purposes as acquiring the protection of constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion or obtaining exemption from the burden of taxing laws... The creed and services described in a 1959 booklet called Ceremonies of The Founding Church of Scientology which had been published in America played absolutely no part in the teaching or practice of Scientology until the late nineteen sixties; These so-called ceremonies were devised and published as a device to enable, with such attendant advantages as would thereby accrue, Scientology to be paraded as a church in the United States and should properly be described as a masquerade and a charade."
Thus the Victorian court found that a considerable transformation had ostensibly occurred. The court found that "the ecclesiastical appearance now assumed by the organization is no more than colourable in order to serve an ulterior purpose", namely, the purpose of acquiring the legal status of a religion so that the organization might have the fiscal and other benefits of that status in Australia and elsewhere and the purpose of avoiding the legal disabilities to which the organization was subject by reason of the Psychological Practices Act 1965 (Vict.). He expressed his clear conviction that the purported transformation of Scientology to a religion was
"No more than a sham, the proclaimed belief in the efficacy of prayer is bogus, and the adoption of the paraphernalia and ceremonies of conventional religion is a mockery. The very adroitness - and alacrity - with which the tenets or structure were from time (to time) so cynically adapted to meet a deficiency thought to operate in detraction of the claim to classification as a religion serve to rob the movement of that sincerity and integrity that must be cardinal features of any religious faith."
Though the court found that at least some parts of Mr. Hubbard's writing contained merely pretended doctrines and practices of Scientology, he also found that members of the Scientology movement are "expected to and, apostates excepted, accord blind reverence to the written works of Mr. Hubbard. Although the sincerity and integrity of the ordinary members of the Scientology movement are not in doubt, Scientology is no less a sham because there are others prepared to accept and act upon such aims and beliefs as though they were credible when they can not see them for what they are. Gullibility cannot convert something from what it is to something which it is not".
All these judgements were subsequently overturned by the Scientologist's appeal to the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
in 1983, in Church of the New Faith
Church of the New Faith
Church of the New Faith was a name used by the Church of Scientology in Australia from 1969 until 1983, owing to laws in various States of Australia that attempted to restrict or ban the practice of Scientology.- History :...
v. Commissioner Of Pay-roll Tax. The court ruled that the government of Victoria could not deny the Church the right to operate in Victoria under the legal status of "religion" for purposes of payroll taxes. All three judges in the case found that the Church of the New Faith (Church of Scientology) was a religion. Justices Mason and Brennan said:
but that:
Justice Murphy said:
and
Wilson and Deane said:
The High Court of Australia restored Scientology's tax exempt status in 1983. The High Court's decision, dismissing the earlier judgements, now serves as the current precedent for defining religious groups.
Revesby murder
Linda Walicki, who was diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, was not administered psychiatric drugs prescribed by the hospital because of the beliefs of her Scientologist parents. Instead her parents administered vitamins imported from the United States. Her condition worsened, and her parents became alarmed, finally relenting and administering the prescribed medicine. However, three weeks later, she assaulted them, killing her father Michael and sister Kathryn, and wounding her mother Sue. The mother has since recovered.After the incident, Australian Church of Scientology vice-president Cyrus Brooks in Sydney continued to criticise Psychiatry and Psychiatric drugs, while the Australian Medical Association President Dr Rosanna Capolingua, speaking on ABC Radio, said if "the girl had had access to appropriate medical treatment it could have changed the course of her life."
Linda has since been found not guilty by reason of insanity and has been taken to a hospital for further treatment.
Queen Street massacre
In the Queen Street massacreQueen Street massacre
The Queen Street massacre was a spree killing suicide that occurred on 8 December 1987 at the Australia Post offices at 191 Queen Street in Melbourne, Australia...
case, the gunman, Frank Vitkovic, had been tested by the Church of Scientology two months before he shot a number of people in the Queen Street Massacre. "Vitkovic took a personality test carried out by a Church of Scientology volunteer. The results of the test, the Scientology volunteer believed, made her suspect that he might have hit rock bottom. The voluntary worker, Ms Eleanor Simpson, who had no formal training in psychology, believed Vitkovic was extremely depressed. She could recall only one other personality test having a worse result. She did not refer Vitkovic to a psychiatrist but suggested he enrol in the Ups and Downs in Life course run by the Church." Forensic psychiatrist Dr Alan Bartholomew presented evidence at the Inquest concerning Scientology's testing of gunman Frank Vitkovic. Bartholomew indicated that the Scientologist's testing of the gunman Frank Vitkovic, though revealing that Vitkovic was suffering a serious mental condition, did not result in him being treated effectively. Bartholomew also stated that the test itself may have contributed to Vitkovic's mental state before he shot 8 people in 1988. While repeating some of these comments the Coroner said in his findings "there is no evidence that Vitkovic was influenced by his being provided with the written results of a Scientology Personality Test". The Coroner also noted the day before coming into the Church of Scientology Vitkovic was prescribed "appropriate medication" for stress related headaches and hypertension. An alternative interpretation of events is provided by the Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology Adam Graycar:
Speech by Senator Xenophon
In November 2009 Independent Senator Nick XenophonNick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
spoke in the parliament about the organisation, describing it as a "criminal organisation" and saying that he had letters from former followers which included "claims of abuse, false imprisonment and forced abortion." His staff interviewed a number of people who made the claims. Xenophon called for a parliamentary enquiry to investigate the Church's activities and its tax-exempt status. In March 2010, Xenophon's call for an inquiry was "overwhelmingly rejected" by the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, the senators voting 33 to 6 against, with 37 abstentions; Xenophon said he would "continue to push for an inquiry when parliament reconvenes in May."
Scientology targets School Children in NSW Schools
After Scientology related material was sent to NSW schools, the NSW Government warned principals about a Church of Scientology attempt to infiltrate primary schools with propaganda videos and booklets aimed at Year 6 students. Education Minister Verity Firth has warned all NSW primary schools after a DVD was distributed about a Scientology organisation called "Youth for Human Rights".The DVD was sent to various schools for the students, and didn't reveal it was connected to the Church of Scientology."It's not appropriate for the Church of Scientology to distribute materials," Ms Firth said.
Notable members
Noted Australian members of the church are singer Kate CeberanoKate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
. Media tycoon James Packer
James Packer
James Douglas Packer is an Australian businessman.Packer is the son of the late media mogul Kerry Packer and grandson of Frank Packer. He inherited the family company, Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, which controls investments in Crown Limited, Consolidated Media Holdings and other companies...
has been involved with the church but left in 2008. Aaron Saxton
Aaron Saxton
Aaron Saxton is a former Scientologist and member of the organisation's elite group called the Sea Org. He contacted Senator Nick Xenophon of Australia, who quoted statements by Saxton about Scientology into the parliamentary record of the Australian Senate in November 2009.His critical comments...
, a former member of the Sea Org
Sea Org
The Sea Organization or Sea Org is an association of Scientologists established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer and founder of Scientology. Its members are found in the central management organizations of the Church of Scientology as well as in individual churches...
, rose to prominence as a whistleblower in 2009, when allegations he had made in his correspondence with Senator Xenophon were discussed in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
.
Litigation
The Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of lawsuits and threatened legal action during its five decade history in Australia.- A suit was brought against AndersonKevin Victor Anderson-Education and early career:Anderson was educated at Xavier College Melbourne, and became a Clerk of Courts in what is now the Magistrates Court of Victoria on leaving school in 1929. He completed a part time Bachelor of Laws at the University of Melbourne in 1937. During the Second World War he...
and his assistant Gordon Just who produced the Anderson ReportAnderson ReportThe Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965.-Background:In 1959, L...
, in 1971. The citations in the Victorian Reports are: Hubbard Association of Scientologists -v- Anderson (1971) VR 788; Hubbard Association of Scientologists v. Anderson (1972) VR 340 [appeal of 1971 VR 740]; Hubbard Association of Scientologists International v Anderson and Just (No 2) (1972) VR 577. The Victorian Parliament passed special legislation to give the two immunity from these writs. - Scientology also litigated against the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Billboard promotion
Scientology used a notable promotion in Sydney for many years, an "electronic talking billboard" a 33 metre high Volcano billboard situated in the main cinema district on George Street.The Volcano billboard was "33 metres wide, 10 metres high and projects three-and-a-half-metres from the Metro's facade. It is internally illuminated by 150 special display lamps synchronised to create a stylised simulation of lava flowing down the sides of the volcano. Each eruption heralds the screening of ads on the TV screen. Non-toxic smoke will spew from the crater at regular intervals." The billboard was used to promote Dianetics books.
See also
- Kenja CommunicationKenja CommunicationKenja Communication, or simply Kenja, is an Australian organisation. It was founded by the late Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers and his partner Jan Hamilton in 1982...
, an unaffiliated splinter group - Religion in AustraliaReligion in AustraliaIn the 21st century, religion in Australia is demographically dominated by Christianity, with 64% of the population claiming at least nominal adherence to the Christian faith as of 2007, although less than a quarter of those attend church weekly. 18.7% of Australians declared "no-religion" on the...
- Anderson ReportAnderson ReportThe Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965.-Background:In 1959, L...
External links
Free Zone
Critical sites
General