This time from Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal Part of Australia, currently in opposition.

Link: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/bible-bashing-the-homeless-abbott-style-20100215-o2tj.html

I’ll save you the effort of following the link if you don’t really want to – the part I want to focus on is in the first two paragraphs:

I was in Canberra last week and had the opportunity to ask Opposition Leader Tony Abbott whether a government under his direction would continue with the Rudd government’s goal of halving homelessness by 2020. His answer was no.

In justifying his stance, Abbott quoted from the Gospel of Matthew: ”The poor will always be with us,” he said, and referred to the fact there is little a government can do for people who choose to be homeless.

Michael Perusco
chief executive
Sacred Heart Mission

This seems more than simple misinterpretation of the Bible.  Seriously, find me more modern-day Christians who would a) claim that people are homeless out of choice, and b) admit to wanting to do nothing for them.

But honestly, that isn’t what bothers me.  I don’t think an Abbott-led government has a hope of defeating Kevin Rudd and the ALP in the next election, especially since they keep seeming to lean more and more to the right every time we turn around.

What really bothers me is that we have a politician here who thinks its okay to base policy decisions on his own personal religion.  Okay, so there’s not an official separation of Church and State here in Australia (we have a prohibition of the establishment of a State Religion but that’s not the same thing at all), so there’s technically nothing wrong with it at all.

But using the bible out of context to criticise the homeless?  That’s pretty low.