Perhaps the most dramatic individual result of the Federal election was that Menzies’s seat, Kooyong, has fallen to a Teal independent, Dr Monique Ryan. Xavier College sits in the Kooyong electorate, and Dr Ryan is a parent at the College.
Dr Ryan proved to be an impressive candidate who ran as a good a local campaign as I have ever seen. It was marked by a strong engagement by many locals, and especially among professional women, and older residents. The campaign also affirmed that people can make a difference to the process through their involvement.
The impressive nature of the result is not simply measured by the profile of her opponent, the outgoing Australian treasurer, Mr Josh Frydenberg, but because, at least in my view, he himself was an excellent local member, who fought a determined campaign. Mr Frydenberg had engaged well with local schools, charities, small businesses and sports organizations, even when the demands of office were so high. He was also an outspoken voice against antisemitic views that can still afflict our society. I suspect history will judge him highly for his contribution to Australia during the pandemic. He deserves to be recognized for his service, and in the words of Labor stalwart, Graham Richardson, he will be a great loss to the Australian Parliament.
Dr Ryan’s victory was part of a bigger picture in this election, particularly in the victory of Teal independents in six seats (to which we could add the victory of independent incumbents in Indi and Warringah). For the Liberal party, here in Kooyong and in the adjoining seats, the fall of seats to Teal and Labor candidates, not only means a loss of talent, but a blow to diversity within the Party – a married gay man, a woman born in China, a female doctor and the most senior Jewish figure in Parliament.
The rise of Teal independents, along with some Labor successes in neighbouring seats, marks some very significant frustration in traditional Liberal heartlands with a seeming paralysis around climate policy. There is undoubtedly a perception of alienation of many women from the processes of the Liberal Party. Both these points would be made widely by analysts. I would also argue that there has been a long-term erosion of support among traditional Liberal voters around the refugee issue and concerns about policy towards our first peoples, and that there may be a religious dimension to this.
'There might be a correlation between an aspect of Catholic schooling and Church presence, connected with Ignatian spirituality, and the erosion of the Liberal vote and the rise of Teal independents in these same areas.'
I had read in the lead-up the election that there were concerns in the Liberal camp about the influence of the Catholic schools’ network in the Kooyong race. Five large Catholic schools – Xavier, Loreto, Genazzano, Sacre Coeur and St Kevin’s have a very significant presence in this part of Melbourne. Four of them share an Ignatian heritage through the religious orders that run them. The Jesuit parish of Hawthorn also falls in this space. While undoubtedly there is a certain relational aspect to this, in the large networks of friendships and family connections, I suspect that a deep dive into the result might show some important points of tension around policy, and especially among these school communities with a Jesuit and Ignatian tradition.
As I reflected on what I suspected was at play in Kooyong and which had a certain impact in Higgins and Goldstein, and marginally in Chisholm, I was struck by what seemed a similar pattern in Sydney with North Sydney, Warringah, Bennelong, Bradfield, and to a lesser extent, Mackellar. The two Jesuit schools of St Aloysius and Riverview, along with two Loreto schools and the Jesuit parish in North Sydney, occupy this space. And it is possible that it has had an impact in Adelaide on Sturt and adjoining seats, through the Jesuit parish at Norwood and Saint Ignatius College and Loreto.
What do I mean by this Catholic and Jesuit/Ignatian factor? Certainly, there was no effort by parish priests or school administration, or the Church itself, to promote a particular vote in these areas. The days of Catholics being told how to vote have long gone. Nor am I suggesting that most Catholics did not vote for the Liberals or the ALP. But I suspect there has been a not insignificant movement over time among Catholics that is starting to have an impact electorally.
Firstly, there have been long-term concerns around refugee policy. Even those who may reluctantly agree with the border control policy of the Liberals (and Labor to a significant extent), are deeply uncomfortable with how refugees and asylum seekers have been treated once in Australian care. The night-time raid and detention of the Nadesalingam family in Biloela, the disputes over minors in detention, which involved our Jesuit school in Adelaide, the almost indefinite detention of asylum seekers in hotels, highlighted during the Djokovic saga in the Australian Open, the unyielding rigidity around Temporary Protection Visas, no matter their contribution to Australia, have all sat uneasily with a community that traces its own existence to migration. The advocacy of Jesuit Refugee Services, prominent in Jesuit schools and parishes, has had a long-term influence on attitudes in our communities. At Xavier, the Xavier Social Justice Network has involved many with face-to-face contact with refugees. The important connection with students of refugee backgrounds through tutoring at the Friday Night School has also touched the lives of many of our students.
Climate policy has also been a growing focus of concern in Catholic circles, especially since Pope Francis’ Laudato si’, and the Jesuit commitment to respond has steadily grown. While there may be disputes about solutions and modelling, and there can be a certain naivety around the impact globally of policy in Australia, at a moral and ethical level, the argument that we need not act because in itself no action by Australia will impact climate change, simply lacks moral coherence. The argument for action as global citizens sits easily with global church that is catholic (universal) in name. There is no necessary challenge to conservative parties around climate change policy as demonstrated in Britain and Germany. Indeed, an argument could be made that support for conservation generally sits easily with a conservative disposition.
There are other issues that appear to have further resonance in Catholic circles, and which are perhaps given greater emphasis in schools of Jesuit and Ignatian heritage. Foreign aid levels sit uneasily with a community that has many international connections. The Maytime Fair here in Melbourne, and the Indian Bazaar in Sydney, are loved and long-term awareness-raising features of school life. There are also strong connections with our schools and our first peoples, which predispose us towards serious consideration of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. And finally, disquiet around how some Liberal voices, along with some bishops and conservative Christian groups, prosecuted the same-sex marriage debate and other areas of equity and care of LGBTI individuals, has eroded connections of some Catholics who may consider themselves Liberal supporters in these heartland seats.
Legitimately, there will be Catholics, as well as other Christians, who point to a raft of issues around the sanctity of human life, or to traditional understandings of family and marriage, or who have different views of the role of the State, or who worry about the erosion of respect for Judaeo-Christian values in our society, or who fear attacks on religious freedom on the left of Australian politics. Such Catholics see in the Liberals a Party that comes closest to representing their values. And a similar analysis could be undertaken for the long-standing relationship between many Catholics and the Labor Party. The new Prime Minister himself, Anthony Albanese, is an example of this. Moreover, there are many if not most Catholics, who consciously at least, do not really factor in religion in their voting choices.
The point of this reflection is not to prosecute a political position per se, but to offer a suggestion, and it is tentative, that there might be a correlation between an aspect of Catholic schooling and Church presence, connected with Ignatian spirituality, and the erosion of the Liberal vote and the rise of Teal independents in these same areas. If it is indeed the case the interesting point is that there is evidence of an influence in can shape attitudes that arises from the ordinary life of our schools and parishes as they attempt to promote both faith and justice.
Fr Chris Middleton SJ is the rector of Xavier College in Melbourne.
Main image: Independent candidate for Kooyong Monique Ryan speaks to voters at a pre-polling centre in Hawthorn on 18 May. (Daniel Pockett / Getty Images)