The Australian Church Record, number 1904, December 2011, has been released.
The Archbishop informed the November meeting of the Standing Committee that he had withheld his assent to two Ordinances, which Synod passed narrowly on the final night of sitting.
The Authorised Services Ordinance 2011, promoted by the Bishop of North Sydney, attempted to define what services were authorized to enable those making solemn promises to use only such services. Speakers opposed it as limiting the freedom of the local minister and as another unnecessary layer of legislation. Bishop Davies declared that ‘law is good when it is good law’.
With regard to serious breakdown of relationship between a clergyman and parishioners, the Parish Relationships Amendment Ordinance 2011 attempted to decrease the moratorium on initiating a licensing review from four years after the clergyman commenced in the parish (as prescribed in the 2001 Ordinance), to two. Objectors considered this period far too short and were fearful of the potential for good and necessary changes to be thwarted under threat of such a review.
It is a rare thing for the Archbishop of Sydney to withhold assent, but occasionally it is necessary when Synod passes something unwise or even illegal. The legality of the Authorised Services Ordinance 2011 was suspect because of its inclusion of the ‘white book’ in the Schedule, and unwise in that it appeared to limit freedom. The wisdom of the Parish Relationships Amendment Ordinance 2011 was seriously questioned during the debate, and, given it was introduced on the last evening of Synod, the matter was insufficiently debated.
The rhetoric in favour of both bills managed to wrestle a slim majority from a tired Synod. But this was not good law. The Archbishop’s decisions have stopped the introduction of bad law—twice.