The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. It is the fourth largest international Christian group of denominations and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
Kevin James Andrews is an Australian politician and member of the Liberal Party of Australia. He is currently a backbench Member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Menzies, to which he was first elected at the 1991 by-election. Andrews is a conservative and a Catholic.
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with the poor. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, in 1802. At the time of its foundation, though much relieved from the harshest of the Penal Laws by the Irish Parliament's Relief Acts, much discrimination against Catholics remained throughout the newly created United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland pending full Catholic Emancipation in 1829.
Maranatha Campus Ministries was a Charismatic/Pentecostal-oriented Christian ministry founded by Bob Weiner which existed from 1971 to 1990. Its primary outreach was to college and university campuses.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, based in Ballarat, Australia, is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Melbourne. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and was established in 1874. Its geography covers the west, Wimmera and Mallee regions of Victoria. The cathedra is in St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat.
Hillsong Church is a charismatic Christian megachurch and Christian denomination originating from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The church was established in 1983, originally called Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, by Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie. The church is also known for its worship music, with groups such as Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Young & Free. Formerly a member of the Australian Christian Churches, it separated from ACC in 2018.
Amnesty International Australia is a section of the Amnesty International network, and is part of the global movement promoting and defending human rights and dignity. Amnesty International Australia searches out facts about human rights abuses and raises awareness of these abuses in Australia, the Asia-Pacific and around the world. The organisation undertakes advocacy and mobilises people to put pressure on governments and others to end rights violations.
Trinity Church is a church in Pilgrims Hatch in England. The church was founded by Michael Reid, who served as pastor of the church until stepping down in 2008, following various controversies. It is currently led by its former assistant pastor, Peter Linnecar.
Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body has approximately 100,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers. The body oversees the management and development of the sport from the national team at the elite level, the conduct of national and international events, through to grass roots participation. The organisation's vision is to become Australia's leading sport through increased participation, continual outstanding performance and commercial excellence.
The Cult Information Centre (CIC) is a British organisation that provides information and advice to members of what the organisation terms as cults, as well as affected family members, members of the press and scholarly researchers. The organisation also serves as a resource for information on controversial religious groups, therapy cults, and political cults. The Cult Information Centre gives educational talks about cults in schools around the United Kingdom to students about to start university education.
The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Victoria is part of the alleged Catholic clerical sexual abuse in Australia and the much wider Catholic sexual abuse scandal in general, which involves charges, convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders. The Catholic Church in Victoria has been implicated in a reported 40 suicides among about 620 sexual abuse victims acknowledged to the public after internal investigations by the Catholic Church in Victoria.
Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia, like Catholic sexual abuse scandals elsewhere, have involved convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests, members of religious orders and other personnel which have come to light in recent decades, along with the growing awareness of sexual abuse within other religious and secular institutions. Criticisms of the Church have centred both on the nature and extent of abuse, and on historical and contemporary management of allegations by Church officials. Internally, the Church began updating its protocols in the 1990s, and papal apologies for abuse in Australia were made by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. A number of government enquiries have also examined church practices - most notably the 2015-17 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission established that some 4,444 claimants alleged incidents of child sexual abuse in 4,756 reported claims to Catholic Church authorities and at least 1,880 suspected abusers from 1980 to 2015. Most of those suspected of abuse were Catholic priests and religious brothers and 62 percent of the survivors who told the commission they were abused in religious institutions were abused in a Catholic facility.
The Sydney Eisteddfod is an independent community based not-for-profit organisation limited by guarantee a registered charity in Sydney, Australia, and listed on the federal Register of Cultural Organisations eligible to receive tax-deductible donations. Directors and advisors are honorary. Sydney Eisteddfod annually presents a competitive festival with the help of arts and education professionals. The Festival involves events for singers, dancers, actors, musicians, choirs, bands and orchestras, along with creative categories for composers, writers and poets.
Brian Houston is an Australian pastor and evangelist. He is the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the National President of the Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, from 1997 to 2009.
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the statutory body that regulates charities in Australia. Charities need to be registered with ACNC to be entitled to tax exempt status as well as certain other exemptions and benefits, such as an ability to give tax deductible receipts. The ACNC also seeks to harmonise regulatory requirements across states, including fundraising laws.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report upon responses by institutions to instances and allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia. The establishment of the commission followed revelations of child abusers being moved from place to place instead of their abuse and crimes being reported. There were also revelations that adults failed to try to stop further acts of child abuse. The commission examined the history of abuse in educational institutions, religious groups, sporting organisations, state institutions and youth organisations. The final report of the commission was made public on 15 December 2017.
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E.) was a museum dedicated to democracy, located at the site of the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It opened on 4 May 2013 and replaced the previous Eureka Stockade Centre. MADE's launch in 2013 was hampered by budget overruns and long delays.
Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organizations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organization in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organization in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.
Criminal activity in Victoria, Australia is combated by the Victoria Police and the Victorian court system, while statistics about crime are managed by the Crime Statistics Agency. Modern Australian states and cities, including Victoria, have some of the lowest crime rates recorded globally with Australia ranked the 13th safest nation and Melbourne ranked the 5th safest city globally. As of September 2018 the CBD of Melbourne had the highest rate of overall criminal incidents in the state (15,949.9), followed by Latrobe (12,896.1) and Yarra (11,119.2). Rural areas have comparatively high crime rates, with towns such as Mildura (9,222.0) and Greater Shepparton (9,111.8) having some of the highest crime rates in the state.
Animal Liberation Queensland (ALQ) is an independent not-for-profit animal rights organisation operating in Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1979 by Jacki Batzloff, ALQ advocates for the rights of animals, exposing animal abuse and exploitation. ALQ is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and its headquarters are located in Brisbane.
