The Secular Party of Australia
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The Secular Party of Australia (the Secular Party) is a minor Australian political party founded in late 2005. It supports Humanist ethical principles with its political agenda being[1]:
- the separation of church and state
- individual freedom
- progressive economic policies
- a fair and equitable society
- global solutions to global problems
In 2005, The Secular Party took out a series of advertisements airing in prime time, spoken by party founder and then vice-president John Goldbaum. The campaign often used the slogan "Don't Let the Church Govern Australia," attacking the policies of the Howard Government and Liberal Party over abortion, contraception, and gay marriage.
In 2007 the party merged with the similar Freedom From Religion Party run by Frank Gomez. The phrase "Freedom From Religion" was appended as a subheading to the main party name on the website and in in marketing materials.
The party is contesting the 2007 Federal Australian election by fielding 12 candidates for each Australian State's representation in the Senate. The party is not registered federally, so the party name will not be appearing on the ballot paper. The campaign slogan builds on the 2005 TV campaign "Don't Let the Church Govern Australia - Keep Religion Out of Politics,"
The Secular Party unsuccessfully stood candidates for the Senate in the 2007 Federal election in all States but not the Territories.
The current President and Vice-President are Dr John Perkins and Frank Gomez.

