Australasian Religious Press Association Conference

I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon  (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Mr Errol Pike, President of the Australasian Religious Press Association; Mr Allan Sauer, Executive Secretary; Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting Susan and me to attend the Annual Conference of the Australasian Religious Press Association.

New Zealand is becoming ethnically and religiously diverse.  The last Census showed that while just over half of New Zealanders said they were Christians—a small drop on five years earlier—almost a third professed no faith at all. 

Of those who said they were Christians, there were considerable changes.  While the four major groupings remained dominant, there were moderate drops in those saying they were Anglican or Presbyterian and modest increases among those calling themselves Catholics or Methodists. 

But there were, however, larger increases in those affiliated to other Christian denominations. The number of people affiliating with Orthodox Christian religions increased by more than a third, while those affiliated with Evangelical religions increased by more than a quarter, and those linked to Pentecostal religions increased by more than 17 percent.

Against these changes, and reflecting immigration from Asia, there were also major increases in those holding non-Christian religions. While starting from much smaller bases, the number of Sikhs, Hindus or Muslims all increased by more than 50 percent.

As Governor-General, as a practising Catholic and as a New Zealander of Indian ancestry, I believe these changes in New Zealand's ethnic and religious mix have the ability to enrich this country's cultural mix. 

But I also recognise that they pose challenges.  History teaches us that religions can not only be instruments of peace, healing and love that can inspire creative works of beauty, but they can also inspire war, death and exclusion.  Religious beliefs can not only bring enemies and strangers together, they can also pull families and countries asunder.

During the Cold War, when the world was divided between capitalist and communist ideologies, it was often said that religion was no longer a significant divisor.  But with the fall of the iron curtain, it became quickly apparent that conflicts along ethnic or religious lines had not gone away—they had simply been suppressed.

New Zealand has not been immune from these conflicts.  Issues such as the wearing of burqa in court, the desecration of Jewish headstones and the publication of the Mohammad cartoons show the challenges inherent in these social changes.

It was pleasing then to see the initiative of the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme, with the support of the Human Rights Commission, Victoria University, the Ministry of Social Development and the National Commission for UNESCO, in drawing together the country's first Statement on Religious Diversity.

The statement contains eight key points. It says that the Government seeks to treat all faith communities equally and that everyone has the right to freedom of religion and belief and to be free of discrimination on these grounds.  It recognises that reasonable steps should be taken in educational and work environments to accommodate diverse religious beliefs.  It notes that conflicts will occur and that disputes should be settled within the law. It also urges schools to teach an understanding of religious diversity and for all religious groups to work together.

The section, however, that most concerns this audience is that of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression not only means the right to express views about religion but also but also the right to religious expression.

The authors of the Statement noted that recent controversies over the publication of material offensive to Christians, Jews and Muslims showed there was a need to call for an appropriate balance between these freedoms and sensitivity to what is sacred to people of different religions and cultures.

As journalists or editors, you know only too well that it is not an easy balance to strike.  The theme of your conference is "the power of words."  Words can be fashioned into works that can make us laugh, make us cry or stand in awe at a creation of pure beauty.  But words can also make us angry and they can provoke people into action, for good intent or bad.

The media, both secular and religious, is a vital part of our democracy.  The diversity of views—of which members of this Association are an important part—ensures we are all "kept honest." 

But in keeping us honest, the media has a duty to consider the implications what it publishes.  But to be able to do that, you need to have a clearer understanding of the sensitivities of others.

One way to do that is to occasionally step outside your comfort zone and the pressure of deadlines to meet with different religious and ethnic groups, both Christian and non-Christian. Organisations such as the Australasian Religious Press Association, with a key objective of ensuring the effectiveness and quality of Christian publications and the professionalism of their staff, has an important role to play to encouraging such contacts. 

By bringing together the wide spectrum of views within Christian journalism from Catholicism through to the various strands of Protestantism, your Association is a good example of such understanding being put into practice.

In urging greater contact and understanding between the media and religious groups, I am not suggesting, however, that an important story or opinion piece be dropped just because a religious group might be offended, or that they should have some form of veto over what is published.  But greater understanding will hopefully ensure the appropriate people, for example, are contacted for comment on a sensitive issue, and that as stories are written, the full implications are considered.

Tolerance should be our byword.  To that end, I will quote from the Preamble of the Statement on Religious Diversity that says:

"At the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Governor Hobson affirmed, in response to a question from Catholic Bishop Pompallier, [that] "the several faiths of England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also Maori custom shall alike be protected"."

That my predecessor Governor Hobson referred specifically to the followers "of Rome" only 11 years after Catholic emancipation in Britain, and also those of "Maori custom," indicates that even as this nation was founded, religious tolerance was affirmed.

On that heartening note, I will close. I began speaking in all the New Zealand realm languages.  I will close in Maori by issuing greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours.