My Response: The Christian Voting Bloc, Simon Smart, Centre for Public Christianity and One Nation

My goal here is not to be overtly polemic or antagonistic. I am sure Simon Smart is a good man who loves Jesus, but I have a big concern with his comments in The Guardian regarding Christians voting for One Nation. Smart stated:

“The anti-immigration, anti-refugee stance of One Nation will be stumbling block to people whose faith calls them to welcome the stranger and to view all people as precious because they’re made in the image of God … those Christians who are drawn to the rhetoric of Pauline Hansen may have good reason to pause and reconsider.”[i]

Certainly, Pauline Hanson's comments about Australia’s lax immigration policy and being a "monocultural" society have sparked huge debate. I do not wish to enter that discussion here. My concern is not primarily with what was said, but with what was left unsaid by a Christian organisation that seeks to be a voice for Christianity in the public square.

To be clear, there are many social issues Christians should be concerned about and carefully weigh when deciding how to vote. However, none is more significant than the issue of abortion. Yet Smart, and the Guardian, fail to mention that in Hansen’s Press Club speech she also expressed her disgust at third-trimester abortion. She stated:

“It’s a discussion that needs to be held with the Australian people. I can tell you to abort a baby a day before birth is abhorrent and disgusting, that is what I oppose … too many abortions happen in this country … even at 20 weeks it is too late to have an abortion. 39 weeks to have an abortion, that is clearly not humane.”[ii]

Immigration policy and the treatment of refugees are important issues worthy of serious consideration, but no issue should be more immediate on the Australian Christian agenda than abortion - a nation in which every state now permits abortion up to birth under various legal frameworks.[iii]

In Queensland alone, since the abortion law was passed in 2018, 693 babies from 2018 and 2024[iv] have had potassium chloride injected into their mother’s amniotic sac, or directly into their hearts, causing their deaths in what should be the safest place in the world for them.[v] Tragically, many of these babies have been born alive and left to die following the abortion procedure.[vi]

When Smart states, “those Christians who are drawn to the rhetoric of Pauline Hansen may have good reason to pause and reconsider.” My question is, pause and reconsider who?

Labor introduced these abortion laws.[vii] At a federal level, unlike Hansen, the Liberal leader Angus Taylor remains tight lipped on his abortion stance. In Queensland, the Liberal National Party has adopted Labor's ideological position and even gagged debate on the issue in 2024,[viii] preventing elected representatives from speaking or voting according to their convictions. Except for Mackay MP Nigel Dalton, the LNP then voted against a Gag reversal motion in 2026.[ix]

In SA in the Upper House, a third trimester Bill led by Sarah Gane (Family First) passed.[x] In the Lower House, a Bill led by One Nation MP Chantelle Thomas, to stop third trimester abortions was voted down.[xi] At a state level in Queensland and Perth, The KAP and the Australian Christian Party have been a constant voice advocating for the unborn. However, the current political reality is that One Nation is the only party with genuine momentum behind efforts to to succeed in stopping some abortion practices in Australia.

So again, I ask, if abortion is the immediate issue that Christians should concern themselves with – then who else should we consider? Is this not, in the words of Francis Shaeffer, who experienced a similar trend in the 1980’s with the Republican Party in the US, a “unique open window”?[xii]

Let’s be frank, The Guardian wants to weaken the One Nation ascendency, and one way to achieve that is by fracturing her potential support base of which there is none bigger than the Christian voting block - in the article’s own words “44% of the population identifying as Christian.”[xiii]

My fear is that, with this article, Simon Smart has unfortunately, played into the Guardian’s narrative and, in doing so, has come across as potentially misleading to the very people I am sure he wants to educate.

Out of curiosity, I scrolled through Centre for Public Christianity's social media accounts. I found zero posts addressing abortion. I also searched for abortion on their website – the last article written on the issue was over seven years ago.[xiv]

So, we are left with the strange situation of a non-Christian leader of a political party publicly calling for an end to late-term abortion, while a Christian public commentary ministry remains silent on the issue altogether.

Maybe the real question is do Christians need to pause and reconsider who is informing them in the public arena given this unique open window that is presented to us?

[i] Barret, Jonathan. “One Nation is campaigning directly to Christians. But will party policies rub against worshippers’ conscience?”. The Guardian Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/03/one-nation-christians-christian-voters-churchgoers-ntwnfb

[ii] Empact News. “Senator Pauline Hanson sets out her abortion position.” YouTube Short. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/grhuB1nqnBQ

[iii] Children by Choice. “Abortion laws for each state.” Children by Choice Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/advice-and-support/pregnancy-options-faq/what-to-do-if-you-are-considering-an-abortion/abortion-laws-for-each-state/

[iv] Queensland Heath. “Termination of pregnancy by calendar year, gestation weeks, for admitted patients in public and private facilities, Queensland 2018 to 2014 calendar years.” Queensland Government. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1501103/dohdl252610020.pdf

[v] LiveAction. “3rd Trimester Late-Term Abortion | Induction Abortion | What Is Abortion?”. Live Action Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBIhez7C1dM

[vi] Cherish Life. “Abortion Statistics Queensland.” Cherish Life Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.cherishlife.org.au/abortionstatisticsqueensland

[vii] Tovey, Josephine. “Labor's abortion policy: all the issues explained.” The Guardian. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/07/labors-abortion-policy-all-the-issues-explained

[viii] Australian Christian Lobby. “Queensland Premier’s Gag Order Motion.” ACL Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.acl.org.au/campaigns/cm-qld-premiers-gag-order-motion/

[ix] Cliff, Matthew. “Baby Samuel: Queensland’s Pro-Life Awakening.” Cherish Life Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.cherishlife.org.au/blog/Blog%20Post%20Title%20One-3zaa9-zlxng-67tfc-7sxyg-wpgck-msjxr-64est

[x] Kelsall, Thomas. “Sarah Game's bill restricting late-term abortion access voted down in lower house.” ABC News. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-17/abortion-bill-voted-down-in-lower-house/106808360

[xi] Kelsall, Thomas. “Sarah Game's bill restricting late-term abortion access voted down in lower house.” ABC News. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-17/abortion-bill-voted-down-in-lower-house/106808360

[xii] Schaeffer, Francis. A Christian Manifesto. Illinois: Crossway, 1982. 73.

[xiii] Barret, Jonathan. “One Nation is campaigning directly to Christians. But will party policies rub against worshippers’ conscience?”. The Guardian Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/03/one-nation-christians-christian-voters-churchgoers-ntwnfb

[xiv] Public Christianity. “abortion”. Public Christianity Website. Accessed 7 July, 2026. https://publicchristianity.org/?s=abortion&submit=Search&site-area=all&publish-date%5B%5D=&start_date=&end_date=