Religious Right Groups
Focus on the Family Australia
| Leadership: | Led by Colin Bunnett from mid-2004. Formerly led by Glenn Williams, registered psychologist and former Church of Christ minister. Glenn Williams departed for a position with Focus on the Family (US) in 2004. |
| Date formed: | December 1993 |
| Area of operation: | Based in Victoria but has developed some support in other states. |
| Estimated membership: | Not a membership organisation. Size of operation indicates a relatively small number of regular donors. Claims thousands of ‘contacts’ all over Australia, but only a small proportion of these would understand FOFA’s true nature. |
| Finances: | Glenn Williams has admitted receiving direct financial support from the much more powerful Focus on the Family (US), headed by Dr James Dobson. This assistance still appears necessary, although it is certain that FOFA is also heavily dependent on Australian donations and resource sales. |
| Main objectives: | Variously described, but all the variants are re-statements of the standard Religious Right agenda (anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-censorship etc.) e.g. ‘to reconnect families with the ageless wisdom of Judaeo-Christian values’. Fundamentalist aspects of FOFA’s aims and operations are deliberately downplayed. |
| Main activities: | FOFA doesn’t initially ‘thump the tub for Jesus’, but tries to attract support by offering ‘resources’ and ‘assistance’ in areas of family concern such as drug education (e.g. the ‘Drug Proof Your Kids’ program.) Only after a time does the organisation’s full agenda become apparent. FOFA broadcasts on a large number of Christian and regional radio stations. |
| Links with other groups: | FOFA is a junior partner of FOF(US) and, as at June 2003, had links with 17 other FOF ‘associate’ groups throughout the world. It also has close personal and ideological ties with Australian organisations such as the Australian Family Association (q.v.) and Salt Shakers (q.v.) |
| Publications: | Australian output is rather irregular, with a succession of short-lived magazines, reviews and newsletters, their quality and frequency apparently depending on the state of FOFA’s budget at any given time. However, supporters are urged to subscribe to expensive American journals direct from Dr Dobson’s stable. These cover everything from teenagers’ interests to censorship. |
| Sample quotes: | “From Aug. 30 to Sept. 15, 1995, delegates from more than 170 sovereign nations will attend the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. It will represent the most radical, atheistic and anti-family crusade in the history of the world … [M]ost of what Christianity stands for will be challenged during this atheistic conference. Every good and perfect gift from the hand of the Creator will be mocked and vilified … [If these radical feminists] have their way, the family as it has been known since antiquity will cease to exist …” (James C. Dobson, letter from the President, FOF, distributed to FOFA supporters in August 1995, p.1). Dobson adds in a P.S.: “Every word in this letter has been carefully documented. Nothing has been exaggerated or overstated.” (p.7)” |
| Unfortunately, there are no moral attitudes any more. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong, and that situation is very confusing for children.” (Gaye Billings, Project Coordinator and Trainer at FOFA, as quoted in Sarah Marinos How to drug-proof your kids, The Age, 5 March 1999) | |
| Assessment: | Williams has found it difficult to establish FOFA on a firm footing, but his ’softly, softly’ approach combined with continued American backing finally seems to be paying dividends. A small, but potentially dangerous organisation that does a lot of networking. |
| Contact details: | P O Box 5210 Clayton, Victoria 3168 www.families.org.au |
