Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church Of The East Property Trust Bill

About this Item
Speakers - Pickering The Hon Edward; Dyer The Hon Ron; Samios The Hon James; Arena The Hon Franca; Nile Reverend The Hon Fred
Business - Bill, Second Reading

HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE
EAST PROPERTY TRUST BILL

Second Reading

The Hon. E. P. PICKERING (Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Vice-President of the Executive Council) [5.22]: I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have my second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The purpose of this bill is to constitute the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East Property Trust as a statutory body, to define the trust's powers, duties and functions, and to provide for the vesting of property in the trust. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East is truly one of the original Christian churches. The earliest attempt in the church to form a governing constitution was in the years A.D. 65 to A.D. 90. This was approximately the time when the Gospels were being written, placing the Assyrian Church at the very birth of Christianity. The factor distinguishing the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East from the other emerging religions of the time is the fact that the history and development of the church was wholly contained within the Assyrian nation. It is indeed unique for a Christian church to evolve independently of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox churches, and within the Ottoman Empire. In fact, it was not until the Assyrians assumed a role in international politics by allying themselves with the British during World War I that the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East came to prominence as a Christian religion. Following World War I the first diocese of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East was established in Australia.

With this background in mind I now turn to the provisions of the bill. The bill provides for the creation of a statutory trust to be known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East Property Trust and invests it with certain powers in relation to dealings with property and the investment of funds. It empowers the holding of property by the trust, the co-operative use of church property, the blending of trust funds and the variation of trusts. By this bill the trust may be appointed the executor or administrator of an estate. This bill, like the previous bill, has been prepared in accordance with the Government's policy of assisting churches to better administer their temporal affairs. It avoids the costs of transferring church property to new trustees every time a trustee dies or retires and enables the church to better invest its funds. The provisions of this bill are consistent with the approach taken in other property trust legislation. As honourable members will recall, the Russian Orthodox Church Property Trust Act received bipartisan support—a matter which has already been mentioned this evening. This bill will assist the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East in Australia to further its religious and charitable dealings.

I commend the bill.

The Hon. R. D. DYER [5.23]: The Opposition is pleased to indicate its support for the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East Property Trust Bill. The proposed legislation is in conformity with the policies of the Government and previous governments in assisting the various churches to administer their property affairs in a
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convenient and less expensive way than would otherwise be the case. Were it not for legislation such as this, it would be necessary to appoint new trustees each time a trustee of a church dies or retires. That process can be relatively difficult and expensive given that costs are incurred when property owned by a church has to be vested in new trustees following the death or retirement of previous trustees. All of the churches in this country, in particular those in New South Wales, have the benefit of such legislation and it is appropriate that similar legislation should be available to the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. I note with interest that Assyrians began migrating to this country in the early 1960s and in larger numbers in the 1970s and 1980s. They are continuing to migrate from the Middle East, primarily from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. I am reliably informed that about 12,000 to 13,000 Assyrians are in Australia, many residing in the Smithfield electorate represented by Mr Carl Scully, who claims that approximately 8,000 persons of Assyrian origin reside in the Fairfield local government area.

The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East has an ancient place in history. I note that the Attorney General in the other place said that the earliest attempt made within this church to form a governing constitution was during the period A.D. 65 to A.D. 90, at a time approximately when the Gospels were being written. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East can place itself almost at the birth of Christianity. I understand that the church has been wholly contained, during its development, within the Assyrian nation and has evolved independently of both Rome and the Eastern Orthodox churches within the Ottoman Empire and independently of the other mainstream aspects of Christianity. After World War I the first diocese of this church was established in Australia. The adherents of this church are good and honoured citizens of the State of New South Wales. On behalf of the Opposition I am happy to indicate the support of the Australian Labor Party for the proposed property trust legislation which gives convenient form and assistance to the property affairs of the church and will save it considerable future expense and difficulty.

The Hon. J. M. SAMIOS [5.28]: I support the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East Property Trust Bill. The purpose of the bill is to constitute the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East Property Trust as a statutory body to define the trust's powers, duties and functions and to provide for the vesting of property in the trust. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East has an ancient history dating back to the powerful Assyrian nation which occupied the northern part of Iraq in eastern Mesopotamia. For most honourable members Assyria is equated with the following line of poetry they learned at school:

The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.

The original name of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church was Church of the East, which by A.D. 90 had 19 episcopal sees all the way from Mesopotamia to the Caspian Sea and India. All the fathers of the early Christian Church in Rome, later known as the Latin Church, such as the controversial figure Tatian the Assyrian, Yostinos or Justin the Martyr, Melito Irnaaeus and others who followed St Paul were Assyrians or Syrians, Aramaic-speaking people, missionaries of the Church of the East. During the first half of the fifth century the Church of the East was shaken by a theological controversy resulting in a schism when Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, in A.D. 428 taught that Jesus Christ had two distinct natures, divine and human.

Today most Christian religions accept the concept of His being the divine and
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human although there are the monophysites such as the Armenian church and the Coptic church that still maintain the belief in the one nature of Christ. Though Nestorius was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, his teachings spread and by 451 most of the eastern part of the Church of the East had become Nestorian, rejecting the Council of Ephesus. Honourable members would be aware of the seven ecumenical councils which played such a pivotal role in the history of the Christian Church. They were at Nicea in 325, Constantinople in 381, Ephesus in 431, Chalcedon in 451, Constantinople in 553, Constantinople in 680-681 and Nicea in 787. As a result of events at the Council of Ephesus in 431 the Church of the East has recognised the decisions of only the first, second and Chalcedon ecumenical councils. The present position of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East is somewhat complex—as the Hon. J. R. Johnson would say—in that it is conducted under the ecumenical aegis of His Holiness Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV, whose patriarchate is in the United States but who has a see in Iraq, where it is known as the Nistorian Church of the East. There it is headed by an archbishop.

Here in the antipodes the church is headed by His Grace Bishop Mar Meelis Zaia in Sydney. The Church has within its establishment two churches in Sydney, including the Cathedral of St Hurmizd. It has a Church in Melbourne and a further Church in Auckland. Today the Assyrian Church is a member of the World Council of Churches based in Geneva and here in Australia it is a member of the Australian Council of Churches. I am informed that it is also seeking overseas to become a member of the Middle East Council of Churches, a very important structure which has within its ranks a number of churches including the Orthodox churches. The mass migration program which commenced in 1948 brought in its wake a divergence of new migrants groups included in which in the 1960s and 1970s were the Assyrians, most of whom live in Sydney and Melbourne. As previous speakers have said, their numbers approximate 12,000—8,500 in Sydney living in Smithfield and Greystanes and 3,500 in Melbourne. Despite the short period since their arrival, members of the Assyrian community have provided for a number of church properties. The church will benefit from the provisions of this bill, which will provide for a Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East property trust, which will enable the church to better administer its temporal affairs. That is, it will avoid the cost of transferring church property to new trustees every time a trustee dies or retires and will enable the church to better invest its funds.

Honourable members will be aware that this bill is but one of a number of bills providing for the better administration of various church groups. This course of legislative enactments was initiated with the passing of the Russian Orthodox Church Property Act 1992, which recently came into effect. It is being followed by the Antioch Orthodox bill, which I think has now passed the lower House, and this bill. Other bills will follow relating to the Orthodox family of churches. In this regard I pay tribute to the Attorney General and his predecessor, the Hon. John Dowd, for undertaking legislative enactments pivotal to the ecclesiastical structure which provide so many important spiritual, welfare, cultural and educational needs for so many Australians of non-English speaking background. These churches are an integral part of Australian society and add to the social cohesion and stability that are so important in our multicultural society. Accordingly, I have much pleasure in supporting the bill.

The Hon. FRANCA ARENA [5.35]: I support the remarks of my honourable colleagues and give my full support to this bill.

Reverend the Hon. F. J. NILE [5.36]: On behalf of the Call to Australia group I am pleased to support the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East
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Property Trust Bill. This bill will enable the church to have its own property trust as a statutory body. The church is one of the original Christian churches. The earliest attempt in the church's life to form a governing constitution was as far back as A.D. 65 to A.D. 90. The Church of the East, as this branch of the Aramaic speaking Christianity came to be known, was officially founded by the apostles St Peter, St Thomas, St Thaddeus and St Mari of the 70 Disciples. Much of the language used by Our Lord was Aramaic. The church evolved within the Assyrian nation, living within the Persian Empire, and it grew independently of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church and later within the Ottoman Empire. In fact it was not until the Assyrians allied themselves during World War I that this church came to prominence and was known to the Western world. Assyrians began migrating to Australia in the early 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and they continue to migrate from the Middle East to this day. Mainly they are from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. In fact there are now 12,000 to 13,000 Assyrians in Australia. His Grace Bishop Mar Meelis Zaia and solicitor Mr Michael Flynn both have worked very hard for many years to ensure that this legislation reaches the statute book of this Parliament. This bill will enable the church to further its religious and charitable purposes by providing a better administrative structure, allowing for the more efficient use of church property and to avoid the cost of transferring church property to new trustees each time a trustee dies or retires. It also will avoid the necessity of compliance with the provisions of the Corporations Law which are designed for commercial rather than religious organisations and provide many other benefits.

The Assyrian people of the State are very grateful for the bill and have asked me to pass on their appreciation to the Government. They have advised me that the development of their church is a sign of the freedom and democracy they are enjoying in Australia. They lost much of their freedom in Iraq. They have advised me also that for the past 20 years or so there has been a great deal of interference by the Saddam Hussein regime in the affairs of the church, even preventing the head of the church from returning to his patriarchal see in Bagdad, Iraq. That regime has created a puppet head to represent the Assyrian people falsely, thereby misleading the Western world that this church is enjoying freedom under Saddam Hussein's leadership. The Assyrian people of this State are delighted and grateful that the bill will assist the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, and is passing through the Parliament. The church, which will be the true and only representative of the Assyrian Christian church in this country, is affiliated with the Australian Council of Churches. The bill will help to further its religious and charitable dealings. I pass on the thanks of the head of that church, Bishop Mar Meelis Zaia, which were conveyed to me on his behalf by the Reverend Deacon Emmanuel Yousif.

The Hon. E. P. PICKERING (Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Vice-President of the Executive Council) [5.40], in reply: I thank all honourable members for their contributions. I commend the bill.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time and passed through remaining stages.

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