Call for NSW Premier to clarify shechita stance
THE New South Wales Opposition has called on Premier Barry O’Farrell to clarify his exact position on shechita, following a report last week in The AJN in which the Premier’s office declined to offer explicit support for Jewish ritual slaughter.
THE New South Wales Opposition has called on Premier Barry O’Farrell to clarify his exact position on shechita, following a report last week in The AJN in which the Premier’s office declined to offer explicit support for Jewish ritual slaughter.
Shadow primary industries minister Steve Whan was joined by backbencher and former AJN journalist Walt Secord in asking the Premier to “explain his position”.
It was a challenge Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson took up on behalf of the Government.
“As part of the Australian Standards and the National Model Code for Animal Welfare, ritual slaughter is permitted in NSW,” the minister said. “NSW does not intend to vary from this national framework.
“Any changes to the Australian Standards or the National Model Code for Animal Welfare are a matter for the Primary Industries Ministerial Council, which is responsible for the national guidelines.”
Shechita was also discussed when O’Farrell paid a visit to The Great Synagogue on Monday morning. While not willing to disclose the specifics of the discussion, Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence said: “The Premier showed strong support for the needs of the Jewish community with regards to our concerns about Jewish living.”
It was O’Farrell’s first visit to the historic synagogue and he took in both the main sanctuary and the museum.
Rabbi Lawrence said the Premier showed appreciation for both the historic architecture and the historic role the synagogue played as one of the early religious buildings in the city.
“The Premier appreciated that not only are we a historic building rooted in the antiquity of Sydney, but that we are a living congregation, proud of a direct association with our past,” the rabbi said. “It was a 45-minute private meeting, he extended to an hour, and it showed him as personable, interested and informed.”
GARETH NARUNSKY
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell (right) talks to Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence
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