Lyons Forum

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} The '''Lyons Forum''' was a ginger group or informal political faction comprising some federal members of conservative Australian parliamentary parties. It was formed in the early 1990s and was active both in Liberal Party of Australia parliamentary leadership conflict and on family policy issues. The faction was sometimes disparagingly called "The God Squad".<ref>{{cite news |title=The God Squad |first=Niki |last=Savva |date=27 April 2007 |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |publisher=Fairfax |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/970402/ns2.txt.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970421142550/http://theage.com.au/news/970402/ns2.txt.htm |archivedate=21 April 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/lyons.html |title=The Lyons Forum |date=9 May 1998 |publisher=Electronic Frontiers Australia |accessdate=1 July 2010}}</ref> In 2004, it was described as "defunct" by Michelle Grattan.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michelle |last=Grattan |title=A quiet man's revolution |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |publisher=Fairfax |date=13 November 2004 |page=5 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/11/12/1100227570678.html}}</ref>

==Formation== The Lyons Forum was formed in 1992 by a group of Coalition members of parliament, including Senator John Herron, Senator Eric Abetz, Senator John Tierney, Alan Cadman, John Bradford, Chris Miles, Kevin Andrews and John Forrest.<ref name="Maddox1">{{cite book |first=Marion |last=Maddox |title=God Under Howard: The Rise of the Religious Right in Australian Politics |url=https://archive.org/details/godunderhowardri00madd |url-access=limited |publisher=Allen & Unwin |year=2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/godunderhowardri00madd/page/n51 38]–39}}</ref> The group's name was a reference to a slogan used by former member of parliament Dame Enid Lyons: "The foundation of a nation's greatness is in the homes of its people". The organisation had many active Christian members, and had been described as the "Coalition's fundamentalist Christian faction".<ref>{{cite news |first=Jodie |last=Brough |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/30/1022569809403.html |title=The last rights |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 March 1997 |accessdate=1 January 2009 |publisher=Fairfax}}</ref> However, while its observers have noted close relationships between its members and conservative Christian groups and theology, no formal relationship existed.<ref name="Maddox1"/><ref>{{cite episode |title=Uniting Church Conflict |network=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |station=Radio National |series=The Religion Report |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/trr9735.htm |airdate=27 August 1997 |accessdate=1 July 2010}}</ref>

==Role== The Lyons Forum was reported to have played a role in supporting the rise of John Howard to the Liberal leadership in the mid-1990s. It was also prominent in debates about tax policy in relation to families, as well as other policy issues in relation to families, marriage, and sexuality.<ref>{{cite book |first=Marion |last=Maddox |title=For God and Country: Religious Dynamics in Australian Federal Politics |publisher=Department of the Parliamentary Library |year=2001}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

Category:Liberal Party of Australia factions