TONY Abbott said the ALP and the nation’s political life would be a whole lot better if Labor had a few more Christians in it. And Kevin Rudd accused the Howard Government of ignoring basic Christian values in its approach to unfair dismissal and other workplace reforms.

The Liberal and Labor parties’ two most prominent Christian advocates yesterday used the same forum — the Wesley Mission in Sydney — to call on God to make their political opponents see sense.

Speaking at a service to mark the 100th anniversary of the mission’s occupation of its Pitt Street site, the Health Minister said he was pleased the Wesley Mission had managed to attract Mr Rudd to speak.

Mr Abbott said he hoped the Opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman could attract more Christians into the ALP, which could be unsympathetic to people of faith.

“It would be a better party and Australia would have a better polity,” Mr Abbott said.

“One of the disappointing things about the contemporary ALP is that some of its traditional strengths are not what they were. I think it would be good for the ALP if there was room for more people with faith.”

Mr Rudd, at a separate service, told the audience that Christians should take a stand in pushing for just laws for families in theworkplace.

“Christianity can never be divorced from social responsibility and social action,” he said.

In that context, Mr Rudd believes the devoutly Catholic Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews has some “questions to answer”.

Earlier, Mr Rudd told The Australian he believed the Howard Government’s radical agenda to exempt all businesses employing 100 staff or less from unfair dismissal laws was against the teachings of Christianity.

“I believe if you look at the body of Christian social teaching, including the relevant papal encyclicals, it’s pretty clear that the Church historically has not been on the side of pushing wages down and working conditions down,” Mr Rudd said.

“People like Kevin Andrews have some questions on that score. It’s all very fine and dandy for the Howard Government to wrap itself inthe veneer of Christ when it politically suits them, but to then quietly ignore some fundamental tenets of Christian social teaching, including on labour laws, when it doesn’t suit.”