HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF CAHS
CAHS, or the Council of Australian Humanist Societies Inc., was established in 1965 when the Humanist Societies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia affiliated to provide a national presence for Australian Humanism. Queensland, after a name change, joined in 1967. An ACT Humanist Society participated until the 1990s and a new ACT society joined in 2017. No Tasmanian or NT Humanist Society has yet existed.
For many years CAHS and its affiliated state societies worked to lobby on a range of issues such as access to contraceptives, safe abortions, no-fault divorce, homosexual law reform, the right to voluntary euthanasia, and many other human rights issues.
In the years after 2010, the South Australian society folded, briefly re-formed, then collapsed. The Western Australian society had a brief revival but also collapsed. Queensland resigned in 2019 citing ideological differences. In 2020 members of each of the ACT and Victorian societies operating within CAHS conceived of a a new national organisation able to directly recruit individuals. They were able to construct the new organisation titled Humanists Australia, and extended their membership provisions to include affiliated societies.
Various remaining Humanist Societies are currently considering their affiliation options. A motion to dissolve CAHS at the AGM in August 2020 failed without NSW support. The NSW society provided all the office-bearers at that AGM election.
The objects of CAHS have been:
(a) To present the views of its affiliated Societies at the national level.
(b) To co-ordinate and facilitate the activities of Humanist organisations throughout Australia.
(c) To promote and assist the formation of further Humanist Societies.
(d) To arrange National and Regional Conferences of Humanist Societies.
(e) To promote research into matters of interest to Humanists.
(f) To publish literature of interest to Humanists.
The current committee consists of:
President: Murray Love
Vice President: John August
Secretary: Fay Love
Treasurer: Angela Drury
Other committee members:
Debbie Hoad (ACTHS)
Dierk Von Behrens (Associate & Special Members)