'Section 116 of the Constitution says "no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth". So, WTF. Why are we having this conversation? '

oh so a future PM could be into bestiality and then should not determine whether that person if fit to lead the nation. When are people going to wake up to the fact that private philosophy and lifestyle does affect public policy. Look at the current handbag brigade in Canberra now if you don't believe it.

"...a model of robust ethical values based on godless morality."
What godless morality? After all, it's an atheist philosopher that's loudly and proudly proclaiming that under atheism, there is no basis for any morality whatsoever:
"In fact, I have given up morality altogether!....In a word, this philosopher has long been laboring under an unexamined assumption, namely, that there is such a thing as right and wrong. I now believe there isn’t.....The long and the short of it is that I became convinced that atheism implies amorality; and since I am an atheist, I must therefore embrace amorality."
(http://philosophynow.org/issues/80/An_Amoral_Manifesto_Part_I)

"The last time it was tried as a system of government was a period known as the Dark Ages where the torture and victimisation of non-believers was accepted as normal practice."
Funny thing, I could have sworn torture, victimisation and also executions of non-believers (of atheism/secularism/communism) were also the usual practice of the anti-religious French Revolution and the more recent communist countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism

runner said
"... oh so a future PM could be into bestiality and then should not determine whether that person if fit to lead the nation. ... "

correct me if I am wrong, but I thought bestiality was a crime applying to all people, Christians or not.

While the Prime Minister has failed to explain her opposition to same-sex marriage it is according to Labor insiders a genuinely held belief. This is of course puzzling to many people as she is an athiest and openly lives with a partner she is not married to. She was raised a Baptist which holds very conservative views on this issue and while she has parted ways with the faith that is not to say her personal beliefs have not been influenced by it.