Laws protecting LGBTI students delayed over Coalition religious freedom push
Image: Image: Scott Morrison / Facebook.
The deadline for the government to address discrimination against LGBTI students at religious schools has passed after talks over legislation broke down yesterday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said earlier this month that addressing the anti-discrimination exemptions were a priority for parliament in this sitting period, which ended yesterday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Coalition had send a second draft of legislation to Labor after the two major parties agreed to seek a bipartisan solution to an issue a majority of Australians want to see addressed.
“The Labor Party has not finalised its position and requires more time to consider the latest draft and, in reflecting the co-operative approach so far to this issue, we will not introduce a bill until Labor has had further time to consider the drafting with a view to coming to a bipartisan position,” Attorney-General Christian Porter said.
“To that end, the government will continue to consult with the opposition with a view to having an agreed bill that can be introduced in the final sitting fortnight of the year.”
The SMH later reported on the draft of the bill sent to Labor, indicating that a plan to allow “indirect discrimination” was the cause of the breakdown in talks.
The delay only extends an already prolonged and exhausting debate, which may now force the government to deal with the issue as part of its broader response to the religious freedom review due by the end of the year.
The draft bill makes provision for decisions made to protect “the religious susceptibilities of adherents of that religion or creed” and in instances where the school “had regard to the best interests of the student”.
Porter said the provision would “allow some reasonable ability for schools and religious schools to keep order and rules in their school”.
Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus hit back, saying that “the government has stuffed this up” and that Labor did not have enough time to discuss the added proposal.
“If the government presents legislation that simply removes the current exemption allowing discrimination against students, Labor would vote for it today,” he said.
The Human Rights Law Centre’s Anna Brown said that all the government needed to do was strike out the section of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 which makes allowance for the exemption.
“The Government should table the bill so we can properly explore any risks or problems with the proposed drafting and make sure all students are protected in school,” she said.
“The test for indirect discrimination is already very broad and allows a school to defend a claim when their conduct is reasonable in the circumstances.
“These provisions are unnecessary and need to be carefully considered for risks or unintended consequences.
“It’s worrying to see the best interests of the child are not the “primary consideration”, for example, which is out of step with Phillip Ruddock’s recommendations.”
Conservative MPs are reportedly frustrated with being left out of the discussion on the bill, with Concetta Fierravanti-Wells – who stepped down from cabinet citing the “same-sex marriage debate” – calling for the full Ruddock report to be released.
“I and others stressed during the same-sex marriage debate that freedom of religion issues had to be considered as part of the debate then. Instead, the issue was referred to a committee and now we find ourselves reopening these complexities,” she said.
The government’s rush applies only to discrimination against students, with the issue of LGBTI teachers’ being placed at risk of discrimination in religious schools left to be part of the government’s broader Ruddock review response.
“Once again LGBTIQ+ people are being held to ransom by the hard right of the Liberal party,” said Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Janet Rice.
“Scott Morrison himself said last week that removing discrimination in schools is ‘such a simple amendment’ that ‘we should use the next fortnight to ensure this matter is addressed.’
“The only complexity now is because of the internal politics of the Liberal party and the hard right that control the Liberal party room.
“The Greens have a bill before the Senate that is already being debated and would remove all discrimination in schools against both LGBTIQ+ staff and students,” she said.
Exactly right Dave!
My anger and frustration with the LNP has reached boiling point.
I will never again vote for any member of those righwing, moronic, homophobic idiots. They are hell bent on forcing everyone to bow down to their distorted view of life, and their self righteous hypocritical religious beliefs ! I discovered at age 13 there was no god and never has been. Why should anyone think it is a useful god. What has it ever done for anyone…nothing !
Our dumb government learnt nothing when it lost the Wentworth election. It continues to dither and fawn over the religious right who controls their every action and thought.
Given your reference to LNP I’m guessing you’re a Queenslander and even Queensland LNP types include some great advocates for gay rights. Warren Entsch deserves a medal, for example. Principled to the core. The opposite of George Christiansen who’s a massive dickwad.
Whether you vote or otherwise give your preferences to Liberal or Labor do so on a case by case basis. Reward the good, punish the bad. Neither is perfect but equally both have great advocates and both have haters.
This stuff continues to backfire for the Liberals, it certainly contributed to their woes in Wentworth which of course recorded one of the highest Yes votes of all electorates and it guarantees that Liberal infighting will continue to dominate the headlines in the leadup to the federal election.
ScoMo is all over the place on this issue personally. He shows every sign of being incapable of saying no to churches while pretending to love everybody, the end result is just indecision devoid of principle.
The religious freedom review was a terrible idea, but that’s what happens when the reactionaries on the far right of the Liberal Party get to have a say in anything. They don’t think through the consequences of their actions. First they demanded a plebiscite. Then the Senate predictably bumped that off and these idiots continued to refuse a conscience vote, so Turnbull and Brandis invented the statistical survey, a tool future governments may choose to use against the Liberals just for giggles (eg on negative gearing). Then they lost that and looked incredibly petulant by ignoring their own electorates’ support for marriage equality by abstaining in Parliament. Then they demanded more religious freedom but this has now resulted in a community campaign to reduce anti-gay discrimination by churches.
Don’t ban Abbott from the Mardi Gras, he’s doing a hell of a lot for gay rights by being so tactically stupid in his support for religion and that needs to be celebrated.