QLD Government Under Fire For Halting Anti-Discrimination Legislation Reforms
Image: Image: Scott McDougall (Left) Deb Frecklington (Right)
Composite - Facebook
The Queensland Government is under fire for a decision to halt implementation of updated anti-discrimination legislation in the state.
Originally drafted by the previous Labor government the changes were set to come into effect this year.
However it appears this may now be delayed indefinitely.
Anti-discrimination legislation on hold in Queensland
New anti-discrimination legislation was due to be implemented in Queensland with the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 due to come into effect on July 1.
However Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington has advised parliament she is set to introduce legislation to delay it.
Claiming that the implementation date does not give time for consultation she also stated that it could potentially put “unnecessary burden on organisations and institutions.”
The news was met with shock by Queensland’s human rights commissioner, Scott McDougall, who said that he was “bewildered” and claimed that the concerns stated by Deb Frecklington were not raised with him.
“To pause the implementation of all these changes due to a concern about one aspect of the reforms, with no notice and no concerns previously having been raised with us, is a disproportionate response,” he stated.
“To claim the reforms were rushed and not consultative enough is additionally misleading.”
McDougall stated that the laws were backed by inquiries by the Australian Human Rights Commission as well as the Queensland sentencing advisory council and that the parliamentary legal affairs and safety committee had implemented two prior inquiries.
Brisbane Pride president James McCarthy told the Star Observer “the fight against discrimination is necessary and never a burden. We share in the ‘bewilderment’ of Scott McDougall, Queenslands Human Rights Commissioner.”
Anna Brown, CEO of Equality Australia stated that the proposed changes had already been part of a “full and comprehensive consultation process that took many years and reopening it is a waste of time and taxpayer money”.
“Delaying these laws without any real justification is alarming given they offer strengthened protections for so many communities, including LGBTIQ+ people, the homeless and survivors of domestic violence,” she stated.
“Serious questions need to be asked about who is pressuring the government to pause these commonsense changes that simply modernise Queensland’s anti-discrimination laws.”
However that question may well have been answered.
Whilst many were criticising the move, the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) were celebrating the news as a victory for religious institutions.
Rob Norman, State Director for the Australian Christian Lobby in Queensland said “This legislation contains repressive religious restrictions, and will severely impact Queenslanders’ rights to free speech and to practice their faith.”
“We thank Premier Crisafulli and the Government for taking action to protect Christian churches, aged care facilities, schools and individuals from the extreme measures of this legislation.”
In a statement issued on Friday the ACL claimed that despite the legislation allowing them an exemption to hire staff based on their faith “it also imposed a positive duty on organisations to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment, and harassment on the basis of ‘sex’ as far as possible.”
“This would have severely restricted the ability of religious institutions, organisations, and individuals to teach Biblical views on marriage, gender, and sexuality” they claimed.
“This Act would also have empowered activists to shut down the promotion and practice of Christian belief in religious schools and elsewhere, where it conflicts with gender ideologies, and would have left them open to activist lawfare simply for continuing to operate on the basis of assumptions concerning the traditional view of the human person that a large percentage of Australians share” they concluded.
The Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 was set to be a the biggest reform to the legislation since its implementation in 1991 and would see more responsibility placed on employers to prevent discrimination in the workplace as well as a raft of changes including adding “protected classes” to the act.
Speaking in 2023 Shannon Fentiman, former Attorney-General & Minister for Justice, said the government would prepare legislation “that better protects our marginalised communities and individuals.”
“We’ll introduce new legislation to protect Queenslanders from discrimination,” she said in a post on social media at the time with reference to their implementation of The Criminal Code (Serious Vilification and Hate Crimes) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill and other measures they introduced to strengthen the states anti discrimination laws.
“Our anti-discrimination laws will be modernised and strengthened to include a legal obligation to prevent discrimination and sexual harassment. Victims of domestic and family violence will also be better protected from discrimination when applying for a rental property and in the workplace.”
Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 was set to be the next step in adding protections for Queenslanders and was drafted in response to the Queensland Human Rights Commission’s (QHRC) Building Belonging Report which also reviewed the the controversy at Citipointe Christian College in Queensland when it was revealed the school issued anti-LGBTQI student enrolment and staff employment contracts.
“The actions of Citipointe Christian College at the start of this year highlighted the importance of having specific protections for LGBTIQ+ students and staff at religious schools,” Fentiman said in September 2022 at the release of the report.
The proposed Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 lists several amendments to vilification laws including sexuality, sex characteristics and gender identity as well as changes in a range of other areas.
