National lobby group, Just.Equal Australia, is seeking a meeting with newly-appointed federal Attorney General, Michelle Rowland, to press the case for an end to exemptions allowing anti-LGBTIQA+ discrimination within faith-based schools and services.
Spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said special exemptions under national law were still being used to discriminate against LGBTIQA+ Australians in faith-based schools, employment and housing services, hospitals, charities and aged care facilities, including in states and territories with existing protections.
The Albanese Government committed to addressing this discrimination in its first term, but failed to. This week in News Limited newspapers, Christian Schools Australia called on Rowland to maintain the exemptions.
“We want to ensure Michelle Rowland understands the gravity of the situation for LGBTIQA+ staff, students and clients who face discrimination in faith-based services and schools”, Croome said.
“We are also keen to explain how the disingenuous ‘religious freedom’ victim narrative peddled by some church leaders is actually about more freedom for them to discriminate in the name of religion.”
“Another key issue for Ms Rowland to be briefed on is how religious leaders in states and territories which ban LGBTIQA+ discrimination in faith schools have started to use the current exemption in federal law to justify breaking state or territory law.”
“We have recently seen this with Catholic Education Tasmania claiming exemptions in federal law give it an escape clause from Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act despite that Act specifically prohibiting anti-LGBTIQA+ discrimination in religious schools”.
“Even though CET’s claim is not true, it’s likely religious school authorities in other states will grasp for the same excuse, thereby undermining existing protections and escalating discrimination.”
“For all these reasons it is critical we bring Michelle Rowland up to speed and urge her to act as quickly as possible.”
Currently, the national Sex Discrimination Act allows discrimination by religious bodies, but Tasmanian, Victorian, ACT and NT anti-discrimination laws do not. Federal discrimination law is designed to sit side-by-side with state discrimination laws, not override them.
Croome said advocates will also seek to brief Ms Rowland on the rising tide of hate against trans and gender diverse Australians, and the serious damage it is causing social cohesion.
“The Albanese Government has made much about its proactive support for social cohesion, and our case to the Attorney-General will be that government-funded education about the reality of trans lives will boost that cohesion immensely.”
Last year a YouGov Galaxy poll commissioned by Just.Equal found 65 per cent of voters disapproved of LGBTIQA+ discrimination by religious services, while 59 per cent said those which discriminated should not receive government funding.
