Just.Equal Australia has condemned both major parties for their failure to address discrimination against LGBTIQA+ students and staff in faith-based schools.

Correspondence obtained through an Order of Production of Documents (OPD) by WA Senator, Fatima Payman, and tabled by the Federal Government in the Senate yesterday, shows the Government continues to set the condition of Opposition support before it will proceed with reform, support which now seems impossible under the new Coalition leadership.

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The Government also wants Coalition support before moving forward with a Religious Discrimination Bill, despite the Coalition becoming more extreme on the issue.

Spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said the government’s inaction was disappointing.

“The correspondence revealed by Senator Payman’s document request is deeply disappointing.”

“Labor doesn’t need the Coalition’s votes to protect LGBTIQA+ students and staff from discrimination.”

“It is using the Coalition’s opposition to this reform as an excuse for inaction.”

 “Meanwhile, the Coalition has moved even further to the right on religious discrimination under new leader, Angus Taylor, with Shadow Attorney-General, Michaelia Cash, saying she wants a bill that would entrench the right of religious freedom, thereby potentially invalidating a raft of long-standing state and territory LGBTIQA+ discrimination protections.”

“Labor’s outsourcing of LGBTIQA+ equality to Angus Taylor and Michaelia Cash is an abandonment of its own principles and of LGBTIQA+ voters.”

The cache of documents tabled in the Senate are composed mainly of correspondence between faith leaders and Attorney-General, Michelle Rowlands.

The correspondence confirms the Government will only remove the federal religious school discrimination exemption, or legislate for religious discrimination protections, with Opposition support, something faith leaders appear to support.

The correspondence also shows the Government has more ongoing contact with faith leaders than those most directly disadvantaged by its decisions, LGBTIQA+ people. 

“The Government clearly thinks the voices of some faith-leaders matter more than the voices of those most directly affected; LGBTIQA+ staff and students, and their families and advocates”, Mr Croome said.

“The Government should rethink its policy of inaction if it wants LGBTIQA+ votes, particularly in inner-city seats threatened by the Teals and Greens.”

Croome said federal exemptions allowing discrimination by faith-based schools not only impact LGBTIQA+ people in those states without protections, but also states like Tasmania and Victoria with them.

“The Catholic church has made it very clear it believes its exemption in federal law overrides existing state protections.”

“This ignores the fact state and federal discrimination laws are meant to sit side-by-side.”

“A simple solution would be to remove the archaic federal exemption.” Rodney Croome said.

Tacking religious discrimination has dragged on for years

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese walked away from tackling the issue of religious discrimination and the clauses that allow religious bodies to take action against LGBTIQA+ students and employees in 2024.

Religious discrimination has been a challenging issuefor successive Australian governments, both Labor and Liberal, but action on legislation has been stalled for many years.

Concerns over religious organisations having exemptions to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people based on religious beliefs have been raised by advocates, allies and politicians alike, amplified in the wake of the 2017 marriage equality plebiscite.

Following the postal vote, then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull commissioned a religious freedom inquiry, led by former Attorney General Philip Ruddock. Among the findings of the Ruddock Review, released in 2018, was the issue that LGBTQIA+ young people and teachers are particuarly vulnerable to discrimination in religious schools. Then Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could fix the issue in a fortnight – except he didn’t, and the proposed legislation led to some of his own MPs crossing the floor.

In June 2022, Attorney General Mark Butler confirmed Australians would see religious discrimination during Labor’s first term, but the issue was dropped and now appears to be in eternal limbo.