Protestors are planning to take to the streets in Brisbane on Saturday, September 4 to protest the federal government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill.
The Morrison Government will have a third run at creating religious freedom laws with Attorney General Michaelia Cash telling The Australian newspaper she hopes to have legislation before parliament in December.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had originally proposed to have the laws introduced to parliament before Christmas 2019 but successive proposals have been heavily criticised as being unworkable, discriminatory and unfair.
The proposed legislation will be extensively re-written and be substantially different to the previous legislation suggested by former Attorney General Christian Porter.
Senator Cash has reportedly been meeting religious groups earlier this year, with many of them hoping the government will expand the legislation from its previous draft with suggestions it may override state legislation that bans conversion practices and some state based anti-discrimination laws.
“This is a bigot bill. It has nothing to do with freedom of religious expression, and everything to do with more employers and institutions in society having the right to refuse service, fire workers and discriminate at will,” said Liz Flaherty, Equal Love activist.
“The federal Liberals have been cooking this up for years now. They claim to speak for a majority of ‘quiet Australians’. Actually the majority of Australians oppose schools having the right to expel LGBT students and fire LGBT staff. So we need to expose their bill for what it is, and demand equal rights for all.”
Speakers on the day will include Larissa Waters, Greens Senator for Queensland; Darci Wanamaker, Diversity Officer of the Services Union; Graham Perrett, Federal Labor MP for Moreton; Leah Mertens, Deputy General Secretary of the Queensland Teachers Union; Kevin Green, chair of Equal Voices Queensland; Liz Flaherty, Socialist Alternative Brisbane.
“They are planning to put the Bill by December,” said Sel Dowd, Equal Love convenor.
“That’s why we plan to rally again in November because we will keep fighting until we kill this Bill.”
OIP Staff
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