Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten today introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that would remove the exemption that allows faith-based schools to discriminate against students based on their sexuality or gender identity.
The legislation comes after months of debate surrounding laws embedded in the Sex Discrimination Act that allow such institutions to remove students, staff and teachers based on their LGBTIQ+ identity.
The Labor leader today tabled a bill that would amend the Sex Discrimination Act to protect students from expulsion, though teachers and staff were not included in the hopes of passing legislation without lengthy debate – with the intention of introducing a Private Members’ Bill early next year to protect teachers and staff as well.
“In the final Parliamentary sitting week of last year, this chamber overwhelmingly voted to make marriage equality a reality. No one who sat in the House for that final vote on that day will forget the emotion of that moment, and yet it is not even a year passed – barely 360 days – the Australian people are entitled to ask if their government has already forgotten the lessons of that day and that change,” Shorten said of the bill.
“On marriage equality it’s fair to say that our Parliament followed behind the people of Australia, trailed the people of Australia by years. Too many times a simple question of every Australians right to be equal in the eyes of the law was contorted and distorted and delayed, weaponised in a culture war, employed as a proxy for internal struggles. And then in a final admission of failure, the decision was outsourced to a postal survey.”
“Now for too many of our fellow Australians this survey was a grueling, emotional ordeal. What a cheek for loving couples to have their relationships subjected to the judgment of 16 million strangers. Our young Australians, some of whom grapple with their identity had to see people publicly argue they were second class citizens. It’s a powerful testament to the resilience and courage of our LGBTI community that they came through last year unbowed. It is a tribute to the wisdom and generosity of fellow Australians, and in particular to our young Australians.”
Shorten said this fresh debate on religious freedom and the right to discriminate in schools was no need to revisit a debate centred around LGBTIQ+ people and “reopen scars still in the process of healing.”
“Our country does not need another nasty, ill-informed debate about whether people’s sexuality somehow diminishes their right to equality. Especially when the Australians we are talking about are children and young people,” Shorten continued.
“There are many parents and aunts and uncles and neighbours here in this chamber. All of us want our children to be happy at school, to make friends, to be resilient. To learn character and values as well as maths and science and reading and writing and coding. I’m sure all of us teach our children to be kind and respectful.”
“I’m like most Australians, I don’t make a habit of talking about my faith publicly as a rule, but as a beneficiary of a Jesuit education, this is what I was taught. I was taught the lessons of the Beattitudes, perhaps the most famous speech in human history from the Sermon on the Mount. It was a message of universal love, tolerance and service. ”
“The instruction to judge not, for in the same you judge others you will be judged. In everything do unto others, that you would have them do unto you. When I was at school this was called ‘The Golden Rule’; To do unto others what you would have them do unto you, and today this Parliament has a chance to write the principle of ‘The Golden Rule’ into the laws of our land.”
Shorten said he hoped the legislation could be passed without heated debate or delaying tactics, as members of all sides of Parliament had shown support for protecting students from discrimination.
“Surely as a Parliament and as a people we can agree that every Australian child has the right to be treated equally.”
The bill would see Section 38 Subsection 3 of the Sex Discrimination Act repealed, which would remove the power of schools to discriminate against a prospective or current student on the basis of their sexuality. The Opposition Leader stressed that that was all the bill sought to do.
“I want to be clear about this, the power to discriminate is something that many of the religious school administrators I’ve spoken to in preparation for this legislation have made it clear to me that they do not want and do not use. Catholic schools, Anglican schools, Baptist schools have all said so. The Archbishops and Bishops I’ve spoken to do not seek its retention. Our legislation seeks the balance between protecting the religious freedom of faith-based schools and protecting the essential human dignity of every Australian child and that’s what voting for this proposition would achieve.”
“I also want to be clear about what this legislation does not do. This legislation does not affect the teaching of religious education, this legislation does not prevent schools from including chapel or prayer in the timetable, this legislation does not prevent religious schools from setting out reasonable requirements on their students in accordance with their beliefs and values. The legislation is not about Bible Colleges training people for missionary work or priests and ministers. I recognise that almost all religions are engaged in education as part of their worship and their community life, it’s called business and it will continue.”
“This legislation does not release any of the thousand straw men and slippery slope arguments of political correctness gone mad. This legislation is neither a Trojan Horse nor a Pandora’s Box. It is neither an insult on Western Judeo-Christian society, nor the expulsion of faith from the public square. It’s a simple change driven by unarguable basic decency. It’s something that Parliament can pass today with support from all sides.”
The Labor leader also noted that while the Prime Minister did not vote for marriage equality last year, he has publicly voiced his support for ending discrimination against young people and hopes the Government will support the bill.
“It would be a better and stronger statement of equality if this law was passed this week with the support of the Government, the Opposition and the cross-bench.”
“In fact it’s the major reason the legislation in this draft deals with discrimination against students but not teachers, and I’ve already said that Labor supports protecting teachers and school staff from discrimination on the basis of their sexuality or marital status or pregnancy, I don’t believe any Australian should be denied employment because of who they are or who they love.”
“I recognise that there isn’t quite yet the same degree of consensus in the Parliament on this question, so rather than to seek to use this as a wedge or cause division, or as a bargaining chip in negotiations, Labor is prepared to prioritise students immediately before the Parliament rises, and I will seek a Private Members’ Bill dealing with protecting teachers and staff from discrimination in the first sitting fortnight of next year, following the school holidays.”
The Member for Maribynong also used the platform to urge the government to release the Ruddock Review’s report on the state of religious freedom in Australia, to help inform the conversation going forward.
“It reflects poorly on the Government that they’ve withheld the review from Labor, from the Parliament, from the people of Australia for seven months to try and gain some political advantage from something deeply personal as people’s faith. ”
“Labor believes that this is a situation where we have religious organisations that can teach according to their faith, but we can have a situation which doesn’t authorise discrimination against teachers or students. We don’t have to have a situation where people on the basis of their sexuality are accused of being able to impinge upon other people’s faith. It is not an either/or.”
The bill was seconded by Labor’s Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek and is now being debated in the Upper House.
OIP Staff
