It’s shameful we’re even having this debate
Discrimination is discrimination. That we are even talking about whether it should be acceptable in some circumstances is a blight on our society, writes Dennis Atkins.
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YOU cannot salami slice discrimination, saying some kinds of discrimination is OK.
However, this is just what the Coalition is saying should be allowed with Prime Minister Scott Morrison somehow thinking it’s acceptable to allow some of his Coalition MPs to vote in favour of letting schools discriminate against students because they are part of the sexuality tent covered by the letters LGBTIQ.
After the government failed to summon the courage to vote on what should be the most basic of human rights — the ability to go to school without regard to your own sexuality — the issue looked like being kicked into the long grass of early next year.
However, Morrison now says if the parties cannot agree to consider the legislation as it stands — which really means some Coalition MPs want to give schools the right to expel students who are, for example, gay — there should be a conscience vote on both sides of Parliament.
“Where the parties have been unable to agree, let’s take the parties out of it,” said Morrison. Bill Shorten shot back that his Labor colleagues didn’t need to think about whether students could be discriminated against.
“If you’ve got a conscience, you’re against discrimination,” said Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek.
Some religious schools — a very small minority, it must be said — and fundamentalist conservatives want to keep the right to discriminate against students who identify as LGBTIQ people.
It’s telling no one is saying any schools should be able to discriminate because of your race or straight male/female sexuality.
This is a small group wanting to rerun the marriage equality debate — which they lost comprehensively.
Discrimination is discrimination and should not be allowed by law.
It’s a disgrace this is even being debated in the Parliament.
Dennis Atkins is the national affairs editor for The Courier-Mail.
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