Scott Morrison’s promise LGBTQI+ students watered down by frontbencher

A key government frontbencher has walked back a promise by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to protect gay and trans students at religious schools.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s promise to protect LGBTQI+ students at religious schools has been walked back by a key government frontbencher

The Prime Minister on Thursday vowed to make changes to the Sex Discrimination Act to stop religious schools from discriminating against students on the basis of their sexuality.

But just over 24 hours later, the Assistant Attorney-General was at odds with Mr Morrison’s vow to have the bill amended next week alongside the debate on the contentious religious discrimination bill.

Speaking with ABC RN, Senator Amanda Stoker said any amendments should wait to be made until after the Senate passes the religious discrimination bill.

“There is certainly a group of people in our community who are pushing for that and I can understand the enthusiasm for seeking that done quickly,” she said.

“The reason I would suggest the original plan is to make sure that we legislate the religious discrimination act first, and then change section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act.”

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised to amend the Sex Discrimination Act in the wake of the Citipointe Christian College controversy. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NCA Newswire.

Asked if she could confirm the changes would be made prior to the expected May election, Senator Stoker said she couldn’t “sign it in blood”.

“It’s not my decision alone … We are trying to make it happen and I expect we’ll make it happen but I’m not going to sign it in blood,” she said.

This comes after Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College withdrew its enrolment contract on Thursday which would have allowed the school to expel students based on their gender identity.

The contract also branded homosexuality “sinful, offensive and destructive” and lumped it into the same category as paedophilia and incest.

The controversy has drawn a lot of negative attention to the Religious Discrimin­ation Bill, which the Morrison government is attempting to get through parliament.

In a bid to appease those opposed to the bill, Mr Morrison vowed to make changes to the Sex Discrimination Act to stop religious schools discriminating against LGBTQI+ students.

Speaking about Citipointe’s enrolment contract on Brisbane Radio B105 on Thursday, Mr Morrison said “I do not support that”.

“My kids go to a Christian school here in Sydney, and I wouldn’t want my school doing that either,” he said.

“The bill that we’re going to be taking through the parliament, we will have an amendment which will deal with that to ensure kids cannot be discrimin­ated against on that basis.

“The law, as it sits, would allow for that.”

People protest outside Citipointe Christian College. Picture: Richard Walker

Last year, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash reportedly told Christian lobbyists the government supported exemptions for religious schools in the Sex Discrimination Act that allowed them to discriminate based on sexuality and gender identity.

However, moderate Liberals have previously said their support for the Religious Discrimination Bill depended on amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act.

“Religious freedom isn’t just about people who have religion, it’s also about people who don’t,’ Mr Morrison told the radio station.

“You shouldn’t be discriminated against by what your religious faith is or isn’t.

“You should be able to send your kids to a Christian school or Muslim school or a Jewish school, or whatever it is, they should be able to teach, you know, kids in that way.”

The Religious Discrimination Bill has been under intense scrutiny, with two parliamentary legislation and human rights committees preparing to hand down reports on Friday.

The Citipointe Christian College enrolment contract drew widespread outrage, with a petition calling for its recall gaining more than 155,800 signatures in a matter of days.

The document was branded “utterly disgusting” and “inhumane” and prompted multiple parents to pull their children from the school.

This is part of a 16 page contract parents are made to sign on behalf of their child to attend Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane

I have condensed the disgusting content in this contract down to this image.

Sigh the petition. Call this out https://t.co/VYGZcZpNGQpic.twitter.com/w6JfIYVwue

— Christian Hull (@christianhull) January 30, 2022

In a statement issued by Principal Pastor Brian Mulheran on Thursday, he announced the school was withdrawing the contract and that “families will no longer be asked to agree to that contract for their child to be enrolled in the College”.

While Pastor Mulheran had previously doubled down on the contract — and the school’s right to issue it — in the statement announcing its withdrawal he said the College “deeply regrets that some students feel that they would be discriminated against because of their sexuality or gender identity, and I apologise to them and their families on behalf of the College”.

“As stated previously, the College does not and will not discriminate against any student because of their sexuality or gender identity. It is central to our faith that being gay or transgender in no way diminishes a person’s humanity or dignity in God’s eyes,” he added.

Mr Mulheran also claimed some students had been “vilified in the community” for their religious beliefs or because they attend the school.

He branded this “deeply distressing” and said he hoped by withdrawing the contract that they could “return all of our focus to the Christian education of our students as we begin this new year”.

Earlier in the week, Mr Mulheran had doubled down on the contract, releasing a six minute video to parents in which he said exercise of religious freedom was “not discrimination”.

He also noted that while they have had to deal with individual conduct or behavioural issues, none of these situation has ever led to a student being expelled because they are gay or transgender.

Citipointe Christian College Principal Brian Mulheran announced on Thursday that the contract had been withdrawn.

However, the enrolment contract parents had been asked to sign openly stated the school would expel students if they didn’t identify with their birth gender.

The contract stated the school had a right to “exclude a student from the College who no longer adheres to the College’s doctrinal precepts” – which includes the school’s beliefs around a student’s biological sex.

It noted the bible ties gender identity to biological sex and does not make a distinction between gender and biological sex.

“Whilst each student is individually valued and equally encouraged to pursue opportunities in both academic and co-curricular activities, I/we agree that, where distinctions are made between male and female (inclusive of, but not limited to, for example, uniforms, presentation, terminology, use of facilities and amenities, participation in sporting events and accommodation) such distinctions will be applied on the basis of the individual’s biological sex,” the contract stated.

The contract also noted that marriage and sexual intimacy should only be between a biological man and woman and outlined the school’s anti-abortion and anti-euthanasia stance.

Fees for the Kindergarten to Year 12 school range from $8880 to $12,610 a year.