Religious Discrimination Bill: Catholic schools’ pledge to gay kids comes with a catch

While the much-criticised bill could give religious schools the power to positively discriminate, a major schooling commission says they’re open to talking.

The senior member of Australia’s peak body for Catholic education has said the sector is open to implementing structures that would protect LGBTQI+ students in light of the Federal Government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill.

But Jacinta Collins, the executive director of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), said the schools should also remain “free to be Catholic” under any change to legislation.

Government factions and religious lobby groups continue to clash over the protections offered by the controversial policy that some argue could blur the lines between religious freedom and harmful discrimination.

“We’ve got some sympathy with the concern that the issues around students being discriminated against have not been dealt with by the government, similar to our own concerns that protections around religious freedom haven’t been dealt with by the government,” Ms Collins told Nine Newspapers.

Ms Collins backed moves to fast track protections for LGBTQI+ students but said Catholic schools ‘should be free to be Catholic’. Picture: Supplied.

“If there’s an alternative suggestion that these issues can be canvassed and progressed through a more swift process, I’d be open to that.”

However, Ms Collins has also maintained that “Catholic schools should be free to be Catholic,” a view that nearly two-in-three Australians also believe, she told The Australian.

“Catholic schools don’t, and are not seeking to, discriminate against people on the basis of their personal attributes,” said the former Labor Senator.

“We have gay teachers in the Catholic system, but it is our right to expect staff to act within the Catholic social teaching ethos. We would have concerns about a staff member who wanted to promote capital punishment or euthanasia – that’s not in accordance with our teaching.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is hoping to pass the bill before the 2021 election. Picture: Gary Ramage/NCA NewsWire

A key concern with the current Religious Discrimination Bill is the potential for religious schools and organisations to discriminate against or expel LGBTQI+ students and staff, de facto couples, unmarried parents or divorced people.

There are also concerns people will be able to make ‘statements of belief’ using religious beliefs or teachings that would otherwise be considered discriminatory.

The NCEC is expected to present their findings and give evidence at Tuesday’s joint human rights parliamentary committee, along with Australian National Imams Council, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Equality Australia, and other religious, human rights and legal advocates.

The rules contained in 38(3) of the Sex Discrimination Act are receiving a lot of attention. Moderate Liberal MPs Angie Bell, Katie Allen, Fiona Martin and Dave Sharma, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have all backed a proposal to scrap the section, a move religious lobbies like the Christian Schools Australia (CSA) and Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) have lashed. This would protect gay students against expulsion, suspension or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“We support a robust and detailed consideration of these exemptions but shady back room deals to wipe out the ability to teach in accordance with our faith are simply not acceptable,” said Director of Public Policy at CSA Mark Spencer.

“Fundamental human rights should not be traded away behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny.

“Talk of simultaneously removing section 38(3) of the sex discrimination act, which protects the teaching and daily operation of faith-based schools, in exchange for some MPs’ support for the religious discrimination bill, is extremely unhelpful.”

URGENT: We have just days to ensure the parliamentary inquiries currently considering the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill hear our voices.
The Bill will wind back hard-fought discrimination protections for women, LGBTIQ+ people, people with disability, and even people of faith. pic.twitter.com/ni92RpBbuy

— Equality Australia 🌈 (@EqualityAu) December 16, 2021

While religious groups have debated which protections are offered in the Religious Discrimination Bill, equality and LGBTQI+ working groups have called for the entire bill to be scrapped.

Equity Australia says the law “winds back hard-fought discrimination protections for women, LGBTQI+ people, people with disability, and even people of faith,” they argue.

“People of faith, and those who hold no religious belief, should be protected from discrimination equally with others,” they wrote.

“But undermining existing rights and protections, including for women, people with disability, LGBTQI+ people, and even other people of faith, is not the way to achieve this aim.”