Faith schools face lawyers’ picnic

The nation faces years of legal uncertainty and litigation because of flaws in the religious freedom plans of both sides of politics.

Legal academic Mark Fowler.

The nation faces years of legal uncertainty and litigation because of flaws in the religious freedom plans of both sides of politics.

This assessment, from legal academic Mark Fowler, comes shortly after Attorney-General Christian Porter warned that Labor’s proposal provided no legislative ability for religious schools to act in accordance with the tenets of their faith.

Labor has introduced a bill aimed at protecting gay students that the government believes could expose religious schools to litigation for requiring students to attend chapel.

Opposition Senate leader Penny Wong has defended the scheme against charges it would “extinguish religious freedom”, saying it contains nothing to compromise the ability of churches to uphold their teachings.

Mr Fowler, writing in The Weekend Australian today, says the plans put forward by both sides of politics have the potential to be a lawyers’ picnic.

He writes that the effect of Labor’s bill is that “a religious body can exercise discretion over who it employs to provide its ­religious teaching, it just can’t require that they teach the content of its beliefs”.

The Labor bill would also require courts to determine whether aspects of religious education were “reasonable”.

It’s a test likely to cause years of litigation and provide little clarity for schools, religious bodies and students, Mr Fowler writes. “In the interests of children and the entire school community, these matters should be clarified.”