Christian contracts ‘an abuse of rights’

A Christian school that likened homosexuality to paedophilia has been dragged before the Human Rights Commission in Queensland.

Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane.

A Christian school that likened homosexuality to paedophilia has been dragged before the Human Rights Commission in Queensland.

Upset parents and former students of Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane filed a formal discrimination complaint on Thursday over controversial ­enrolment contracts forcing students to abide by their “biological sex’’.

Janina Leo, the mother of former student Emmey, said she was “heartbroken’’ when she read the contract.

“Every child deserves to be treated with dignity and respect when they walk through the school gate, and to be supported to learn, grow and be who they are,’’ she said. “I had no choice but to remove my children from Citipointe as I would not sign a contract that supported discrimination against my own child and other LGBTIQ+ children.’’

An outcry forced the school to apologise and withdraw the contracts in February, and the principal, Pastor Brian Mulheran, resigned.

The school became a flashpoint for debate over the rights of religious schools and trans­gender students, and resulted in former prime minister Scott Morrison’s botched attempt to shield schools from discrimination claims on the grounds of ­religious teachings.

The Queensland LGBTI+ Legal Service is supporting the parents’ discrimination claim against Citipointe.

“Our clients have suffered greatly due to these actions and these children will bear the scars for many years to come,’’ legal service spokeswoman Matilda Alexander said.

She said the complainants want the QHRC to mediate an inclusive enrolment policy to guarantee that students can’t be discriminated against in future.

If the school refused, Ms ­Alexander said the QHRC should refer the complaint to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a binding ­determination.

Ms Alexander called on the Albanese government to adopt Queensland’s anti-discrimination protections at a federal level.

“We would like to see a federal human rights act, and federal human rights protections against discrimination on the basis of religion, sexuality and gender identity, as they are protected in Queensland,” she said. “Equality [at a federal level] is something we need to ensure that all children are protected.”

A former teacher at Citipointe, Helen Clapham-Burns, resigned and removed her child from the school this year after it threatened to expel “sinful’’ gay, lesbian or transgender students.

“As a Christian educator, my faith informs my duty of care to provide love and safety for all students – no exceptions,’’ she said. “We need to make sure this can never happen again … at any school in Australia.’’

The QHRC stated in February a “policy that requires a trans or gender diverse young person to be treated as their sex assigned at birth, or that requires a young person to hide or deny their sexuality, is likely to amount to unlawful discrimination”.

The withdrawn contract had made it a condition of enrolment that students behave “on the basis of the individual’s biological sex’’. Citipointe was contacted for comment.