Coalition throws up major hurdle to religious freedom legislation

The Coalition has flagged it wants proper parliamentary scrutiny for any proposed religious freedom legislation, a second major hurdle to the plan.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley says the Opposition would want normal parliamentary scrutiny of the proposed laws including a Senate inquiry. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Coalition has flagged it wants proper parliamentary scrutiny for any proposed religious freedom legislation, throwing up a second major hurdle to Anthony Albanese’s plan to get the faith-based education reforms passed with bipartisan support.

The Prime Minister’s proposal to accept law reform commission recommendations to entirely remove the section of the Sex Discrimination Act which provides faith-based schools with the right to employ teachers with the same religion or ethos of the school, as reported in The Australian, is already considered to be enough for the Coalition to oppose the reforms.

But on Friday Sussan Ley, Deputy Liberal leader, went further and said the Opposition would want normal parliamentary scrutiny of the proposed laws including a Senate inquiry.

Ms Ley said she had not seen the proposed legislation, which was given to shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash on a confidential basis, but the Coalition expected normal processes to be followed.

“That legislation needs to progress through the parliament in the same way that all legislation does, including the scrutiny if necessary, of a Senate Committee,” she said in Canberra.

“For Anthony Albanese to somehow take an approach where he doesn’t present things in a transparent and open way on a matter as sensitive as this indicates that he doesn’t have the character to deal with the issue in the way that he promised Australians he would before the election,” she said.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister told his Labor colleagues he would not be putting the proposed changes he promised during the election campaign forward without bipartisan support.

On Wednesday the Government gave the Opposition a draft legislation to consider and on Thursday released the Australian Law Reform Commission Report which recommended widespread changes to legislation allowing religious schools to discriminate for people of the same religion when hiring staff.

The recommendations included removing Section 38 of the SDA entirely and replacing it with protections in other Acts but Coalition MPs have said that proposal is not acceptable to the Coalition or faith-based groups.

Mr Albanese told parliament the Government would “work with everyone, including the crossbenchers” on the bills but ruled out on these issues,” he said.

But he said he would not have a parliamentary committee process as part of his plan to get the laws through with bipartisan support.

“I have said, though, that we wouldn’t go through a parliamentary committee process,” he said.

“Since 2016, there have been at least 10 ­inquiries. There’s been over 260 hearings and consultations. There have been over 70,000 submissions to committees … I’m up for progressing forward on the basis of a bipartisan position and I hope that that can be achieved.

“If not, then that will be, of course, a decision for this parliament as well,” he said.

With strident opposition with the Coalition to removing Section 38 and now a demand for a parliamentary process against Mr Albanese’s wishes there are growing barriers to the success of the changes.