Conservatives fear religious freedom bill will not go far enough

Scott Morrison’s cabinet will this week vote on draft proposals for a religious discrimination act.

Attorney General Christian Porter will ask cabinet to sign off on the draft bill on religious freedoms. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison’s cabinet will vote this week on draft proposals for a religious discrimination act amid concern from conservative Liberal MPs the bill will not go far enough to protect faith freedoms.

The Australian has been told Attorney-General Christian Porter will ask cabinet to sign off on measures he plans for the draft bill after finalising briefings with ­Coalition MPs.

MPs who have been briefed on the proposals say the bill will probably be modest and ban discrimination on the basis of faith in areas such as employment, housing and the use of services.

“It will be orthodox anti-discrimination legislation,” one MP said. “It is about people not being denied renting a house because they are Muslim. That sort of thing.”

Liberal MPs say Mr Porter has voiced his aim for consulting with Labor on the proposed bill in the next sitting fortnight, beginning September 9. The legislation will probably be put for a partyroom vote in October, when he aims to introduce it to the lower house.

While government figures are pushing for the legislation to be passed by the end of the year, the timing will be tight as the bill will probably be referred for examination by a Senate committee.

Mr Porter confirmed the government was “close to settling a draft for public consultation”.

“Consultation has already ­occurred during the drafting process with a variety of stakeholders, including religious groups, and there will be further opportunities before the bill is introduced to the house,” Mr Porter said.

“As is usual with such bills, there will likely be a Senate committee of inquiry into the bill after its introduction.”

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus attacked the government for not yet opening consultations with Labor.

“It seems the only people they are interested in talking to are the more extreme members of their own backbench,” Mr Dreyfus said.

“If the government is serious about getting this right, and not just pandering to the extremists within its own ranks, it should be consulting more widely with the rest of the community.”

Conservative Liberal MPs told The Australian they would have preferred a religious freedom bill than a new piece of anti-discrimination legislation.

A freedom bill would grant the “positive right” of religious people to act according to their faith and probably offer stronger protections in cases such as sacked rugby player Israel Folau.

However, the MPs say they may support Mr Porter’s proposal with only small protests to ensure some form of religious protection is enshrined in the law.

Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses SC said the bill needed to strike the balance between protection of religious freedom and freedom of expression.

“Religious freedom is an important human right, along with freedom of expression. Striking the right balance between protecting these freedoms … is of great ­importance to the Law Council and Australian community,” he said. “Australia has a diverse and tolerant community. It is important we continue to embrace what makes us such a great and peaceful community.”

The bill will not deal with banning religious schools from expelling gay children, which Mr Morrison promised to tackle last year.