Federal election 2022: Morrison wedges Albanese on religious freedom

Scott Morrison has told all religious leaders that guaranteeing religious freedom is a priority for him if re-elected to ensure ‘a tolerant, multicultural, and multi-faith liberal democracy’.

Scott Morrison’s declaration to faith leaders complicates the politics of religious freedom during the campaign. Picture: Toby Zerna

Scott Morrison has told all religious leaders that guaranteeing religious freedom is a priority for him and a re-elected Coalition government as a fundamental right to ensure “a tolerant, multicultural, and multi-faith liberal democracy”.

But the Prime Minister has warned the proposed religious freedom proposals could only be reintroduced into parliament if there was a political “consensus” which did not include changes to the Sex Discrimination Act which threatened to make faith-based schools worse off.

Mr Morrison withdrew the Religious Freedom bill from the Senate in the last sitting of parliament in the face of amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act supported by independent MPs, Labor, the Greens and five Coalition MPs, which religious groups feared would make them worse off.

Mr Morrison’s declaration to faith leaders complicates the politics of religious freedom during the campaign, draws in the debate about discrimination against transgender students, and throws out a challenge to Labor in key marginal seats in Western Sydney which have the highest multicultural diversity and rates of religion in Australia.

In a letter to all religious leaders at the start of the election campaign, Mr Morrison wrote: “Freedom to practise our religious beliefs without discrimination is fundamental to who we are and who we must be as a tolerant, multicultural, and multi-faith ­liberal democracy.

“That is why I introduced the Religious Discrimination Bill into parliament in the hope of enshrining these freedoms into law. I pursued this law in good faith, putting politics aside, as I did not wish this to divide our nation. This is why I agreed to reasonable concessions that would protect those of faith from discrimination without impeding on the rights, freedoms, and protections of others.”

But he said because of the proposed changes to the Sex Discrimination Act, religious groups, especially faith-based schools, would lose more protections than they gained and it would have been a case of “one step forward, three steps back”.

Mr Morrison promised a religious freedom bill before the 2019 election and was accused of leaving the introduction of the bill until too late, threatening the rights of gay and transgender students and breaking a promise.

Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous was hauled before an anti-discrimination body for sharing church teaching on gay marriage Picture: Matthew Newton

Since the election began, the Catholic Bishops Conference has called on all sides of politics to enshrine religious freedoms including protections for religious groups to operate aged care, hospitals, welfare and schools according to their beliefs and ethos.

It called for “sensible” protections for religious institutions that did not impinge on the rights of others who have existing discrimination protections.

The National Catholic Education Commission has also written to both major parties asking how they will finalise legislation for a religious discrimination act within the first 100 days of the new parliament.

The Australian Christian Lobby said the proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act taking away protection for ­religious schools “was too high a price to pay”.

Mr Morrison’s letter stated: “Until a consensus can be found and the issues that have been ­created by these amendments can be resolved, we cannot in good conscience put at risk the ­existing protections that currently exist for people of religious faith. Sadly, ­Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party prized scoring a political victory against the government as more important than achieving laws to protect Australians of religious faith against discrimination.”

The Opposition Leader said Labor was “committed to ending vilification and discrimination” and that religious discrimination was “all too real”.

But, he said: “In doing so, we must not diminish protections for other people in our society.”