Liberal MPs warn Michaelia Cash against compromising on gay rights in religious freedom push

Liberal MPs warn that any new draft of the religious discrimination bill cannot compromise gay marriage.

Coalition MP Warren Entsch. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Liberal MPs are warning ­Attorney-General Michaelia Cash that any new draft of the ­religious discrimination bill cannot compromise gay marriage or turn into a faith-based “bill of rights”.

The Australian revealed on Thursday that Senator Cash would bring a major rewrite of the bill – shelved during the Covid-19 pandemic by her predecessor Christian Porter – to parliament by December, sparking a flurry of demands from both religious leaders and LGBTI advocates.

A religious discrimination act – a key 2019 election promise of Scott Morrison’s – has now sparked an internal party row between conservatives who believe it must be implemented and moderates who do not want the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite victory to be overshadowed.

Queensland MP Warren Entsch was one of the first supporters of same-sex marriage in the Australian parliament and has long argued in the Coalition for stronger LGBTI rights.

On Thursday, Mr Entsch said gay rights must continue to be protected, and he warned the government to be “very careful” on how it proceeds with a ­religious discrimination bill.

“I will be looking very closely at this bill and I have a very strong view,” he said. “I would warn against ­compromising the gains made by achieving marriage equality. This issue is being predominantly pushed by institutions of Christian faith. There are a hell of a whole lot of faiths in this place.”

Religious leaders on Thursday called for the rewritten bill – the third draft since the 2019 federal election – to include multiple changes ranging from an override of state bans on gay conversion therapy and a ­broader definition of faith-based institutions in ­federal law.

Victorian MP Tim Wilson – a former human rights commissioner – said Senator Cash’s new bill should avoid becoming a “bill of rights” type of law for ­people of faith.

“I suspect developing a ­religious discrimination bill (that is) consistent with other anti-­discrimination laws and treats all Australians equally should be a relatively straight forward exercise and would bring together people in good faith,” he said. ­“Reinterpreting our promise to advance a religious bill of rights is less likely to do so.”

Tim Wilson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith – the architect of the ­nation’s same-sex marriage laws and the government’s chief whip in the upper house – has long supported a ­religious discrimination bill, but he said on Thursday that the bill must not roll back any existing anti-discrimination measures.

“The success of any bill will ­depend heavily on a sound parliamentary process, which would include the release of an exposure draft and thorough examination by a Senate (committee) or specifically formed joint parliamentary committee,” Senator Smith said.

“A baseline for many Australians will be a commitment to not rolling back Australia’s very effective anti-discrimination laws, which are already in place.”

The religious discrimination bill was first mooted by Malcolm Turnbull in 2017, and some Liberal MPs feel that the decision then to deal with religious freedoms after settling same-sex ­marriage was a mistake.

Anthony Albanese has committed to re-engaging with faith-based communities after the Labor Parthy lost votes due to concerns over freedom of ­religion in 2019.

Some Liberal conservatives and faith leaders have warned there will be a backlash from religious voters if the Prime Minister’s promise is not upheld.

But several moderate Liberal members on Thursday questioned Senator Cash’s December deadline, and raised concerns that a religious discrimination act would reopen old wounds over same-sex marriage.

“She has just opened up a can of worms that creates a fight we don’t need,” one MP said.