NewsBite

PM Scott Morrison says no evidence of gay school expulsions but daily religious discrimination

Scott Morrison says there is “no evidence” of gay students being expelled from religious schools, but argues religious Australians are being discriminated against “every day”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Melbourne on Sunday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Melbourne on Sunday.

Scott Morrison says there is “no evidence” of gay students being expelled from religious schools, but argues that religious Australians are being discriminated against “every day”.

The Prime Minister recommitted on Sunday to pushing ahead with his controversial ­religious discrimination bill if he wins the election, reopening fractures in the ­Coalition over the policy.

Moderate Liberal MPs Katie Allen and Dave Sharma both ­indicated they would be willing to cross the floor again over the bill unless protections were simultaneously offered for LGBTIQ students, saying their positions ­remained “unchanged”.

Speaking in Melbourne, Mr Morrison said there was no ­evidence that religious schools were seeking to expel gay children, but argued the religious ­discrimination bill was needed to protect Australians of faith who were being discriminated against on a daily basis.

“We’ve been having this conversation for about the last four years and … on each occasion … it is being presented that apparently students are being expelled each and every day, each and every week or each and every year,” Mr Morrison said.

“There is no evidence of that at all. There is none. What I’m saying is that there is no evidence because the religious schools themselves don’t wish to do that. They don’t wish to do it. I know there are Australians of religious faith in this country (who) are discriminated against, I know they are, and it happens every day. It happens every week.”

Mr Morrison confirmed that he would seek to push through his discrimination bill before ­making amendments to the Sex ­Discrimination Act, despite facing opposition from several moderate Coalition MPs.

Morrison does not want ‘internal division’

The bill – which was a 2019 election promise – was torpedoed in February after a revolt from five MPs who were pushing for the government to amend the SDA at the same time as legislating faith protections in a bid to protect transgender children.

Moderate Liberal MPs Bridget Archer, Dave Sharma, Fiona Martin, Katie Allen and Trent Zimmerman sided with Labor on one of the final sitting days ­before the election to amend the government’s proposed change to the SDA aimed at protecting gay students from being expelled. Mr Morrison was then forced to shelve the package.

Members and allies of the LGBTIQ+ community rallied outside MP Warren Entsch's office in Cairns against the Religious Discrimination Bill.
Members and allies of the LGBTIQ+ community rallied outside MP Warren Entsch's office in Cairns against the Religious Discrimination Bill.

He has elevated ­religious discrimination as a key plank of the Coalition’s re-election strategy alongside economic management, national security and pandemic recovery, pledging for it to be dealt with as a first priority.

He was unable to confirm when his government would seek protections for LGBTIQ students, outlining only that it would be dealt with “sequentially”.

The promise comes as Mr Morrison targets marginal seats with strong religious and multicultural communities, focusing his campaign on outer suburban seats during his frantic six-week tour of the country. Key electorates he has poured resources into include Parramatta, which he has visited five times, Chisholm and Reid.

Responding to Mr Morrison’s comments on Sunday, Dr Allen clarified her position on the controversial bill saying protections for gay and trans children were “non-negotiable”.

Read related topics:Scott Morrison

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/pm-scott-morrison-says-no-evidence-of-gay-school-expulsions-but-daily-religious-discrimination/news-story/826b0306e98533cb7c6bc699ba6c2bca