Scott Morrison returns to religious freedom fight
A reworked religious freedoms bill will shield those who express reasonable and genuinely held faith-based views that might offend.
Australians expressing reasonable and genuinely held faith-based views that might offend others will be shielded from prosecution by state-based anti-discrimination tribunals, under a reworked religious freedoms bill to be introduced to federal parliament next week.
Scott Morrison’s religious discrimination bill – a 2019 election pledge – is headlined by a statement of belief sub-clause that overrides state aged, sex and disability discrimination laws.
The Australian understands the clause, which will not protect speech that incites hatred or violence or vilifies or intimidates people, has been backed by faith leaders and other stakeholders.
The religious discrimination legislation, which will be put into the lower house next week for debate, has also won support from business groups after the government removed the contentious Folau clause.
Following federal cabinet endorsement of the religious protections last week, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash briefed backbenchers on the bill on Monday amid concerns that moderate Liberal MPs could revolt against the legislation first promised following the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite.
Senior government sources said the revised bill removed some of the more controversial or “extreme” measures contained in earlier drafts and offered a “sensible compromise”.
Proponents of a religious-protection mechanism at a commonwealth level have argued that some state-based anti-discrimination tribunals have become activist in their approach to complaints.
Catholic Bishops Conference spokesman Peter Comensoli, the Archbishop of Melbourne, said a religious discrimination bill was “an important progression towards parity with other anti-discrimination protections”.
It is understood faith-based groups have adopted a pragmatic approach to the bill, realising that outcomes gained from the proposed laws would offer more protections than they currently have.
Under previous draft legislation prepared by former attorney-general Christian Porter, the right of employees to make religious statements outside work was dubbed the “Folau clause” after Rugby Australia pushed out Israel Folau over an Instagram post claiming gay people went to hell. Under the clause, which business groups railed against, companies with a turnover of more than $50m had to prove an employee’s religious statement would cause financial harm before taking action.
The government has removed the clause but retained exemptions ensuring that professional bodies cannot strike off people on the grounds of their religious beliefs.
The bill will also not allow for conscientious objections on the grounds that people, especially those in regional areas, should be able to access medical treatment including abortions.
Hospitals, schools and aged-care homes run by religious groups would be able to prioritise the hiring of people from their own faith. They cannot prioritise treatment of patients or residents of the same religion. A baker cannot refuse to bake a cake for a same-sex couple because it is still considered discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Act.
Senior government sources said the final bill was “more workable” than Mr Porter’s draft legislation, which had attracted only 10 per cent of support from stakeholders.
The religious discrimination bill will be debated by the lower house before being sent to the Senate, where it is expected to be referred to a committee process.
While moderate Liberal MPs could cross the floor, the government believes the inclusion of a statement of religious belief will win support from Labor right-faction MPs. It is more likely than not that the bill will remain stalled in a Senate committee process until after the election.
After The Australian in June revealed plans to bring the religious discrimination bill to a vote by Christmas, Senator Cash was inundated with calls from religious leaders to override state government bans on gay conversion therapy and to significantly broaden the bill’s definitions of faith-based institutions to cover a wider group of institutions than places of worship and schools.
LGBTI rights groups have warned the government against bringing in any religious-focused legislation that would increase discrimination against gay people. Moderate Liberal MPs Warren Entsch, Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson and Dave Sharma have publicly raised concerns about the proposed law becoming a religious bill of rights or winding back protections for LGBTI people.
National Catholic Education Commission executive director Jacinta Collins, a former Labor senator, called on the Morrison government to speed up its legislation because proposed reforms to Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act could curb the rights of Catholic schools.
University of Notre Dame school of law adjunct associate professor Mark Fowler said the bill must reflect the initial recommendations of the expert panel on religious freedom, which said “it is important to acknowledge the pivotal role of anti-discrimination laws with respect to freedom of religion”.
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