Scott Morrison’s warning to Liberals: unite or lose federal election

Scott Morrison has made an 11th-hour clarion call for his team to get behind religious discrimination reforms.

Seeking a unified Coalition … Scott Morrison during question time in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison has warned ­Coalition MPs the federal election will be lost if they are not a united force, in an 11th-hour clarion call for his team to get behind landmark religious discrimination reforms in the first contentious parliamentary vote of the year.

The Prime Minister’s demand for unity came after a marathon partyroom meeting at which the Coalition endorsed the updated religious discrimination bill and Sex Discrimination Act amendment, despite reservations about potential impacts on gay teachers and transgender children expressed by moderate Liberal MPs including Trent Zimmerman, Katie Allen, Andrew Bragg and Warren Entsch.

Debate on the updated bill and SDA amendment — which prevents students from being expelled from religious schools for being gay but does not offer the same protections for transgender students — began in parliament on Tuesday night, with a vote expected by Thursday.

Despite Mr Morrison’s plea, described by MPs as “begging for support” and “baring his neck”, Mr Zimmerman used the partyroom meeting to reserve his right to cross the floor on the bill while Bass MP Bridget Archer told the House of Representatives she would oppose it. Ms Archer said she was concerned the legislation would override Tasmanian anti-discrimination laws.

“This bill is an overreach and I cannot use the role that I have here to endorse a bill that erodes the rights of so many in my community, that they already enjoy and may cause them harm,” Ms Archer said.

She said she would support the government if it came back with a bill that was able to “protect people from religious discrimination without these other consequences”, but said there was no way she could back it in its current form.

Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Entsch said he did not agree with the proposed reform but would not say whether he was prepared to defy Mr Morrison and vote against the bill in parliament.

“I don’t agree with it,” the MP for Leichhardt said. “But I don’t want to blow the government up.”

Nationals MP George Christensen, meanwhile, lashed out at the bill as “weak” and “watered down”.

He told the House of Representatives he would support it but conceded it would only do a “little bit of good”. “This is a wet lettuce of a bill,” he said.

Wentworth MP Dave Sharma said he was concerned about the statement of belief provision — section 12 of the religious discrimination bill — which provides some protection for employees who ­express religious beliefs that are in line with their faith but may offend other workers.

He also raised concerns about the SDA amendment’s failure to address the potential for a transgender child to be discriminated against by a single-sex or religious school.

Anthony Albanese’s position on the bill will be critical for its passage through parliament if it is opposed by some Liberal MPs. Shadow cabinet has not made a final decision on the bill but two NSW Right MPs condemned the legislation in the House of Representatives on Monday night.

Macarthur MP Mike Freelander, whose southwestern Sydney electorate is of “many cultures and many faiths”, said the legislation could be dangerous and was being used by Mr Morrison to score political points “I am ­opposed to this bill in its current form,” Mr Freelander said.

“I’m opposed, deeply opposed, in the way in which it’s being managed by this completely incompetent government.”

Labor frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite, a practising Catholic, said he was concerned the bill would grant “special rights” to some Australians and “undermine the ideal of creating safe and inclusive workspaces”.

NSW Left MP Stephen Jones, Labor’s financial services spokesman, said the bill “pleases nobody” and “no rights are unlimited”.

As a compromise on concerns about transgender students, ­Attorney-General Michaelia Cash has referred the matter, along with exemptions to discriminate against staff, to the Australian Law Reform Commission, which is reviewing all religious exemptions in anti-discrimination law. Senator Cash said more time was needed to ensure further reforms did not undermine the “ethos of religious single-sex schools”.

“If subsection 38(3) of the Sex Discrimination Act were amended to remove the exemption for religious schools to discriminate against a student on the basis of their gender identity, it could have the potential to effectively nullify the intention and ethos of religious single-sex schools,” Senator Cash said. “Striking the balance ­between any individual’s right to want to change their sexual ­identity and other parents’ and children’s wishes to go to a single-sex school must be sensitively managed. For example, if a current student transitioned while enrolled at a single-sex school, a religious ­single-sex school would not be adequately equipped to cater to the needs of the opposite sex. Matters such as uniforms, bathrooms, as well as the wishes of other parents to send their children to a single-sex schools would need to be ­addressed.”

Coming under fire over the bill in question time, Mr Morrison said the ability of schools to discriminate against gay and transgender students was because of legislation passed by the former Labor government. He said the bill was part of supporting multiculturalism and the “role of faith and culture in this country”.

Senior government sources said it was highly likely they would need to rely on Labor’s support if Coalition MPs splintered in the House of Representatives.

Conservative Coalition senators said that while they would back the religious discrimination legislation, they were considering their options on the SDA amendment and any last-minute changes put forward by Labor.

Australian Christian Lobby national director Wendy Francis said while the government was a step closer to delivering its election promise, it needed Labor support. Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown said discrimination against any child was wrong and the proposed SDA amendment would leave “trans and gender diverse students behind”.

During debate on Tuesday night, Labor frontbencher Stephen Jones revealed that his 15-year-old nephew, who he described as “gay” and “uncertain of his gender”, had killed himself last week.

In an emotional address, Mr Jones urged the Morrison government to protect gay students for whom “love and acceptance of family and friends weren’t enough”.