Coalition united on changes to Sex Discrimination Act, says Cormann

The Coalition is “united” behind a move to prohibit religious schools from expelling children based on their sexuality.

Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann in Sydney. Picture: Hollie Adams

Mathias Cormann has assured voters the Coalition is “united” behind a move to prohibit religious schools from expelling children based on their sexuality.

The Finance Minister declared the Coalition was “fixing a problem Labor left behind” after leaked findings from the Ruddock review of religious freedom, which has been with the government since May, shone a light on existing exemptions under the Sex Discrimination Act that allow religious schools to refuse gay students and teachers.

Asked if the right wing of his party would “accept” Scott Morrison’s decision to amend the exemption that enables religious schools to discriminate against students, Senator Cormann, a leading conservative, told the ABC: “The party’s absolutely united. This is obviously something the Prime Minister didn’t announce unilaterally.

‘‘This is something that he discussed with his leadership team and with his cabinet, and it’s something that all of us in the leadership team and in the cabinet have endorsed.

Morrison's to-do list graphic for the Australian

“It’s an issue on which good Australians can have a diversity of genuinely and sincerely held views. It’s very important that we carefully consider the report that’s been put together by the expert panel under the leadership of Philip Ruddock … This is just government 101, carefully consider the issues in front of you and make the best possible judgments about the way forward.”

Attorney-General Christian Porter will work with Labor to amend the Sex Discrimination Act over the parliamentary sitting fortnight, after the Gillard Labor government introduced the exemption in 2013.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Sydney seat of Wentworth, which Mr Morrison must retain in next Saturday’s by-election to maintain majority government, has one of the largest LGBTI communities in the country.

The Morrison government will also seek to use the fortnight to accelerate the rollout of the lower company tax rate for small and medium businesses, introduce legislation to set up the Trans-Pacific Partnership and set a 75c-per-person floor in GST distributions.

Bill Shorten said it was “probably time” to have a conversation about exemptions that implicated teachers.

“Let’s have that conversation, but it would be well informed by this review into religious freedom,’’ the Opposition Leader said.

“So I think the first step to the conversation you’re raising is for Mr Morrison to come clean, trust the Australian people, put the review out there so we can all work on this together.

“This should not be a political football.”

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said religious schools “already had some powers to discriminate” when the Gillard government included sexuality as a “protected grounds” in the act.

“I’m very pleased that over the last few days the Prime Minister has agreed with us that we need to put beyond doubt that children should not be discriminated against in our schools and we’re very keen to work with him on that legislation when parliament resumes tomorrow,” she told Sky News.