Labor may clear the way for changes to sex discrimination laws

Labor is considering supporting the federal government’s amendments to its proposed changes to sex discrimination laws.

Labor senator Penny Wong. Picture: AAP

Labor is considering supporting the federal government’s amendments to its proposed changes to sex discrimination laws, paving the way for the contentious legislation to be passed this week.

Ahead of today’s Senate debate and vote on the Sex Discrimin­ation Amendment (Removing Discrimination Against Students) Bill, proposed by Labor senator Penny Wong, religious groups, lawyers and academics have called for the process to be delayed until after the long-awaited Ruddock report into religious freedom is ­released.

In phone calls and emails at the weekend, they have implored parliamentarians to consider that the moves to protect LGBTI students from discrimination will have far-reaching and unintended consequences for faith-based organ­isations and their ability to operate according to their beliefs.

Institute for Civil Society executive director Mark Sneddon said the Labor bill’s planned removal of religion exemptions created the prospect of discrim­ination lawsuits beyond the education activities of religious schools to those of religious adult training colleges as well as churches, temples and mosques, which also carried out educational activ­ities, such as Bible studies.

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“This debate started out because nobody wanted to see gay students being discriminated against by being expelled from a religious school,” Mr Sneddon said.

“But now the definition of ‘discrimination’ is so broad that it can control the teaching content and student discipline by a religious school or college, so they can’t maintain their ethos as a religious institution.

“We’ve seen the leaked recommendations from the Ruddock ­report, and it has recommended the retention of these exemptions for religious groups.

“It’s an appalling policy development process to not see a report that had 16,500 submissions and then ask the parliament to consider a bill that’s contrary to the recommendations of that report.”

Released late last week, the bill seeks the removal of exemptions from the Sex Discrimination Act that previously enabled religious schools to discriminate against same-sex attracted students.

According to Senator Wong, “nothing in this bill would compromise the ability of churches to continue to uphold their religious teachings, whether in the classroom or through the enforcement of school rules”.

Mark Fowler, adjunct associate professor at Sydney’s Notre Dame Law School, disagrees. “This bill isn’t just about religious schools, it’s about all religious organisation,” Mr Fowler said. “If these exemptions are folded back, the full force of the (Sex Discrimin­ation) Act is pulled into the classroom and the pulpit.”

While the Greens have proposed an amendment seeking to also protect teachers and staff at religious schools, five amendments put by the federal government seek to limit the impacts of the proposed changes to schools.

According to Mr Fowler, the government’s amendments, including permitting a school to impose a publicly notified “condition, requirement or practice” in good faith and where it was in the “best interests of the child” inadvertently introduced “new uncertainties”. He said further clarification was required.

It is understood Labor MPs, including legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus, have been lobbied by religious leaders at the weekend, urging a rethink.

In a letter to Mr Dreyfus, Mentone Baptist Church pastor Murray Campbell described the bill as “an attack on the freedom to teach the values consistent with the ­religious convictions of the schools and beyond, and retain freedom for these organisations to employ staff who both affirm and will teach these values”.

Mr Dreyfus said: “Labor will consider any amendments put ­forward on merit.”