Protect our faith, multicultural voters warn Bill Shorten

Bill Shorten is on a ‘collision course’ with multicultural communities unless he embraces stronger faith-based protections.

Moussa Seecy with wife Tina, son Marcus, 18, and daughters Marian, 11, and Mariah, 9, at home in Sydney. Picture: John Feder

Bill Shorten is on a “collision course” with multicultural communities in western Sydney unless he embraces stronger faith-based protections, after Scott Morrison vowed to take a religious discrimination act to next year’s election.

The Opposition Leader drew fire yesterday after suggesting religious freedoms were not a significant concern for Australians, listing housing affordability, aged care, health, education, skills and electricity prices as priorities more frequently raised with him.

“I could not say to you that religion is in the top 100 issues that get raised with me. But nonetheless I accept for some people it is a very important matter,” he said. “It is a principle which the Labor Party supports.”

Moussa Seecy — a 51-year-old Maronite Christian who lives in the marginal western Sydney seat of Lindsay — told The Australian yesterday the most important thing in his life was faith.

“The No 1 priority for me is to do God’s will,” Mr Seecy said. “You are a better father, a better husband and a better person. It has a positive impact on the community. If I am not able to practise my faith and I go downhill with my morals, the community suffers.”

Mr Seecy — a father of five of Lebanese heritage — said he was a member of the Christian Democrats and campaigned against same-sex marriage in the postal plebiscite.

The building industry worker also supported Australian Conservatives candidate Joram Richa — a Catholic Maronite — in last year’s Bennelong by-election.

“People are already telling me in our community that they will not support Labor because of their views about religious freedom,” he said, adding that the Assyrian-Chaldean community in Chris Bowen’s western Sydney electorate of McMahon was disillusioned with the ALP’s position.

Mr Bowen and other Labor frontbenchers including Tony Burke, Jason Clare and Ed Husic — whose ethnically diverse electorates voted against same-sex marriage — did not comment when approached by The Australian yesterday.

Labor MP Chris Hayes, who holds the western Sydney seat of Fowler, which also voted against same-sex marriage, said he supported a process that would ­address the concerns of people of faith.

Australian Christian Lobby managing director Martyn Iles — who represents more than 135,000 supporters — yesterday cautioned Labor over religious freedoms. He said Australian families were concerned about marriage, gender and sexuality, but did not often raise their concerns with politicians.

Mr Iles noted that nine of the 12 western Sydney seats that voted No in last year’s same-sex marriage vote were held by Labor, ­arguing that many communities were more motivated by “family and faith policy” than “social ­services policy”.

“Firstly, people may not naturally raise the issue because they don’t see politicians as religious figures. They raise those issues with their churches,” Mr Iles said.

“Secondly, the fact that he hasn’t heard about it doesn’t mean that, for many Australians, the cost of exercising their faith has not been very real and very serious. One of the things that’s happened in recent years is that the social policy direction of the major parties has in some cases drifted from the social beliefs of some of their constituents.”

GetUp’s human rights campaigns director, Shen Narayanasamy, yesterday warned the announcement of a religious discrimination act was “an attempt to divide religious and LGBT communities” and “play our rights off against each other”.

“What we’ve seen is the government announce an election policy on religious discrimination — turning this issue into an ­electoral battleground,” she said. However, Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri welcomed a religious discrimination act as a “very good idea” ­because it would “find a balance where everybody feels protected”.

“There are quite a few people within migrant and multicultural communities who hold religion as a very important part of their life.

“Showing them that they are protected is a very good thing.”

Mr Morrison yesterday argued that a religious discrimination act would help buttress diversity.

“The protection of religious freedoms is … synonymous with our identity,” the Prime Minister said. “And it’s particularly so and relevant in Australia, because in our incredibly diverse multicultural society, 70 per cent of Australians identify as having a particular religious belief.

“If you support a multicultural Australia, then you’ll be a supporter of religious freedoms.”

Mr Shorten said Labor would examine any government legislation protecting people of faith, but warned against having the ­debate spill over into the election campaign. “I am concerned if the government or elements of the government … have some sort of political desire to make religion a political football in the next election,” he said. “I think Australians don’t want to see religion as an election issue.”

The Australian revealed yesterday the government would defer consideration of an attempt to balance the rights of religious schools with the rights of gay students to the Australian Law Reform Commission after the major parties failed to reach agreement in the final week of parliament.

The president of the National Secular Lobby, Paul Monk, said the decision to prioritise a ­religious discrimination act while “handballing the crucial issue of student protection to the ALRC” was a sign the government was “determined to prioritise the ­religious Right above all else”.