Anti-Discrimination commissioner speaks out as reforms introduced to NT parliament

The NT's anti-discrimination watchdog warns new reforms will erode Territorians rights, while the CLP says it is 'restoring balance' between protections and free speech.

NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has introduced changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act, changing the definition of vilification and reintroducing an exception for religious schools to hire on the basis of faith. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The Northern Territory anti-discrimination watchdog has raised concerns about changes to hate speech and religious discrimination laws, warning the reforms undermine the very purpose of the protections.

On Wednesday, NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby introduced the Anti-Discrimination Amendment Bill, reinstating an exception for religious schools to hire on the basis of faith and removing the word “offence” from vilification protections.

The proposed rewording means discriminatory conduct would have to“incite hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule” to be considered hate speech.

Ms Boothby said the changes aimed to strike the balance betweensafeguarding freedom of speech, religion, and belief and protecting Territorians from harm.

“We want Territorians to feel safe, and also free to speak their mind without fear,” she said.

It comes three years after the previous Labor government overhauled the Anti-Discrimination Act, which the CLP said blurred the linebetween unlawful discrimination and everyday conversation.

Australian Association of Christian Schools chief executive Vanessa Cheng. Pic: Supplied.

The amendments also allow schools to discriminate when hiring, including for non-faith based roles such as math teachers, cleaners or admin staff.

Ms Boothby confirmed there had been no complaints from Territory schools in relation to the current hiring laws, but reforms allowed for schools “to be really confident” in choosing teachers based on faith.

Australian Association of Christian Schools chief executive Vanessa Cheng welcomed the reforms, as currently the Territory is the only place in Australia with “no legal protections for religious schools to employ people of the same faith”.

“We applaud the CLP government for taking this important step to fulfil their election commitment and restore fundamental human freedoms,” she said.

In contrast, the Independent Education Union said the changes did not reflect “modern community values” and it was evident religious schools had the “capacity and resilience to continue to operate in the absence of discrimination exemptions”.

Jeswynn Yogaratnam.

NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Jeswynn Yogaratnam also spoke out against moves to water down current laws.

“The Commission is disappointed, but not surprised, that the government has chosen to roll back protections that took decades to build,” he said.

“These amendments do not restore balance, they strip away rights and undermine the very purpose of anti-discrimination law – equality of opportunity.”

Mr Yogaratnam said there was a lot of misinformation about the wording of the outgoing “offence” hate speech clause, and the proposed wording imposed a “nearly unattainable” threshold.

“The threshold is already high, and there is nothing vague about the current wording. The language is clear, carefully developed and tested language drawn directly from federal law,” he said.

Mr Yogaratnam also denied Ms Boothby’s claims reforms would ease resource pressures on his office.

“Even if (that were true), this is not a valid reason to erode rights rather than providing proper resourcing,” he said.

The Anti-Discrimination Commission has had 65 separate respondents lodge complaints since the “offence” clause was introduced.

Of those, Mr Yogaratnam said “most, if not all” had other prohibited conduct allegations attached, meaning they would have been assessed regardless of the “offence” clause being in place.

Originally published as Anti-Discrimination commissioner speaks out as reforms introduced to NT parliament