'Harm bar' set too high: Uniting Church warns on religious discrimination laws

The Uniting Church has warned the Morrison government's religious discrimination bill gives too many freedoms to churches over minority groups, arguing it sets the "harm bar" too high before statements of religious belief would be deemed unlawful.

But in a sign of the difficult path the Coalition is navigating in the religious discrimination debate, other major religious bodies, such as the Sydney Anglican Church Diocese and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, are pressuring the government to increase provisions for religious Australians.

Attorney-General Christian Porter released the draft religious discrimination bill in August. Credit: Ben Rushton

Public submissions on the federal government's religious discrimination bill closed on Wednesday. On Thursday, Attorney-General Christian Porter said the "next step" was to consider the submissions "side by side" and keep consulting with stakeholders.

He has previously said he expected to introduce the bill to Parliament in October, with a vote by the end of the year. Asked about the timeline on Thursday, he said: "In intending that the bill will be introduced this year, it should also be noted that the bill will inevitably be subject to further scrutiny through Senate committee inquiries as it goes through the Parliament."

In its submission, the Uniting Church's national council warned the draft bill "leans too heavily in favour of religious freedom over other rights" and urged the government to delete a section that says a "statement of belief does not constitute discrimination for the purposes of any anti-discrimination law".

"We are concerned that this ... legitimises virtually any opinion, however hurtful or harmful, as long as a case can be made that it is a statement of belief," the Uniting Church said, explaining this could expose women, the LGBTIQ community, single parents, people in de facto relationships, divorced people and those with disabilities to comments that would otherwise be considered discriminatory.

The draft bill, in section 41, includes the safeguard that statements of religious belief are not considered lawful if they are "malicious" or likely to "harass, vilify or incite hatred or violence". But the Uniting Church argued the "harm bar" here was set too high.

In its submission on the bill, the Anglican Diocese of Sydney said there were a number of problems that were "so serious" it could not support the passage of the current bill. These included concerns about the vilification provision in section 41. Bishop Michael Stead said the term "vilify" was undefined in the bill and therefore made statements of religious belief "vulnerable".

The Sydney Diocese is also concerned about how "religious bodies" that will be afforded protections in the bill are defined. In the draft laws, religious bodies do not include institutions that "engage solely or primarily in commercial activities". Bishop Stead described this as "overreach" and said it would effectively prevent some religious institutions, such as religious hospitals or aged care homes, from pursuing their religious purpose.

The draft bill, released in late August, is designed to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religious belief. While many groups welcome the concept, the fine print has attracted widespread and diverse criticism from many major religious bodies, LGBTIQ advocates, the Australian Human Rights Commission and businesses.

On Thursday, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils called on the government to create stronger protections for religious Australians, arguing there should be a "positive right" to religious freedom rather than just protection against religious discrimination.

"Like any topical issue before the Parliament, there are a variety of views on the religious discrimination bill and this is reflected in the written submissions we’ve received to date," Mr Porter said.

He added he had conducted nine face-to-face roundtable meetings with more than 90 representatives from church and community groups since the draft bill was released.