The five Liberal MPs who crossed the floor

The broad church of the Liberal Party was tested this week as five MPs crossed the floor and another threatened to do so in the Senate to strengthen protections for gay and transgender students under the federal government’s contentious suite of religious discrimination bills.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Bridget Archer, Trent Zimmerman, Fiona Martin, Katie Allen and Dave Sharma joined Labor and crossbenchers to back changes to the Sex Discrimination Act that removed some exemptions for religious schools. Ms Archer also backed a number of amendments Labor attempted to make to the Religious Discrimination Act.

The five MPs who crossed the floor - Fiona Martin, Bridget Archer, Trent Zimmerman, Katie Allen and Dave Sharma.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government later shelved plans to push the legislation through the Senate after NSW senator Andrew Bragg made it clear he would also cross the floor if necessary to keep the protections for transgender students.

Ms Archer, who holds the Coalition’s most marginal seat of Bass in northern Tasmania, told Federal Parliament she was “horrified” when she saw the draft legislation because it “may risk lives”.

“For a trans child, the impact of this legislation, which leaves them open to bullying, exclusion, sacking or expulsion, could lead to higher rates of self-harm and poor mental health, and why on earth would we want to inflict that on anyone?” she said.

She has previously shown she is willing to oppose the government on things she believes will harm her community or are important for the country. At the end of last year, Ms Archer voted with Labor and crossbenchers to bring on debate on a Commonwealth integrity commission and in 2020 she spoke out against the potential expansion of cashless welfare cards into Tasmania.

Mr Zimmerman, the member for North Sydney, waved a rainbow flag as he told Parliament he would “part with my party” and support amendments to the bills.

The leading moderate Liberal abstained from voting for the Religious Discrimination Bill itself on the basis it was a “bad signal” to send to the LGBTIQ community. He ultimately voted for the separate piece of legislation that altered the Sex Discrimination Act.

“I can honestly say this has been one of the most difficult weeks of my time in Parliament,” he said, his voice cracking. “I could not live with myself if I did not seek to address those issues.

“I cannot stand by and do anything that makes their situation more difficult, which sends anything other than a message from this Parliament, which most receive in their schools, but sadly some don’t, that we want to embrace you, we want to love you, we want to support you, we want to nurture you.”

Liberal MPs Trent Zimmerman, Dr Fiona Martin, Dr Katie Allen and Bridget Archer, in the House of Representatives as it resumed sitting on Thursday morning.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Before she entered Parliament in the Sydney seat of Reid in 2019, Dr Martin worked as a child psychologist and academic researcher. She crossed the floor on the basis this bill risked more hurt for already vulnerable students.

“No one should be discriminated against because of their faith. Equally, no one should be discriminated against because of their sexuality or gender identity – especially not vulnerable students,” she said after the votes.

“As a psychologist, I’ve treated vulnerable young people for depression and suicidal ideation. The consequences of discrimination are real, and no young person should face them because of who they are.”

Dr Allen also worked with vulnerable children, as a paediatrician, before turning to politics. The Victorian MP won the Melbourne seat of Higgins in 2019.

Earlier this week, Ms Allen gave conditional support for the legislation but warned she was prepared to cross the floor if protections for students and teachers were not guaranteed.

The promise to protect gay students from discrimination was first made in 2018 during Mr Sharma’s campaign in the Wentworth by-election (he lost that race but won the seat in the 2019 general poll).

This week, the former diplomat crossed the floor after deciding transgender students were not safe from expulsion and gay teachers were not properly protected under the proposed legislation.

“It’s fair to say I’ve got concerns and reservations about this bill but it’s also fair to say that I appreciate that it was an election commitment, it was an election commitment that I ran on and that there are good parts in the bill,” he said.

Senator Bragg has long spoken out on LGBTQI issues and led the “Liberals and Nationals for Yes” campaign during the same-sex marriage plebiscite.

He said on Thursday people should always be open to improving legislation.

“I remain concerned that students and teachers can be excluded from religious schools based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” he said. “This is wrong in a modern society and it should be fixed.”

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