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Non-government schools will not be allowed to expel gay students based on their sexuality under new laws that will be introduced by the Morrison government.
Key points:
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his opinion was widely shared by schools and religious communities
- Opposition Leader Bill Shorten offered bipartisan support to amend the Sex Discrimination Act.
- The government decided to fix the problem a week after the Wentworth by-election.
After days of controversy over the leaked recommendations of a review of religious protections, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the Coalition would legislate to protect children from discrimination.
"Our government does not support the expulsion of students from non-public religious schools on the basis of their sexuality," Morrison said.
"I also know that this view is widely shared by religious schools and communities across the country."
The prime minister said that in order to combat "anxiety" and "confusion", he is taking steps to have the amendments tabled as soon as possible to make it clear that no students are dying. A non-public school should be expelled because of his sexuality.
"I think this view is shared by Parliament and we should use the next fortnight to ensure that this issue is addressed," he added.
After the homosexual marriage debate last year, the Coalition asked Philip Ruddock, a Liberal Party veteran, to review religious protections to appease those who feared that marriage changes would restrict the ability of individuals to practice their religion.
Disclosed articles from the Commonwealth magazine were revealed in the media during the week and fueled the debate over state laws that give religious schools the power to reject gay students.
Some members of the government feared that the issue could compromise the Liberal Party's prospects of holding the socially progressive headquarters of Wentworth, owned by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
"Any change in this area should always take into account the best interests of the child," Morrison said.
"Given recent reporting errors, we have the opportunity to propose a simple amendment to end the confusion."
Mr. Morrison's changes will have the support of the Labor Party, after opposition leader Bill Shorten wrote to the Prime Minister on Friday.
Mr. Shorten's letter offers the support of the Labor Party in passing a bill to amend the Sex Discrimination Act, 1984 to remove the derogations currently in place. religious schools to discriminate against children because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
"These exemptions are anachronistic and deny the dignity of children at all times," Shorten wrote.
Mr Shorten also urged the Prime Minister to publish the full report on religious freedom.
Expanding Teacher Changes: The Greens
Greens MP, Adam Bandt, welcomed the government's decision but said it should go further and include teachers and school staff.
"Now, it's good to fill those gaps with regard to students … and I think everyone in the country would agree with that, but I think that should also apply people who work in schools, "he said.
Mr. Morrison did not rule out broader initiatives, but argued that his priority was discrimination against students.
"Let's just fix that and I'm sure there are a lot of other issues to discuss and we can do it in a very civilized way," he said.
Labor Party Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek said she was listening carefully to see if broader legislative changes should be made.
"The question about teachers and other school staff was actually raised," said Plibersek.
Mark Spencer of Christian Schools Australia welcomed the changes made to the legislation concerning students, but said that schools should retain the right to choose a staff reflecting the faith of the school.
"For us, Christian schools, that's absolutely essential," Spencer said.
The Wentworth by-election is not a factor
The announcement of the prime minister comes a week before the by-election of the former Wentworth headquarters, Malcolm Turnbull.
Wentworth voted nearly 81 percent in favor of same-sex marriage at last year's plebiscite, but Morrison said the upcoming by-election was not a factor in his decision to change the laws on discrimination.
"It has nothing to do with it," he said.
Mr Shorten said that he did not care if Wentworth had been a motivator for the prime minister.
"Sometimes the motives for getting the right answer are not as important as getting the right answer," Shorten said.
Topics:
Government and politics,
federal government,
gay and lesbian,
religion and beliefs,
community and society,
discrimination,
schools
education,
Australia
First posted
