Religious leaders and schools have written to the prime minister saying it would be a “betrayal of trust” if he worked with the Greens to pass religious discrimination legislation.
The government has yet to introduce legislation to parliament that tackles religious reform after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially insisted on bipartisan support from the Coalition to pass the bill.
“I think Australians don’t want to see the culture wars and the division out there. I want this to be an opportunity for unity going forward and that’s why we’ve provided the legislation to the opposition,” Albanese said on March 22.
However, in recent days this stance seemed to wane when Albanese hinted the government would be willing to reach an agreement with the Greens in order to enact the recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission.
"If the Greens are willing to support the rights of people to practice their faith, then that would be a way forward," Albanese told Labor colleagues on Tuesday last week.
In a landmark report, the commission called for religious schools to lose their unfettered right to dismiss teachers and expel students over questions of sexuality or gender identity.
“The overall effect of recommendation 1 would be to narrow the circumstances in which it would be lawful to discriminate against students or staff at religious educational institutions on SDA (Sexual Discrimination Act) grounds,” the commission’s report says.
The report found abolishing the clause was justified because it would maximise human rights, while only having a limited impact on people’s ability to practise religion.
A letter signed by various religious groups, including the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australian Christian Churches, and the Australian Jewish Organisation, called for the PM to continue looking for a bipartisan approach.
"If the government chooses to abandon attempts at bipartisanship and work with the Greens, it will be interpreted by our faith communities as a betrayal of trust," the letter said.
Christian Schools Australia, Australian Association of Christian Schools and Associated Christian Schools labelled the commission’s recommendations “a direct attack on faith and freedom of belief in Australia”.
If the reforms are adopted, they said, “Christian education as we know it will cease to exist”. Australian Association of Christian Schools executive officer Vanessa Cheng called the reform a line-in-the-sand moment for people of faith across Australia.
“If these [commision’s] recommendations are adopted, it means the government can tell Christian schools who we can employ, what we can believe and teach,” she said.
The commission’s report recommends that schools should still have the right to build a religious community and can preference applicants who have the same religion when they hire staff, as long as it's done in good faith.
Greens justice spokesperson David Shoebridge said the numbers in parliament were clear, and that together with independent senators like David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe, the bill could be passed.
"The Greens want to work with the government to ensure that LGBTIAQ+ people are safe from discrimination, and protections against religious vilification are strengthened as well," he said.
"It's important that no one is dogmatic about this — what is important is protecting LGBTIAQ+ people and those of faith from discrimination.”
Eliot Hastie is a senior news producer at Channel Ten, reporting on a range of general stories, specialising in foreign affairs and LGBTQ+ stories. He’s also a reporter for Gay Sydney News, where he covers LGBTQIA+ culture, politics and nightlife. He previously helped to build and launch ausbiz, Australia's only live streaming finance news channel, where he was also an executive producer and host. He has previously worked as a finance and business journalist for publications including Fintech Business, Real Estate Business and other Momentum Media titles. Eliot holds a journalism degree from the University of Westminster and brings experience in both broadcast and digital reporting. Contact Eliot: [email protected]
