Amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act
Parliament will resume in February. With this sitting we will see the hotly contested issue of Religious Freedom and in particular, Religious freedom in relation to the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) amendments, again being put forward and challenged by the major parties.
For your information we have included the following two items for your consideration:
Letter from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, December 2018
The Government's response to the Religious Freedom Review, chaired by the Hon Philip Ruddock was released in December 2018. Later that month the Prime Minister wrote to religious organisations, including the NCCA, to explain the Government's position on the matter of the amendments to the SDA and outline the work they are doing to bring about a satisfactory outcome in defending the rights of religious bodies.
In his letter Prime Minister Scott Morrison says "...there is agreement across the Parliament to remove subsection 38(3) of the SDA. That provision currently permits religious educational institutions to discriminate against students on the basis of their identity. Our Government wishes to repeal that provision. However, the Liberal National Government cannot support the idea that the teachings and practices of temples, synagogues, churches and mosques across Australia should suddenly expose those bodies to lawsuits under the anti-discrimination legislation."
The Prime Minister closes the letter by saying "please rest assured that the Government will continue to defend the right of religious bodies to teach and act in accordance with their faith."
If you would like to find out more information on the Government's plans to protect religious freedom please click the following link to the Government's website - https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Pages/Freedom-of-Religion.aspx
Religious freedom in schools, Fr Frank Brennan
Fr Frank Brennan SJ was a member of the Religious Freedom Review chaired by Philip Ruddock and has penned the following article for Eureka Street, 15 January 2019.
Fr Brennan begins the article by stating that he supports the bill being put forward by Penny Wong.
"When Parliament resumes, one outstanding item of business will be Penny Wong's bill dealing with religious schools' capacity to discriminate against students on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. I support the bill subject to the proviso that religious schools should remain free to teach their doctrine respectfully and reasonably."
to read the entire article click on the Eureka Street article link here
