Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Briefly, in response to some of the notes made just then in that contribution, I want to draw honourable members' attention to the fact that this idea that we would casually legislate to allow conscience, rather than religious belief, to override antidiscrimination laws is a courageous one that I would suggest requires a lot more thought and consultation than the brief week or so that these amendments have existed. Members should know that doing so, allowing conscience rather than religious belief to override antidiscrimination laws, would exceed the exemptions contained in any federal, state or territory antidiscrimination laws currently across Australia. That's not a trifling thing, Deputy Speaker and honourable members. It's not a mere amendment. This would be a substantial change to the architecture of Australia's antidiscrimination laws, which are currently well balanced. These amendments and this proposal deserve much more careful consideration.

See this speech in context