Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 and acknowledge the contributions of all members of this House on this very important issue. I rise to speak in part as a person of deep faith whose parents have been involved in Christian ministry in one form or another for over 40 years. I also speak as the member for Robertson, on behalf of the many faith based communities and individuals in my electorate. I also speak today as a member of a government who took to the Australian people a commitment that we would deliver this bill. I also want to acknowledge the many voices in this debate, the many perspectives, the thoughtful contributions that have been made over the course of the duration of this debate and the conversations that've been had around Australia, including in my own electorate.

The legislation that's before the House has not been rushed. It's been carefully considered. There's been an extensive public consultation process, including two exposure drafts and two parliamentary committee inquiries. It delivers on the government's commitment to introduce legislation to prohibit religious discrimination and is consistent with the government's response to the recommendations of the religious freedoms review report. It aims to navigate the various freedoms and to balance those with the rights and protections in Australia's antidiscrimination acts, such as the Age Discrimination Act, the Racial Discrimination Act and the Sex Discrimination Act.

I have held a number of local roundtables in my community to be able to hear the various views expressed by members in my community. I have spoken at length with the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, a number of my colleagues, and a common theme that I'm hearing is the recognition of the importance of balancing the rights and freedoms that we as Australians enjoy, and I know that this bill seeks to address that.

Beyond this being an election commitment, over 60 per cent of our population consider themselves to hold a religious faith and I believe we, as a government, do have an obligation to ensure that we protect the freedom of religion.

This bill will affect individuals, organisations or corporations regardless of whether they identify as religious. As I said before, it does implement a number of the key recommendations from the religious freedom review. It aims to recognise the freedom of all people to have and to hold a religion or belief of their choice and to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of this belief.

In my own electorate of Robertson over 65 per cent of residents identified as being of religious faith at the last census. While the vast majority identify as having a Christian faith of one denomination or another, there are other faiths as well in my community, including Jewish and Buddhist. There are over 50 churches or places of worship across our region. There are also a number of well-known and well regarded faith based schools across the Central Coast, including, in my electorate, Green Point Christian College; Central Coast Adventist School; Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic School; St Edward's College; my own former school, St Philip's Christian College and many others. This bill is about protecting the freedoms of these faith based schools and other organisations and of each individual to practise their religion. It will prohibit both direct and indirect discrimination on the ground of religious belief or activity. It will guarantee that certain religious bodies, including schools and charities, can make decisions that are consistent with their values in employment, education and a range of other areas of public life.

I recognise that this is a really important and yet somewhat challenging subject. It is an area of much debate in Christian schools and a common topic of conversation when parents of faith decide how to raise their children. It's also a topic that I understand from a deeply personal perspective, having grown up and attended a Catholic primary school and then a Christian school when my family relocated to the Central Coast. I do feel a great sense of privilege to have had the opportunity to complete my schooling in these environments. I do have some very good memories of that time. In the mid-1980s my parents moved our family from Walcha in rural New South Wales—where, as I said, I'd attended a Catholic primary school—to the Central Coast. It was here on the Central Coast that my family really put down our roots and embedded ourselves in the local community that I now have the honour to represent. My father was the principal of a small Christian community school in Point Clare, which then relocated to Narara. But when I first joined the school was very small with only around 50 to 60 students at the time—in the mid-1980s. It quickly became a tight-knit community for me that offered a wonderful education and also instilled in me deeply personal values, including the importance of giving and investing in others, of respect, of kindness towards one another. It also helped me to really nurture, inside of my own perspectives, what it means to build for tomorrow and what it means to help make a difference in the lives of those around me. And I do believe that my time at the school did help to shape my desire to one day seek to serve the community that I now have the privilege to represent as well as the nation that I live in—the greatest nation in the world.

I graduated in year 12. I remember a deep sense of connection to the school and, as such, I came back and served for a few years as a teacher in that same school. So I feel that I have, to some degree, an empathy and a nuanced understanding of what it means to be a Christian educator in a Christian school, where the intent was to uphold the Christian faith as well as academic excellence in the school community. I can see and understand some of the many concerns that have been raised by other members in relation to some of the provisions contained in this bill, but I do acknowledge that adherence to and the everyday embodiment of the values that were articulated by the school was asked of all of us as educators.

Clause 7 of the bill enables certain religious bodies—including faith based schools, as I've just outlined, such as the one I attended and taught at—to engage in conduct in good faith that a person of the same religion would reasonably consider aligned with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teaching of that religion. This could include giving preference to those of the same religion in employment decisions. This clause enables certain religious bodies to make decisions that are consistent with their beliefs and values in employment, education and other areas of public life covered by the bill.

Clause 9 provides narrower protections for religious hospitals, aged-care facilities, accommodation providers and disability service providers in relation to employment decisions and partnerships. This ensures that these bodies are able to make employment decisions but not discriminate in other areas of public life, such as providing services to the public. Conduct by these organisations must be in adherence with a publicly available policy that outlines when they will rely on provisions, ensuring the position of religious bodies is clear.

This bill provides that simply making a statement of belief in good faith would not be deemed discrimination under any Australian antidiscrimination law. This only applies to statements of religious belief which are made in good faith, and which the individual considers to be in line with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of their religion. This provision does not apply to statements which are malicious or which a reasonable person would consider would threaten, intimidate, harass or vilify a person or a group of persons. Nor does it apply to any statement that a reasonable person would consider counsels, promotes, encourages or urges conduct that would constitute a serious offence. While many are concerned that this legislation will increase discrimination towards members of society, accompanying limitations will help ensure this does not occur. The intention of this bill is not to belittle other people's freedoms, rights or choices, and the bill does not offer freedoms to one group of people at the expense of another. But it is designed to create additional protections for religious people in our community, and close a longstanding gap in the federal antidiscrimination framework.

Australia is a free nation. Our people are free people. We're free to speak, free to move and free to act in accordance with our convictions. We cannot prevent the passage of this bill simply because the religious views of one might offend another. To do so would not only be inconsistent with previous anti-discrimination laws, but mean a large part of our community would be without their fundamental and universal right to respectfully express their religious views.

I've spoken with a number of local pastors and community leaders from across my electorate who do feel strongly in support of this bill. Father Greg from the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay at East Gosford said to me that 'this bill is long overdue and necessary for the future of Australia' and 'the federal government is right in taking it up.' Pastor Martin Duffy from Elim Church Global said, 'The bill is a positive development for the protection and preservation of faith based religious organisations.' Pastor Joel Small of Erina Community Baptist Church said that he'll 'always advocate for the welcoming and inclusion of all people.' He said 'the gospel of Jesus is above all a gospel of love' and he does not see how this bill runs contrary to that value. 'It's not about discrimination. It's about freedom of belief and practice in a respectful way,' he said.

Finally, this bill establishes a Religious Discrimination Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission who will be required to conduct a review of the Religious Discrimination Act within two years of its commencement. This is an important safeguard to ensure that the legislation is working as intended whilst also looking at possible amendments that may enhance its operation and address unintended consequences.

In speaking in support of this bill, I want to say that I am deeply honoured to have the privilege to represent my community. I acknowledge that there are a diversity of views and opinions in my electorate on a whole host of matters right across the Central Coast, but, in relation to this particular bill, I am expressing my support for this legislation. I would like to place on record my thanks to the Prime Minister for supporting this legislation for the protection of all Australians who choose to live their personal lives guided by their faith. This is an incredibly important commitment. It's one that we made to the Australian people at the last election, and I commend the bill to the House.

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