Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

The government were prepared to give leave to Senator Hinch to have this motion and the various amendments that have been foreshadowed dealt with by the Senate swiftly, but we're not prepared to support a suspension motion to disrupt the orderly processes of the Senate. There are appropriate, more efficient avenues available to deal with the proposed motion.

Let me talk to the substantive issue and refer the Senate to a statement that was issued by the Prime Minister on Saturday. As the Prime Minister indicated, this past week there have been numerous misrepresentations of proposals by the Ruddock review in relation to laws regarding discrimination against children attending religious schools. Contrary to what has been reported, the Ruddock review proposes to strengthen the protections against discrimination for students. The Ruddock review actually proposes restrictions to the laws introduced by the previous Labor government which gave religious schools greater ability to expel students when the school considered that that was necessary according to the doctrines of the religion in question. Incidentally, may I pause here to note that the schools themselves have indicated that they don't need, don't want and have not used this particular power contained in Labor's legislation. This misreporting has created unnecessary confusion and anxiety for parents and students alike.

To address this issue, the Prime Minister has been taking action to ensure amendments are introduced as soon as practicable to make it clear that no student of a non-state school should be expelled on the basis of their sexuality. We believe that this view is, indeed, shared across the parliament, and we should use this upcoming sitting fortnight to ensure this matter is addressed appropriately. It is to this end that the Prime Minister asked the Attorney-General to prepare amendments and consult with the opposition. He will write to the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, to invite him to work with the government on a bipartisan basis to provide certainty in this area. The Prime Minister also made clear again that our government does not support expulsion of students on the basis of sexuality from religious non-state schools. As the Prime Minister noted, this is a view which is widely shared by religious schools and communities across the country.

In relation to the Ruddock review more broadly, the government will continue to work through our response through the normal deliberative processes of cabinet. As the Senate would be aware, the cabinet commissioned the Ruddock review. The government received the Ruddock review in May and the Attorney-General, as the responsible minister, has been working through a process which ultimately will lead to the consideration of relevant recommendations by the cabinet. These are sensitive matters and, as I indicated over the weekend, they are matters on which good Australians can have a diversity of genuinely and sincerely held views. It is important that we consider these issues through a proper process to ensure that we achieve an appropriately balanced position. So, on that basis, the government will not be supporting the suspension of standing orders and we will not be supporting the motion.