Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens will be supporting this motion. We'll be supporting this motion not just because it's about children, as Senator Hinch has indicated, but because everyone—every student, every child, every teacher, every educator—should be treated fairly and not be subject to discrimination in Australia. We came together a year ago as a nation to decide collectively that we no longer want to see discrimination in marriage. The Australian community made that point as loudly as they possibly could. They voted for equality, not for more discrimination. Today we read, in recent opinion polls, that Australians are appalled at the prospect of schools being able to expel a child simply because they are coming to terms with their sexuality or gender identity, or indeed that a teacher or educator could lose their job because they happen to be in a same-sex relationship.

We heard, through the debate around the marriage equality plebiscite, how damaging it was to those young people coming to terms with their sexuality, learning about who they are, struggling with it, being confused by it and yet getting messages from the leaders of this country that, somehow, how they feel makes them second-class citizens in this country. This debate continues, through the Ruddock review into religious freedoms, where the views of young people coming to terms with their sexuality and gender identity are once again under the microscope, being challenged. They are being told that, somehow, a school should have the right to expel a student simply for being attracted to someone of the opposite gender or for being somebody who is coming to terms with their own gender identity.

Imagine you are a teacher at a religious school, knowing that you don't have the same protections as your fellow teachers and that, simply because of the relationship that you're in, your job could be on the line. Senator Cormann says that most schools don't want the power to discriminate. Well, that misses the point. To be frank, I don't care whether religious schools want this power or not. They shouldn't have it. There are no circumstances under which a secular society like Australia's should allow religious institutions, schools, the freedom to discriminate against students and teachers.

We Greens have a very proud record on this. In my home state of Victoria several years ago, the Greens moved to abolish this area of discrimination in Victorian law. What happened? The Liberal Party and the Labor Party voted against it, so that now in Victoria you can continue to discriminate on the basis of someone's sexuality or gender identity. It needs to be prevented, in law, across the country. That's why the Greens will be supporting this motion, although we note that Labor's amendment appears to exclude gender identity. We hope that's an oversight, and we'll be seeking to amend the motion when it comes before the chamber.

Of course, the Ruddock review should be released publicly so that we can know what's in it, what the recommendations that have been proposed are and what the rationale is for those recommendations. When we asked the Senate to order the production of that document, Senator Cormann said he wouldn't do it because it was the subject of cabinet deliberations. And then last week we heard from the Prime Minister, who said: 'Actually, cabinet hasn't seen it. It's not before the cabinet and therefore we can't release it publicly.' Which one is it? Who's lying, who's misleading the parliament? Again, we stress this point: we've heard over the last few days the Labor Party and the coalition finally agreeing to what the Greens have been saying for many, many years—that is, no student should be expelled because of who they are. Well, we now call on both sides of politics to end discrimination in law not just for students but for teachers and educators as well.