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

I rise to speak on the Discrimination Free Schools Bill 2018. Many Australians were horrified to learn that schools across Australia had the power to discriminate, expel and fire students and teachers simply on the basis of who they are, simply on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity. Australians were horrified to learn through the Ruddock review, a review that was intended to increase discrimination, that this discrimination existed in laws right across the country. We heard the Prime Minister say, during the course of that national debate, that he would introduce legislation to ensure that this area of discrimination in law would be removed so that no child is discriminated against, so that no student is expelled for simply being who they are. We want to give force to those words because we're yet to see any action from the government with regard to legislation that would make sure that no child and no teacher spends another day without these basic protections that should be afforded to them.

We have to accept that this discrimination has a real and harmful impact on many people right across the country. Firstly, we know that it has a direct and material impact, because this discrimination does happen and these laws are enforced by some religious schools and educational facilities. Just this week we heard the story of Craig Campbell, a teacher in Western Australia who lost his job after telling his school he was in a same-sex relationship. Craig was a practising Christian and had been teaching at the school for two years. The school mentioned nothing about his performance as an educator. It was a straightforward case of discrimination. He was sacked because he was gay. Those actions have no place in modern Australia. They have no place in any decent or civilised modern democracy.

In the lead-up to the Wentworth by-election, when there is a level of engagement on this and many other issues, it is one of those rare moments that political parties are listening to the Australian community about what their wants and desires are for this country—for the sort of community that their children grow up in, for the sort of environment that they live in, for what their workplaces look like. Today, through this debate, we've got the opportunity to end discrimination against those kids and, indeed, teachers who right now are struggling with their gender identity or sexuality. If this bill is passed, we will achieve something significant for all of those people. It's not just about where these laws have been enacted and enforced by individual schools. It is about the message that simply the existence of these laws sends, particularly to young people who are coming to terms with their own sexuality and hearing from their communities that the way they feel is somehow wrong, that it's morally repugnant. That's what these laws do; they send that message.

Only recently we went through a national debate on the marriage equality plebiscite, where the very worth of these young people was questioned. Their worth was questioned in a national debate so that they were made to feel somehow abnormal—that their rights, the way they felt, somehow did not fit the values we expect from members of our community. Well, that's got to stop, and that's what this bill will do. It will send a very strong statement whereby once again we will come together as a community and say that discrimination of this sort has no place in modern Australia.

The Prime Minister now has an opportunity to support this legislation and give force to the words he uttered only a few days ago, when he said he didn't support this sort of discrimination. But let's be very clear about this. We need to end discrimination not just for young people but for people in the workplace. We won't accept changes that simply deal with the issue of young students. It must be wholesale reform that also addresses the issue of discrimination directed at teachers. If we pass these changes today, it means that the Sex Discrimination Act will be amended once and for all across the nation to ensure that unfair exemptions against students, teachers and indeed contractors in religious schools would no longer exist.

Many people across the community haven't been aware that this is an issue that obviously impacts on the LGBTIQ+ community. They haven't been aware of it because it's not something that we as a nation have had the courage to discuss. Well, that's what we're doing today, right now. As a result of the Ruddock review, the whole nation is aware of these discriminatory exemptions, and the reality is that most people object. It is heartwarming to know the outrage that so many decent Australians felt when they became aware of this legislation. People right across the country reacted with anger at the thought that a teacher given the privilege of educating young children would be sacked simply because of the sort of relationship that they're in.

The government knew that the community would be appalled to learn this. They knew, given the result of the marriage plebiscite, that there would be that sort of response. They knew that Australians would be angered that LGBTIQ teachers could be sacked not because of their performance but because of who they are, because of their identity. They know because there's a by-election around the corner and they're hearing it from the people of Wentworth. But, rather than take action, they are simply mouthing empty promises. They've refused to put legislation before this parliament.

We know that the only reason that this legislation has been met with the reaction it has been met with is the Ruddock review and the coverage that it got. The government tried to bury that report. We had the spectacle where the Leader of the Government in the Senate refused to provide that report so that there could be some transparency and so that we knew the full impact of discrimination across a whole range of areas in law. He refused to provide that material to the Senate, citing cabinet confidentiality. The Prime Minister belled the cat only a few days later when he made it clear that, indeed, the cabinet had not considered the Ruddock review, so the basis for denying that report to the Australian community was proven to be a falsehood.

That's why we're concerned when the Prime Minister says, 'We're going to move to change discrimination in law,' on the eve of a by-election, without presenting legislation. That's why we're sceptical, and that's why it's so important that we have this debate today and that we hear from the Leader of the Government in the Senate, from members of the Morrison cabinet and from senior members of the government on the record that they are going to move to end discrimination against students and against teachers.

Of course, this bill doesn't say that religion doesn't matter. Of course, it matters to many, many Australians. It is central to the lives of many Australians, and we respect their right to practise their religion in the way that they see fit. Indeed, there are still provisions in this bill which exempt bodies established purely for religious purposes who are responsible for the ordainment of priests, ministers of religion or members of any religious order. We respect the freedom of those institutions to be able to educate those practitioners in a way that is consistent with their faith. We believe in the right to freedom of religion, but that freedom is not the freedom to discriminate. It's not the freedom to say to a young person, 'You are not valued in the same way as somebody else who might not express their sexuality or gender identity in the way that you do.'

We've stood by many communities in the name of equality and fairness, be they cultural, religious or LGBTIQ+ communities. Why? Because it's the right thing to do and because we have integrity. But a party that strategically suppresses documents so that discrimination, in law, continues to remain protected is not a party that has integrity. A party that promises to do one thing before an election but doesn't provide a commitment to this chamber that it will do it after the election is not a party with integrity.

It is critical that this bill be debated today and over the course of the next two days. It is the pressure of a by-election that is forcing this government to act. These are rare moments, when parties are too busy focusing on themselves, too busy settling old scores, too busy seeking vengeance and payback and too busy settling vendettas. This is one of those rare moments where a party with a very slim majority has got an ear out to what the electorate is saying. That's an opportunity to ensure that we get this legislation passed and that we hear very clearly from senior members of the government that they will end all forms of discrimination. We need action now. We need politicians from all persuasions to stand for what is right and what is decent.

I have to say that the support of the Labor Party and crossbench to ensure we have this debate is something that we appreciate, and we want to put on the record our thanks to members of the Labor Party and the crossbench for ensuring this Greens bill is debated at a moment when people right around the country are listening and when the opportunity for change is here. I say to you that if you stand for decency, if you stand for respect and if you stand for fairness and equality, then you should support this legislation