Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I will just make a couple of brief remarks on the Australian Law Reform Commission report. I read the report over the weekend and, I've got to say, it fundamentally misses the point, which is that people of faith cannot in any way separate their faith from who they actually are. For a person of faith, their activities are not some adjunct to their experiences. They are not just activities that they undertake from time to time. Maybe they're a regular church attendant. Maybe they only celebrate Easter, Christmas, Ramadan or whatever it might be. Their faith is who they are. There's an intrinsic connection to their life. This report fundamentally smacks people's faith in their faces.

I am bitterly disappointed at the way that the ALRC have engaged. They did have an extensive consultation period. They connected with people and received many, many submissions, but they failed to acknowledge the substance of those submissions. I've heard from hundreds of people over the weekend—people of faith, be it Christian, Muslim or Jewish people—who consider their faith to be part of who they are. They are bitterly disappointed that their views have not been fundamentally understood at best but really have been ignored at worst. And I think it's a great shame.

But bigger than that is the fact that the government is refusing to release its response. All that we've really seen from the government so far is that this is a report to government, not from government. We know that there's draft legislation, because our shadow minister has been able to see it, but what about the rest of us? What about the rest of the country? How come they can't see this legislation? And they call that engagement with the opposition, seeking bipartisan support. I've got to say that it is a real low blow to anyone of faith in this country that you won't consider the views of people of faith in this country. This legislation should be out there for all of us to see and should be subject to an inquiry of this Senate so that people, whether they've got faith or not, are able to engage in the process and provide feedback.

The audacity of this Prime Minister to think that they can deal with just a few of us and ram this through the parliament without giving the rest of us—and, indeed, the rest of the country—the opportunity to look at it shows and tells us everything that we need to know about this government. I am ashamed and I am deeply disappointed that this is where we've got to. I call on the Prime Minister to reject the recommendations of this review, to not allow those recommendations to ever see the light of day in this parliament and in this country, but have the guts and release your legislation so we can see what your real agenda is. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.