Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced an anti-discrimination legislation called the “Religious Discrimination Bill” in the parliament’s lower house. The bill, which in its current form is the third and final draft, aims to eliminate to discrimination on the ground of religious belief or activities. The Religious Discrimination Bill and associated legislation includes-
- The Religious Discrimination Bill,
- The Religious Discrimination (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2021
- The Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2021
will ensure Australians are protected from discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity.
The following is the highlight as outlined on the Australian PM website.
The idea behind bill as emanates from the website is laws are needed to protect citizens in a tolerant, multicultural, liberal democracy. The Commonwealth has different laws in line with that like- Sex Discrimination Act, a Racial Discrimination Act, a Disability Discrimination Act and an Age Discrimination Act. However, there is no standalone legislation to protect people of religion, or faith, against discrimination. Or indeed for those who choose not to have a faith or religion.
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The introduction of this bill, the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021, will fix this issue.
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This bill is about helping protect what they value as Australians: difference, fairness, choice, charity, and if we are not hurting others, the right to live our lives as we choose to.
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This bill is a protection from the few who seek to marginalise and coerce and silence people of faith because they do not share the same view of the world as them.
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The bill recognises that religious bodies, religious schools must be free to uphold the tenets of their faith and the ethos that makes their school a community.
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It is recognition of the sacrifices parents make to educate their children in accordance with their values and beliefs, and the choices they have made for their children’s education.
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The bill protects the fundamental right for religious schools to hire religious staff to maintain their religious ethos, in accordance with a publicly available policy.
The bill is based on four years of work and is a long-standing commitment of Government. In November of 2017, the Government appointed an Expert Panel into Religious Freedom, chaired by the former father of this House, the Honorable Philip Ruddock, a fine attorney.
The bill as mentioned on the PM website is about creating a bigger space for everyone in national lives – to be themselves – who they believe, what they believe – free of discrimination, coercion and judgment.
This protection will be able to override state or territory laws which seek to interfere with that right.
Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash
