Religious discrimination law must not grant a licence to discriminate
The Human Rights Law Centre today called on the Morrison Government to ensure its proposed Religious Discrimination Bill protects everyone equally.
Adrianne Walters, Legal Director, Human Rights Law Centre, said:
“Our laws should protect people of faith from discrimination, without granting religious organisations new licence to discriminate against others. Women, LGBTIQ+ communities, people with disability, school students and minority faith communities should not fear unfair treatment and harm as a result of the Morrison Government’s proposed law.”
A previous draft of the Bill proposed alarming new rules that would have allowed doctors to elevate their religious views above patient healthcare and given religious organisations unprecedented privileges to discriminate against people of different or no faith in workplaces, schools and public service delivery. It would have authorised harmful statements of belief and overridden existing state and territory anti-discrimination protections.
“The previous draft of the Bill failed to fairly balance rights to equality, non-discrimination and healthcare against the freedom of religion. The Morrison Government should be focusing on promoting respect and inclusion in our laws, and upholding its 2018 commitment to ensure that no child is discriminated against by their school because of who they are.”
The Human Rights Law Centre called on the Government to address the many gaps in legal protections for human rights in Australia, including religion, holistically, by consolidating and improving federal anti-discrimination laws and adopting an Australian Charter of Human Rights, as Victoria, Queensland and the ACT have done.
“Australia is the only western democracy without a Charter of Rights. A Charter would ensure that shared values like freedom, equality, dignity and respect are at the heart of all laws, policies and government services. It would help ensure all laws protect everyone equally,” added Walters.
This week the Human Rights Law Centre joined over 250 organisations in an open letter to the Morrison Government coordinated by Equality Australia.
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Engagement Director, 0419 100 519, michelle.bennett@hrlc.org.au