Category: Australian News

I’m proud to rise to speak on this Greens bill, the Discrimination Free Schools Bill, which would remove exemptions from our federal anti-discrimination laws that currently allow religious schools to expel lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender-diverse students and to fire LGBT teachers and staff members simply because of who they are. The Greens have been fighting for years to end these exemptions. They were written into our anti-discrimination laws by the Labor Party and have persisted for far too long. These exemptions must be removed.
Imagine being a student at a religious school and knowing that, if you come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender-diverse or non-binary, you risk being expelled. Imagine the extra stress and burden that that places on you at a time when you’re already feeling particularly vulnerable. The majority of Australians have been unaware of these discriminatory exemptions, but for LGBT+ people working at religious schools, many of them have gone to work each day knowing that, should they come out or let slip something that they shouldn’t, or somehow have their sexuality or their gender identity discovered, they risk being fired and losing their job—just because of who they are. These exemptions have a devastating impact on people’s lives.
Over the past week, so many people have come forward sharing their stories. We’ve heard how some teachers and staff members have been forced back into the closet as soon as they’ve been offered a job.
We’ve heard how they’ve feared holding their partner’s hand in public in case they bump into a colleague or a student who could out them, which would see them lose their job and their livelihood. We also know that LGBT+ people already suffer worse mental health than their heterosexual and cisgendered peers, because of the stress of things like these exemptions, which mean they could be expelled from their school or fired from their workplace.
Rainbow Families Victoria have collected stories of LGBT+ families whose lives are being affected by our current discriminatory laws and have shared them with members and senators. A future stepmother of five children, who’s engaged to her same-sex partner, spoke out this week saying:
I teach at a conservative Catholic primary school. I am constantly afraid that someone will find out and that I will lose my job. I am the main income earner and my employment is incredibly important. I worry that I will lose my job. I worry that my employer won’t give me a good reference if she finds out. This could affect my future employment opportunities. I feel like a criminal and I have done nothing wrong.
For others, these discriminatory exemptions have prevented them from applying for their dream jobs. Tim Hoffmann in my home state of Victoria shared his story with The Age earlier this week:
I have a Masters in Theology and want to teach in religious schools. However, I will never apply. I have absolutely no chance as, though I’m Christian, I am an openly gay man.
It was almost a year ago that the marriage equality postal survey results came in showing that the majority of Australians supported ending the discrimination in our marriage laws and making marriage equality a reality. It was a hard-fought and, for many queer Australians, personally difficult win but it confirmed what we had known for years—that Australian people have opened their hearts and truly embraced their LGBTIQ+ family members, friends and colleagues. For years now the majority of Australians have stood side-by-side with LGBTIQ members of our community in our fight for equality and against discrimination, and on this issue it is no different. A Fairfax poll released this week showed that an overwhelming majority, 74 per cent, of Australians oppose this discrimination. I am so heartened and unsurprised that the vast majority of Australians do not support this legalised discrimination against LGBT Australians.
Our parliament must support the people we represent and fix up these discriminatory laws. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ordered the Ruddock religious freedom review last year as parliament moved to legislate for marriage equality. It was said that he did this as a sop to the right-wing hate-filled conservatives who continue to fight against equality until the very end, but it now seems the Ruddock review has not quite turned out the way they thought. It’s only through the review’s recommendations being leaked that the Australian people have been alerted to these discriminatory exemptions that have sat within our antidiscrimination laws for many years.
This Saturday, voters in the seat of Wentworth will be going to the polls to elect their new representative to replace former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Despite the Liberals comfortably winning this seat in 2016 there is a very real chance the Liberals will lose Wentworth this Saturday, because the people of Wentworth are shocked by what this Liberal government has done—its devastating inaction on climate change, its ongoing torture of people seeking asylum and its interference with and funding cuts to the ABC. In the Liberals’ desperation to cling on in Wentworth we’ve seen them release some shocking policies in the lead-up to this Saturday, yet we are still to see Prime Minister Scott Morrison release the full report of the Ruddock review, because the Liberals are afraid of drawing more attention to their awful policies towards LGBTIQ people. Ruddock is a former Liberal government minister after all. His review quite reasonably can be seen as a reflection of where this government is currently at with regard to allowing and entrenching discrimination.
We have now heard both Labor and the Liberals speak up big over the last week about how we need to make sure that LGBT students are not discriminated against. I was pleased to hear from Minister Cormann that he is now going to move quickly to amend legislation to stop the discrimination against LGBT students. It has been wonderful to see this backflip in the Liberals’ position. It has also been wonderful to see the Labor Party come out to say that their position now is to end discrimination against students and to end discrimination against teachers and other staff. But it has only been because of the intense community pressure that both the Labor and the Liberal parties have changed their positions over the last fortnight.
So, us bringing on this debate today is a very important opportunity. It’s an opportunity to get the government and the Labor opposition on the record about ending this discrimination before the pressure comes off after the vote in Wentworth on Saturday. We heard Minister Cormann say that, yes, he was happy. The government are going to move to end discrimination against students. But when it comes to teachers and other staff, he is silent. Despite the impact that this discrimination is having on teachers and staff at schools, the government remain silent. One can only presume that their intention is to continue to prosecute the case for allowing those discriminations to continue on in our antidiscrimination laws, to allow the continuation of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers and other staff.
We’ve got the Wentworth by-election coming up, and it’s important that the voters of Wentworth know, because they overwhelmingly voted for equality and against discrimination in the marriage equality postal survey last year. Wentworth delivered an 81 per cent yes vote in the postal survey last year. So they deserve to know. Through this debate, they are able to hear where Labor and the Liberals stand before Wentworth goes to the polls this Saturday.
I’m really proud of the bill that we are debating today. It would remove exemptions not just for students at religious schools but for all teachers and staff members as well. And it would not just work to protect students, teachers and staff members on the basis of their sexuality and their sexual orientation but also on their gender identity. Trans and gender diverse people have hardly been mentioned in the public debate over the last fortnight. We must ensure that trans and gender diverse students cannot be expelled because of their gender identity and that trans and gender diverse teachers and other staff members aren’t able to be fired.
Yesterday Prime Minister Morrison said, and I quote: ‘We must act right now. We can deal with this once and for all.’ Well, Mr Prime Minister, you have an opportunity to act right now and remove this unfair discrimination once and for all. To do act now and particularly once and for all means we’ve got to remove discrimination against students but also against teachers and other staff. We need to do it now. Labor and Liberal must turn their words into action and vote for this bill, vote for our Greens bill, to protect students, teachers and other staff members from being expelled or fired by religious schools just because of who they are. So I call on both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to work with us in good faith and support this Greens bill today—no ifs, no buts. Together, we can end this unfair discrimination once and for all.

The Morrison Government and the Labor Party have thrown Australia under the bus in teaming up to pass the dodgy Trans-Pacific Partnership today, giving big corporations more power than elected Governments.
“Labor has abandoned its own party platform, Australian workers, our environment and our sovereignty in rolling over for the Morrison Government to pass the TPP,”  Greens trade spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“This is a deal for big corporations, at the expense of the rights of the community.
“The economic benefit to Australia from the TPP is something between nothing and a rounding error – while the cost to everyday Australians, and our environment, are huge.
“Our environmental policy limbo and action on climate change cannot be addressed without serious risk of multinational corporations suing our nation. If the US decides to re-join the costs of new cancer medications would go through the roof. And, as the deal stands, vulnerable workers from six nations will be put into jobs without offering them first to Australians looking for work.
“We cannot address the TPP’s most devastating failures – ISDS provisions and weak labour market testing – now the deal is done. Labor has squibbed the opportunity to do the right thing, and to hold the Morrison Government to account.
“We must, of course, be a trading nation, but what has happened today is chaining us to trade for the sake of multinational corporations and shareholder profits, rather than engaging in deals that help take our nation forward.”

The deportation of Australia’s chief medical officer from Nauru shows the entire regime of offshore detention is crumbling, Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim says.
“This is a humanitarian emergency, and Scott Morrison has lost control of his detention centres,” Senator McKim said.
“His entire offshore regime is crumbling before our eyes.”
“This deportation confirms that there is no way for Australia’s prisoners on Nauru to receive proper medical support.”
“The Greens’ legislation would require every child detained on Nauru, and their families, to be immediately brought  to Australia for the medical treatment they so desperately need.”
“Every MP – Liberal, Labor and crossbench, must act urgently to resolve this humanitarian crisis by supporting the Bill.”

Australian Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has today tabled more than 238,000 signatures from a petition in the Australian Senate calling on the Australian Government to ban live exports. Senator Faruqi has also called on Prime Minister Morrison to allow her bill to ban the worst aspects of the live sheep trade to be debated in the House of Representatives. Her bill passed the Senate last month.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The Greens having been pushing for an end to all live export because it is inherently cruel. And we aren’t going to let this issue go away.
“I want to thank the petition organiser Lisa Margetts, the hundreds of thousands of people who have signed this petition and the many more who have taken the time to visit, ring or email their MP demanding they take action.
“A vast majority of Australians are against live export because as we see time and time again, it is a cruel trade in misery that sees thousands of animals dying in terrible conditions.
“My bill to ban the worst aspects of the live sheep trade recently passed the Senate and is sitting in the House of Representatives, ready to be voted on. But the Prime Minister is blocking it.
“Even worse, Scott Morrison is approving new shipments during the Northern Summer, exactly the conditions that killed thousands of sheep. Australians have said very clearly they do not want a repeat of the horrific scenes we saw earlier this year,” she concluded.

Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice today said that voting for the Greens’ bill to end exemptions to anti-discrimination laws that allow religious schools to expel LGBT+ students is Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s chance to “act right now” and deal with this issue “once and for all”.
The Greens introduced the Discrimination Free Schools Bill 2018 into the Senate this afternoon.
“Prime Minister Scott Morrison is right: we need to ‘act right now’ to end this unfair discrimination while both parties are feeling the pressure in Wentworth,” Senator Rice said.
“Under intense community pressure, both the Labor and Liberal parties have changed their position and are now talking big about removing discrimination against LGBT+ students and teachers from our laws.
“It’s time they turn their words into action and vote for the Greens’ bill to protect students, teachers and staff members from being expelled or fired by religious schools because of who they are.
“If we delay, we risk Scott Morrison caving into the conservatives and Bill Shorten selling out LGBT+ Australians once again after the Wentworth by-election and missing our opportunity to end this legal discrimination ‘once and for all’.
The Greens took removing these exemptions in anti-discrimination legislation for religious schools and organisations to the 2016 Federal Election.

Today a Greens motion passed the Senate demanding that the Government stop Adani’s pipeline application from being assessed until the federal investigation into their environmental breaches is concluded.
“It would be outrageous for Adani to continue seeking a fresh environmental approval when they’re being investigated for breaching the last one,” said Mining and Resources spokesperson for the Australian Greens, former environmental lawyer Senator Larissa Waters.
“You wouldn’t give an arsonist a fresh box of matches – so why should Adani get a fresh environmental approval when they’ve ignored the conditions of their last one.
“The very least we can expect of this useless government is to apply environmental laws equally to their big business donors.
“Adani’s application for a pipeline for 12.5 billion litres of water to wash their dirty coal is a slap in the face of drought-stricken farmers, whom the Prime Minister claims to be concerned about.
“The Environment Minister has now been sent a clear message by the Senate – stop giving Adani free passes when they’ve shown they can’t be trusted.
“The Environment Minister needs to remember she’s not a mining industry lawyer anymore, no matter how generous the mining companies are to donating to her political party.
“Of course, given the IPCC report this week it’s clear the world’s climate can’t take any new coal, and the Greens will continue to work to stop Adani and instead to transition to clean, job-rich renewable energy.”
Senator Waters’ motion today:  That the Senate—

• a. notes that:
  • i. Adani Mining, as part of the Adani Group, is currently being investigated by the Department of the Environment and Energy for potential breach of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) Carmichael Mine approval conditions, for alleged unlawful clearing of vegetation and sinking of groundwater dewatering bores, and
  • ii. Adani Infrastructure, as part of the Adani Group, has applied for EPBC Act approval for a pipeline to bring water to the mine site for washing of the coal; and
• b. calls on the Minister for the Environment, or her delegate, to not make a decision on the pipeline application until the results of the investigation and subsequent decision on whether to take enforcement action into the alleged mine site breaches has

Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice today said that if Prime Minister Scott Morrison works in good faith with the Greens and Labor, the Parliament could end exemptions this week to Federal anti-discrimination laws that currently allow religious schools to fire LGBT+ teachers and staff because of who they are.
“For years the Greens have fought to remove exemptions to our laws that allow religious schools to expel students and fire teachers and staff members simply because of who they are,” Senator Rice said.
“I am pleased that following pressure from the community and the Greens, Labor today announced that they support the Greens’ position.
“Scott Morrison and the Liberals must now listen to the public and commit to working with the Greens and Labor to change our laws to not only stop students being expelled because of who they are, but to stop LGBT+ teachers and staff members from being sacked because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or gender diverse.
“If Scott Morrison works in good faith with the Greens and Labor, we could end these outdated exemptions by the end of this week.
“Our laws should protect LGBTIQ+ Australians from discrimination, not enshrine the right to discriminate against them.”
The Greens took removing exemptions from federal anti-discrimination law for religious organisations to the 2016 Federal Election.

The cloud that hangs over the independence of the ABC has come no closer to being cleared following the release of the Government’s departmental review today.
“The Department report raises more question than answers about the issues plaguing the ABC. This review is a white-wash that attempts to save the Morrison Government from any scrutiny for the part it has played in the ABC’s leadership turmoil,” Greens media spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Today’s departmental review does not address the issues surrounding political interference between the Government, the ABC board and its leadership last month. This is not simply a tit for tat between the former Chair and Managing Director and must be investigated further.
“Without a Senate Inquiry into the political interference at the ABC,  there is a cloud over our beloved public broadcaster’s future independence.
“The ABC staff, and the Australian people, deserve better than this blatant political interference. For the future of a strong public broadcaster, we need to get this right and the Senate needs to work together.”

Following the release of the report into LGBT+ conversion attempts by La Trobe University, the Human Rights Law Centre and Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice said governments must do more to stop these harmful practices.
“Gay and trans conversion practices are grounded in homophobia and transphobia. Conversion practices still exist in many forms across the country and are often insidiously hidden or dressed up as ‘mentoring’ or ‘counselling’,” Senator Rice said.
“These conversion practices are deeply harmful to LGBT+ people. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer young people already suffer worse mental health than their heterosexual and cisgender peers.
“LGBT+ people don’t need to change, society needs to change. No LGBT+ person should be made to feel shame or fear on account of their sexual or gender identity.
“Governments must do more to end these insidious and harmful practices and provide proper mental health and support services to LGBT+ people and survivors of these conversion attempts.
“The Greens have always stood alongside LGBT+ people in the fight for equality and against discrimination. We will look closely at this report’s recommendations to see what more we can do to support survivors of conversion attempts and put an end to these harmful practices.”

The Australian Greens are calling on the Labor Party to dump its support of the dodgy TPP ahead of the debate in the Senate today.
“The dodgy TPP deal was designed by corporations, for corporations. It is baffling to Australian workers,  and the broader community, that the Labor Party has abandoned its base, and unions, to give this toxic trade deal the green light,” Greens trade spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“Labor has an opportunity to say no to the TPP enabling legislation and back withdrawing from the agreement. Labor is trying to walk both sides of the street on the TPP. We can only address the TPP’s failures of ISDS provisions and weak labour market testing before the deal is ratified. It is not too late for Labor to do the right thing.
“It would be a gross affront to our sovereignty to allow a piece of legislation that gives corporations the right to sue us for, among other things, strengthening environmental law or developing sound policy to arrest climate change in the wake of the UN’s harrowing report.
“The Greens will fight to stop the TPP.  We will use the powers of the Senate to expose just how bad a deal this is and force Labor to decide between Australian sovereignty or rolling over for the Morrison Government.”