A LEAKED report that has recommended schools be able to bar gay students from attending has been slammed as “utter crap” and “silly” by politicians and discrimination by human rights campaigners.
However Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed the significance of the leaked report, saying the exemptions were an “existing law”.
The existing federal law does say it is not “unlawful” to discriminate against someone for their sexuality, gender identity or pregnancy “in connection with the provision of education”.
The government has pointed out the recommendations would actually tighten some of the exemptions, compared with the absolute rights enjoyed by some states now.
Former Liberal minister Phillip Ruddock, who chaired the review, said the right of religious schools to turn away gay students and teachers should be enshrined in the Sex Discrimination Act.
“To some school communities, cultivating an environment and ethos which conforms to their religious beliefs is of paramount importance,” the review said.
“To the extent that this can be done in the context of appropriate safeguards for the rights and mental health of the child, the panel accepts their right to select, or preference, students who uphold the religious convictions of that school community.”
“We weren't suggesting that the law should be expanded, we were suggesting it should be contracted to ensure that information was clear and unambiguous to those who were seeking to enrol children,” the report’s lead author, Liberal elder Philip Ruddock, told ABC Radio.
Outspoken independent senator Derryn Hinch will move a motion next week calling for private schools to be stripped of public funding if they exercise their right to exclude gay students or teachers.
Religious schools already have exemptions to discrimination laws that allow them to exclude gay people in several states, including NSW, but not in others like Queensland.
The report is yet to be released to the public and the government is still considering its response.
Among the most significant recommendations is the proposal for a new Religious Discrimination Act, that would make it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their religious beliefs.
That would make beliefs a protected attribute, like gender, race and disability.
