Prime minister Scott Morrison says he does not believe an enrolled gay student should ever be kicked out of a religious school because of their sexuality, as he continues his defence of the leaked Ruddock review.
The review, commissioned by the Turnbull government in the midst of the same-sex marriage debate, has not been released to the public in full.
But on Friday, a list of its 20 recommendations were leaked and published in the Sydney Morning Herald.
It recommends “amendments” to the federal Sexual Discrimination Act to ensure all religious schools “can discriminate” against both students and staff “on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status”.
The government has pointed out the recommendations would actually tighten some of the exemptions, compared with the absolute rights enjoyed by some states now.
It would no longer be legal to discriminate based on pregnancy, and schools would be forced to publish their hiring policy.
The Labor leader criticised the process for being "cloaked in secrecy".
"Every child is entitled to human dignity. We shouldn't even be having this debate," Mr Shorten said.
