The Religious Freedom Bill has been suspended indefinitely. Let’s hope it never sees the light of day.
This has been a big blow to Scott Morrison. It has disappointed conservatives and torn the Liberal National Party (LNP) apart.
The Religious Discrimination Bill has collapsed because it’s true intent has been exposed.
The ‘Folau clause’
This was the first victim of the Religious Discrimination Bill’s collapse.
Israel Folau was a Rugby Union champion who was sacked in 2019 after he repeatedly defied Rugby AustralIa by posting anti – LGBTQ posts on social media.
The last offending post was a paraphrase of modern translations of 1 Corinthians 6:9.
Folau threatened to sue Rugby Australia for religious discrimination. The case was settled outside court and Rugby Australia paid an undisclosed settlement to Folau.
The ‘Folau clause’ would have prevented employees being sacked under similar circumstances.
Citipointe Christian College contract controversy
About a month ago, Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane came under fire after their enrolment contract that was leaked.
The contract denied the identities of trans and non – binary people. They also listed homosexuality as a sin among bestiality and paedophilia.
This caused fear for LGBTQ+ students. School principal, Brian Melhuran denied that students have been expelled for being LGBTQ+.
A former Citipointe Christian College student also alleged that students were shown a video of a person being beheaded in class as a deterrent to being LGBTQ+. Staff allegedly told students that’s what will happen in Hell.
The backlash against the school has been fierce. A change.org petition calling for a revocation of the contract gained over 150,000 signatures. In contrast, an Australian Christian Lobby petition defending the school has around 41,000 signatures.
As a result, Mulheran finally buckled and the contract was withdrawn.
Citipointe Christian students and Mulheran reported being harassed and receiving sdeath threats. This is NOT OK and shame on those who participate in that behaviour.
Citipointe fiasco causes panic and backflips
Scott Morrison has vowed to close existing loopholes in the Sex Discrimination Acts in numerous States. Currently, religious schools and institutions are exempt from discrimination laws against LGBTQ+ people.
Scott Morrison vowed to protect lesbian and gay students from expulsion from schools.
However, trans, non – binary people and their advocates were left disappointed. Trans and non – binary students were not granted the same protection.
Religious Discrimination Bill was always an anti – LGBTQ Bill
If something positive came out of Citipointe Christian College fiasco, it’s that the cat is out of the bag.
If the Religious Discrimination Bill, people like Brian Mulheran would have been emboldened.
Luckily, enough people saw through the spin. People were willing to stand up against bigotry. And as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I myself, I want to thank all those who stood up and protected vulnerable people.
Let’s never allow legislation that gives bigotry a foothold. We need to keep up the fight.
Do you agree disagree? Was the Religious Discrimination Act just an excuse to discriminate? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. below.
