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Attorney-General Michaelia Cash says the religious discrimination bill should be considered separately from exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act which allow schools to sack staff and expel students on the basis of sexuality.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“This is a bill that,because it provides sensible protections,should be able to be supported by everybody,” Senator Cash told the forum on Wednesday.

A key component of the billconfirms the right of church schools to make someone’s personal faith a factor in hiring decisions,which has revived a debate over whether schools should retain the right under s38(3) of Sex Discrimination Act to sack or expel gay staff and students.

Asked about a push by moderate Liberal MPs for the Sex Discrimination Act to be amended to remove this right ahead of any vote on the bill,Senator Cash said the issue was “squarely” within the remit of the Australian Law Reform Commission.

The ALRC has been tasked with reviewing the issue and reporting back to the government 12 months after the passage of the religious discrimination bill.

“The appropriate avenues to look at exemptions to the Sex Discrimination Act is through the ALRC inquiry,” Senator Cash said.

She said they were “two very separate issues,and they should not be confused,and hopefully not deliberately confused”.

Her comments appear to recommit the government to a year-long timeline after the bill’s passage before efforts would be made to legislate to protect gay students.

Earlier this month,Prime Minister Scott Morrisonagreed to fast-track protections for gay students in a bid to secure the support of moderate Liberal MPs ahead of a potential vote on the bill in the final week of Parliament. But a vote on the bill was delayed and it was instead referred to two parliamentary committees for scrutiny over the summer.

Responding to Senator Cash’s comments,moderate Victorian Liberal MP Katie Allen said she had sought a meeting with the Attorney-General to clarify the deal struck with the Prime Minister.

NSW Liberal MP Dave Sharma said:“I’ve made clear my view that discrimination against students and teachers needs to be dealt with promptly,and I do not see the need for a further examination and waiting period.”

The draft laws are shaping up as an election test for Coalition and Labor,with both sides eager to win support among faith-based communities while not isolating LGBTIQ groups that believe the laws will license discrimination against them on the grounds of religion.

Senator Cash told the webinar the Prime Minister had made clear that gay students should not be expelled because of their sexuality,adding,“I think we all agree with that”.

“But to be clear this bill doesn’t deal with that. This bill is about protecting people against religious discrimination on the basis of their beliefs or non-beliefs,” she said.

She said it was the Labor Party that had made clear “that they will be the ones pursuing this issue”.

Shadow attorney-generalMark Dreyfus said last week the opposition would seek to make the issue of protections for gay students and teachers a key consideration of the parliamentary inquiries.

Moderate Liberal MPs including Ms Allen,Mr Sharma,Angie Bell,and Fiona Martin,are among those on the government benches who have raised concerns about the bill and the need for more protections for gay students and teachers.

In a statement following the webinar,a spokesman for Senator Cash said the government would consider the views of the respective committees,saying “any amendments will also be dealt with through the appropriate parliamentary processes”.

“We recognise that a number of stakeholders wanted to be consulted on the issue of exemptions in the SDA[Sex Discrimination Act]. We can assure them that they will have that opportunity through the committee process and through their submissions and the public hearings to share their views,” the spokesman said.

“Our goal is to have the committees both recommend the bill and for smooth passage of the bill in a bipartisan way after the committees have concluded.”

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