Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus during a press conference at Parliament House.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus during a press conference at Parliament House.Credit:Andrew Meares

Last year Mr Dreyfus's predecessor,Nicola Roxon,proposed a draft bill that she argued would merge and simplify five existing anti-discrimination laws,including the racial and sex discrimination acts.

But critics including the opposition and business groups argued the changes went beyond simply consolidating the previously separate laws,including shifting the burden of proof to the person accused of discrimination and potentially restricting''offensive''speech.

A Senate committee last month suggested a raft of changes to the Exposure Draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012.

Mr Dreyfus confirmed on Wednesday he would send the bill back to his department for major changes and would not guarantee that this would be completed before the September 14 election.

He said the consolidation of the laws''must strike a very careful balance between freedom of speech and the right to be free of discrimination''.

''I'm not satisfied that the bill in its current form passes the test of striking the right balance,''he said.

Mr Dreyfus said Ms Roxon,who announced her resignation from the ministry last month,handled the anti-discrimination law review process''admirably''but the Senate committee had proposed many complex changes.

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He sought to draw the focus back to what the government was doing this week – introducing a simple bill to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,gender identity and intersex status.

''This reform to the Sex Discrimination Act is long overdue and much too important to be delayed any longer,''he said.

''The opposition has indicated its support for this new protection . . . so there should be no excuse for delay or rejection.''

The Greens accused the government of lacking the courage of its convictions on social reform by dumping the broader overhaul of anti-discrimination laws.

''The anti-discrimination reforms had every chance of succeeding in Parliament so why has Labor turned tail and given up on equality again?''Greens leader Christine Milne said.

''Labor has lost the political will to protect human rights.''

Human Rights Law Centre executive director Hugh de Kretser said the delay in pursuing the comprehensive legislation was ‘‘incredibly disappointing’’ and meant the laws would not be introduced before the election.

Mr de Kretser,said existing discrimination laws had gaps and one of the acts was nearly 40 years old.

‘‘The government has already indicated that it will remove or amend the controversial ‘offence’ clause that caused significant confusion and concern during the consultation on the exposure draft bill,’’ he said in a statement.

‘‘With this amendment,the bill is generally good and should be introduced without delay.’’

Master Builders Australia said the shelving of the legislation was a win for common sense,while the Australian Industry Group said problems with the draft bill included the shifting burden of proof and increasing higher burdens on employers.

‘‘The impact of the legislation is far-reaching with potentially very onerous costs – both in money and time – for Australian industry,’’ AIG chief executive Innes Willox said.

‘‘It is vital that the intent and consequences of the proposed legislation be fully understood before any consolidated anti-discrimination bill is introduced into Parliament.’’

The Coalition had opposed the Gillard government's proposed discrimination laws,saying,however,that it accepted that the existing legislation could be improved.

It argued discrimination on the grounds of sexuality was''an obvious gap in the existing legislative scheme'',but could be addressed by a simple amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act.

On Wednesday,shadow attorney-general George Brandis described the backdown as ‘‘humiliating’’ and predicted the comprehensive legislation would never see the light of day.

Senator Brandis said the bill had been the culmination of Ms Roxon’s ‘‘ambition to turn Australia into a soft Left nanny state’’.

‘‘By abandoning it,what Mr Dreyfus has done has been to capitulate to the opposition’s criticisms and ... the outrage of a wide cross-section of the Australian community that the government would have the impertinence to legislate about the way people can lead their lives,the way this bill tried to do,’’ he told Radio 2GB.

But Senator Brandis expressed his cautious support for Mr Dreyfus’s vow to simply amend the Sex Discrimination Act to include gay,lesbian,transgender and intersex people within its reach.

While not committing to vote for it until he examined the detail,Senator Brandis said that was the policy the Coalition took to the 2010 election ‘‘and is still the Coalition’s policy’’.

Organisations representing lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender and intersex people hailed the extension of the Sex Discrimination Act as an ‘‘historic step forward’’ but expressed their disappointment the broader reforms had been shelved.

Finn Shearer,a 16-year-old Queenslander who identifies as gay,said equal protection should attract support from every political party.

‘‘But to make the protection real,it should apply to every organisation equally,whether they are religious or not,’’ he said in a statement.

NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convener Justin Koonin said he would have liked to have seen the removal of religious exceptions in the context of service delivery,particularly in aged care.

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