A licence to discriminate

Pic: of Michael Ferguson

TASMANIAN GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS GROUP

Tasmanian gay rights advocates have dubbed a Liberal Party proposal to allow religious schools a broad exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act “a license to discriminate”.

At the behest of Independent Schools Tasmania, opposition education spokesperson, Michael Ferguson, wants an exemption broader than the one currently proposed by the State Government which is designed to allow religious schools to give preference to students from particular religious backgrounds under specific conditions.

Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome said,

“What we don’t want to see in Tasmania are the kind of broad religious exemptions which have been misused in other states to discriminate against students because they are gay, have de facto or same-sex parents, question church dogma or otherwise fail to conform to ill-defined ‘religious values’.”

“The Anti-Discrimination Act has worked well for over a decade with no complaints from Independent Schools Tasmania, so this sudden push for an exemption looks like an opportunistic attempt to ram through unnecessary change.”

“Private schools receive government funding to provide an essential service, and they should be not be given a license to discriminate.”

The State Government’s proposed exemption is in response to a call from the Catholic Church for an exemption to allow it to preference Catholic students in schools that are over-subscribed.

Mr Croome said he opposes all exemptions in principle, but that the State Government’s proposed Catholic enrollment exemption is as narrow as possible and makes it clear discrimination on other grounds such as sexual orientation or relationship status remain illegal.

The State Government has also proposed amending the Anti-Discrimination Act to provide stronger protections for transgender and intersex people which gender advocates have described as “the best in the world.”

Debate on the Anti-Discrimination Act amendments is expected to begin in Parliament soon.

For a report of Mr Ferguson’s proposal go to:
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/414598/schools-lobby-mps-over-act/?cs=95