Queensland’s “Most Anti-Christian Discrimination Laws” In Australia
by Tony Davenport | Fri, Apr 26 2024
Queensland’s proposed anti-discrimination laws are “the most radical laws in the country, worse than Victoria’s which were really discriminatory against Christians,” according to Emeritus Professor Patrick Parkinson, a former Dean of Law at the University of Queensland and a specialist in family law, child protection and law and religion. He told Vision Radio they are “very grim.”
Anti-discrimination lawyer and Associate Professor Mark Fowler from the University of New England and Notre Dame warned the Queensland proposal would “legislate the most restrictive regime for religious institutions in Australia”. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL)’s Queensland Director Rob Norman called the bill “draconian” as it could ban Christian or Jewish schools from sacking teachers or expelling students who converted to Islam. Shadow Federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash observed “it may soon be unlawful for a Catholic school to express a preference for employing Catholics in Queensland.”
The state Labor government says the draft response to Queensland Human Rights Commission recommendations has been designed to protect people more effectively from discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification and victimisation and other unlawful conduct.
Professor Parkinson explained to Vision Radio that Australia has historically managed discrimination laws that impact on religious communities by granting exemptions to faith-based groups, but observed that in recent years there’s been a war on these exceptions amid a belief that you should not be able to discriminate against anybody on any basis.
“Under the new Queensland laws, it will be unlawful for any Christian organisation, church, any Christian school to discriminate against somebody on the basis of sex work. That’s what we used to call prostitution and no exemptions. Pretty much no exemptions are built into this draft bill,” the professor noted.
He believes Queensland Premier Steven Miles is the most anti-Christian recent leader in the country. “I think he is headed into the lead. Worse than Daniel Andrews. And it’s not just one man. I’m picking out his cabinet. The Queensland Government has put through a lot of radical legislation in the last year or two, and wishes to put through more. There’s currently a bill before the NSW Parliament which does something pretty similar. So these are issues for the whole country.”
“Under the current draft, if a minister of religion, pastor or priest engages in sexual misconduct, they would not be able to be sacked without having the right to sue the church for discrimination. This law is not just going to affect Christian schools and other Christian organisations. It’s going to the very heart of the rights of churches to maintain their ethos and values.”
“It really is a very serious concern. You can’t discriminate on the basis of relationship status under this bill. If a priest or a minister of religion commits adultery, he is engaging in conduct which goes to his relationship status. He’s married and is having an affair. So you can see how the law is making it harder and harder for churches, Islamic organisations and others to maintain their values and beliefs.”
Professor Parkinson continued: “It’s not so much that the government wants to control the churches. It wants to give the courts the ultimate decision-making on staff appointments in faith-based organisations, and that can be hugely disruptive. Most judges are very sensible, hardworking people who have a great deal of respect for legal precedent and for the values enshrined in the law. But they have to apply the law and the test will be whether the discrimination alleged is reasonable or proportionate.”
“There is no question that all over Australia religious freedom is under serious attack. The churches have been united and they have been strong. There’s a group called Queensland Churches Together which brings together leaders across many different denominations. They’ve all signed a submission to the Queensland government, strongly protesting the way in which these laws adversely affect religious organisations and religious faith. If the Queensland Government goes ahead with the bill in its current form, it will be taking on the entirety of the faith community,” the law professor concluded.
“This bill reads like an addendum to George Orwell’s novel 1984,” said the ACL’s Rob Norman.”If tabled and passed, religious schools will be required to surrender some of their deepest held theological views and values and be subjected to the invasive oversite of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General.”