Church free speech bid
THE Catholic Church in Tasmania is calling for free speech protections so it can argue its case for traditional marriage in the lead-up to the proposed same-sex marriage postal survey.
The call comes as doubts surround the passage of amendments to the Anti-Discrimination Act through Tasmania’s Legislative Council.
The church’s concerns flow from 2015, when Archbishop Julian Porteous was taken to the Anti-Discrimination Commission by same-sex marriage campaigner Martine Delaney.
Ms Delaney had said she had been offended by parts of a pastoral letter “Don’t Mess With Marriage”, which the Archbishop sought to distribute to parents via Catholic schools.
Archbishop Porteous said the outcome of the case, in which the complaint was withdrawn without a finding, had left a degree of uncertainty about what could be said.
“In public debate it could happen again so it remains a live issue,” he said.
“The uncertainty has a chilling effect on debate at a time when it is important that the church be able to express its views on an issue of such significance to Australian society as the nature of marriage.”
Archbishop Porteous said it was important that both sides could engage in respectful debate without fear of prosecution.
The Anti-Discrimination Amendment Bill is on the notice paper for the sitting which starts on Tuesday.
The Bill was debated in April and adjourned and is due for a second reading.
It aimed to extend exceptions to section 55 of the Act to allow free speech for “religious purposes” on top of the already existing exceptions for “academic”, “artistic” “scientific” and “research” purposes.
The Bill also required the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner to reject a complaint about unlawful conduct in certain, specified circumstances.
“Importantly, the Bill will not allow for hate speech under section 55 of the Act, as falsely claimed by some,” then Attorney-General Vanessa Goodwin said at the time.
The subjectivity of words such as insult and offend contained within Section 17(1) of the Anti-Discrimination Act meant participants in the debate would be uncertain about what could be said.
A State Government spokesman said the Government was still committed to the changes as they were about “supporting free speech, and getting the balance right”.
Legislative Council Member for Windermere Ivan Dean has doubts that the Bill will pass.
“It could well be defeated at the second reading stage because there are seven members which seem to be going a particular way at the moment,” Mr Dean said.