Laws to reject gay students already exist, says Morrison

THE Federal Government is talking down the prospect of expanding laws allowing religious schools to reject gay students and teachers.

Some states already allow schools to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status. Commonwealth laws also contain some provisions to permit faith-based schools to exercise this discretion.

A long-awaited report into religious freedoms has reportedly recommended the right be enshrined in the federal Sex Discrimination Act to ensure a consistent national approach.

The panel said it accepted the right of schools to select or preference students who upheld their religious convictions.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison (above) played down the proposal yesterday, saying such exemptions to anti-dis- crimination laws already existed.

“We’re not proposing to change that law to take away that existing arrangement,” he told reporters.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he couldn’t believe the Prime Minister hadn’t ruled out the “silly” idea.

“The fact is every child is entitled to human dignity. We shouldn’t even be having this debate,” Mr Shorten said.

Special Minister of State Alex Hawke backed the plan, saying it was up to individual Christian schools to negotiate their handling of gay students.