Religion bill would ‘protect views of antigay activists’

Australian PM says law would prevent ‘cancel culture’, but critics fear it will allow discrimination

RELIGIOUS Australian citizens will be protected if they make anti-gay comments, under a proposed law that Scott Morrison, the prime minister, said would guard against “cancel culture”.

Religious freedom has been in the spotlight since Australia legalised samesex marriage in 2017, when some churches and other groups felt they were sidelined.

The Religious Discrimination Bill, put before parliament yesterday, also comes after high-profile cases in which believers have been “cancelled” for expressing anti-gay views.

Critics say it will legalise discrimination against other groups.

“People should not be cancelled or persecuted or vilified because their beliefs are different from someone else’s,” Mr Morrison, a Pentecostal Christian, said as he introduced the bill to the lower house in Canberra.

“Australians shouldn’t have to worry about looking over their shoulder, fearful of offending an anonymous person on Twitter or transgressing against political or social zeitgeists,” he added.

If the law is approved, Australians would be able to make “statements of belief ” without fear of being sued, as long as those comments do not “threaten, intimidate, harass or vilify a person or group”.

The law is the result of a promise made by the Liberal-national government to conservative religious groups for a “religious freedom” review after the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

That review, headed by former Liberal minister Philip Ruddock, found Australia did not have a religious freedom problem, but it did recommend new legislative protections against religious discrimination.

Equality Australia, an LGBT rights group, told ABC this week: “When a nurse says to a patient that their HIV is a punishment by God, for example, that could constitute a statement of belief, but would be protected under the law under this bill.”

Cases such as the 2019 sacking of Wallabies rugby player Israel Folau, who had said on social media that “hell awaits” homosexuals, prompted national debate over freedom of speech.

While some church groups welcome the bill, other believers have questioned the need for such a law. Pastor Jarrod Saul Mckenna said: “I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia who had been persecuted in Australia for being a Christian.

“I have shared a roof with refugees for most of my adult life and I have heard story after story of people being tortured, family members going missing, loved ones ending up in ditches – that is persecution,” he said.

The law would also allow religious

‘Australians shouldn’t fear offending an anonymous person on Twitter or transgressing zeitgeists’

schools to hire or fire teachers based on “ethos”, as long as that ethos is publicly explained.

Australia’s existing sex discrimination law allows schools to expel students or sack teachers for being gay. Mr Morrison pledged in 2018 to reform it.

LGBT groups support reforming the law but have criticised the new bill saying it would enable discrimination against gay students and teachers as it permits prioritising the hiring and enrolment of people based on faith.

The bill has divided parliament. Some conservatives threaten to oppose it until Mr Morrison abolishes state mandates requiring Covid-19 vaccines.

The legislation is expected to be put to a vote next week in the lower house but it is far from guaranteed to pass into law. It is expected to be reviewed before being voted on in the upper house, the Senate, sometime in 2022-23.

Australia’s parliament is in its last sitting fortnight for the year and Mr Morrison could call an election before it resumes in 2022. He must return to the polls by next May.