“We are concerned about social cohesion,” Ms Blackwood said,calling for the establishment of a religious discrimination commissioner ahead of,and separate to,the bill’s passage,as “an opportunity for more dialogue” around issues like how to define a statement of religious belief.
Leaving this question to the courts would only continue “to politicise religious freedom”,she said.
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The Sydney Anglican church in its submission defended the Christian school reportedto have sacked teacher Stephanie Lentz for her belief “that a person can be Christian and gay”,saying this was not the same as terminating her employment because of her sexuality.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Peter Comensoli told the hearing parents wanted their children to receive “a good education in the context of Catholic faith and culture” and that schools must remain free to employ staff “in accordance with the ethos of the organisation.”
Independent Education Union assistant federal secretary Christine Cooper said many teachers whose lifestyles were at odds with the doctrine upheld by the religious schools they worked for were living in fear.
In its submission to the inquiry,the union revealed that a survey found almost a third of teachers at Catholic schools and one-sixth of those working at independent schools had experienced discrimination related to their marital,relationship or parental status.
One teacher reported being denied time off to care for,and then grieve,their dying partner,while others described being discriminated against over their single parent status,decision to undergo IVF or return to work months after having a baby.
Teachers with same-sex partners or who identified as LGBTQI said they were pressured to hide the truth about their personal lives.
“The element of fear that exists in our schools can’t be ignored,in these schools where employers seek to use discriminatory practices,” Ms Cooper told the hearing.
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Employer peak body AI Group said in a submission to the inquiry the revised bill was an improvement on earlier drafts,but further changes were needed to ensure employers could “maintain appropriate standards of conduct in the workplace”.
The bill in its current form would not allow employers to “address any inappropriate workplace conduct engaged in on the basis of an employee’s religious belief and activity”,such as unwelcome proselytism in the workplace,the submission said.
“Section 39 in the bill should be amended to enable employers to take reasonable management action to deal with unreasonable religious activity in the workplace,” AI Group chief executive Innes Willox said.