Australian PM to ban religious schools from expelling LGBT students
Scott Morrison has promised to stop religious schools from expelling LGBT students based on their sexuality.
The Australian prime minister has announced plans to ban religious schools from expelling LGBT students.
Scott Morrison has revealed that the government will be reassessing anti-discrimination legislation to protect the rights of LGBT students and ban religious schools from expelling LGBT students over their sexuality.
The news comes following the release of a government-commissioned “religious freedom” report which recommended giving religious schools the right to expel students based on their sexuality. Though Morrison had initially defended the report, he later backtracked on his comments.
Then, on Friday (October 12), opposition leader Bill Shorten wrote to Morrison offering Labor’s support in passing a bill to review the Sex Discrimination Act and remove exemptions encouraging discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Now, Morrison has revealed that Attorney General Christian Porter will begin drafting amendments to the current law to remove religious exemptions within the following weeks, The Guardian reports.
In a statement, Morrison said: “Our government does not support [the] expulsion of students from religious non-state schools on the basis of their sexuality.
“I also know that this view is widely shared by religious schools and communities across the country.”
Morrison added that the issue would be raised in parliament within the next two weeks and proposed legislation that will “give all students and parents the certainty they require.”