Add Category
There is confusion over just who has seen the federal government's plans for a religious discrimination act, despite the prime minister insisting his cabinet colleagues had viewed two pieces of draft legislation.
The government's push to protect LGBT students and teachers from discrimination in religious schools, while at the same time bolstering protections for people of faith, has been in the spotlight this week after Anthony Albanese vowed he would only proceed if he had bipartisan support.
On Friday, Mr Albanese told reporters in regional New South Wales that his government had two pieces of draft legislation, one that would amend the Sex Discrimination Act and another that would create a religious discrimination act.
When asked if his cabinet had seen the draft legislation, Mr Albanese responded: "Yeah, obviously, that's the way cabinet works."
But that was at odds with what other senior members of the government have told the ABC, one of whom said it would be unusual for the cabinet to consider draft legislation.
Following Mr Albanese's comments on Friday, the ABC contacted his office seeking clarification.
A spokesperson said the government was "pursuing a constructive approach and looking for bipartisanship" on religious discrimination laws, adding that the prime minister's office does not comment on cabinet matters.
Efforts to change religious protections have been a thorny issue for governments. In 2022, then-prime minister Scott Morrison's efforts failed after five of his own backbenchers joined with Labor and the crossbench, amid fears that his plans failed to protect trans children in religious schools.
Labor's foray into the issue escalated this week after Mr Albanese told his Labor colleagues at a party room meeting on Tuesday that he had briefed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton about the government's plans but would only proceed with the legislation if there was bi-partisan support.
It later emerged that the briefing between the leaders wasn't an official meeting but rather a conversation while on a plane together returning from a funeral on Monday. The two had previously discussed the matter on one earlier occasion, sources have told the ABC.
Mr Dutton accused the prime minister of attempting to use the Coalition to break a Labor election commitment to bolster religious protections.
A senior government figure on Tuesday said Labor's caucus would only see the legislation if the government had bi-partisan support.
Sources have told the ABC that cabinet ministers have discussed the merits of what Labor hopes to achieve in changing religious discrimination laws.
But none have been able to confirm that draft legislation was ever considered by the cabinet, contrary to what Mr Albanese said on Friday.
Despite requesting bipartisan support on the issue, it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus handed a hard copy of the draft legislation to Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash.
Mr Dutton also received the draft legislation. His deputy Sussan Ley confirmed on Friday that she had not seen it.
Nationals leader David Littleproud, who along with Defence Minster Richard Marles was present when Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton discussed the matter on the plane on Monday, has not been provided with a copy of the draft legislation.
In 2022, Mr Dreyfus asked the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to consider how best to prevent religious schools from discriminating against LGBT students and staff.
Mr Dreyfus released that review late on Thursday, three months after the government had received it.
The almost 500-page document, which was informed by more than 40,000 submissions, proposed two major changes to protect LGBT staff and students in religious schools.
The ALRC recommended repealing the exemption in the Sex Discrimination Act that allows schools of faith to discriminate against students and teachers based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status for religious reasons.
It also recommended that schools should be able to give preference to hiring staff who are of the same religion but only when reasonably necessary and proportionate to "building or maintaining a community of faith".
Mr Albanese on Friday hinted that Labor's draft legislation pursued a different path, with no suggestion the provision in the Sex Discrimination Act would be abolished. Nor did he suggest that the government would amend the Fair Work Act.
The prime minister has repeatedly said he wanted to avoid a "culture war", but Senator Cash said it was "naive and disingenuous" to make that request even before the Coalition had seen the legislation.
The Greens have not been briefed on the government's plans, but the party's LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Stephen Bates said the party "stands ready" to work with the government.
The crossbench has not been briefed about the draft legislation.