The Morrison government’s proposed religious discrimination legislation could give greater license to people to humiliate, insult and demean Australians living with disability, a coalition of concerned advocacy organisations has warned.
The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations and other representative groups have written to the federal government and MPs opposing the contentious bill, which is set to be debated in parliament from Tuesday.
The 17-member group said in a statement on Monday it was “deeply concerned about the harmful impacts” the legislation as proposed could have.
“We all support protection against discrimination on the ground of religion and of religious freedom as essential to any thriving democracy, but this must not be allowed at the expense of the rights and dignity of others,” the group said.
The coalition said it had particular concerns around the bill’s provisions permitting ‘statements of belief’, which allow comments that offend, humiliate or insult others as long as they genuinely express a person's faith.
“[Those provisions override] the existing legal and policy protections for people with disability from humiliating, insulting, ridiculing and demeaning behaviour and gives licence to an increase in such behaviour towards people with disability, undermining our confidence and sense of worth as Australians,” it said.
The groups said people with disability are often subjected to “unwelcome and uninvited statements of religious belief that demean disability as the result of sin, possession, or karma”.
They said people have reported being told their disability is a “punishment from God for their, or their parents’, sins”, that they can be “healed by prayer” and they “deserve to suffer from their disability for what they have done in a previous life”.
“While these may seem extreme religious views and statements, they are views commonly expressed to people with disability and the bill will legitimise these views as long as they are personally held beliefs of religious doctrine and are made in good faith,” the coalition said.
“It would be extremely difficult to prove that a person expressing such views is not acting in good faith because they genuinely hold the view that what they are expressing is their religions will and they are seeking to “save” the person.
“The limits in the bill on very extreme statements are insufficient to protect people with disability from personal, hurtful and demeaning statements that undermine our dignity and humanity.”
The groups said people with disability who have intersectional identities – such as those also from LGBTIQ+, culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – could be at a heightened risk of impact as they already face intersecting discrimination.
Attorney-General Michaelia Cash was contacted for comment.
Bill facing uphill battle
The government’s laws – a promise the coalition took to the last election - are intended to prevent a person from being discriminated against on the basis of their religion.
However it is facing an uphill battle to pass its bill through parliament, with some members of the coalition flagging they won’t support it.
Some say the bill as it stands privileges religious rights over others.
It appears Liberal MP Bridget Archer – who last crossed the floor last year to support a federal anti-corruption body – .
The Tasmanian-based MP told the ABC on Monday she was concerned the proposed laws would override state anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTIQ+ students and that the statement of belief provision was “probably where the impasse is from my point of view”.
The government's bill was last year sent to the government-chaired legal affairs and human rights committees in the Senate, and it be passed after a series of amendments.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last week an amendment would be added to protect LGBTIQ+ students from being expelled from religious schools based on their gender or sexuality.
That came after a national furore caused by an enrolment contract at Brisbane's Citipointe Christian College . The policy has since been scrapped and the college's principal has stepped aside.
Mr Morrison said on Monday he would continue to work to address the concerns raised within Liberal ranks about the bill.
“I look forward to the bill being debated in the parliament,” he told reporters.
“It is a bill that is designed to protect religious expression in this country to ensure that people who have such beliefs are not discriminated against that is something that should unite the parliament, not divide it.”
LGBTIQ+ Australians seeking support with mental health can contact QLife on 1800 184 527 or visit qlife.org.au. ReachOut.com also has a list of support services. Intersex Australians seeking support can visit Intersex Peer Support Australia at isupport.org.au
