Equality advocates say both major parties are ignoring the views of the Australian people following the release of reports from two parliamentary inquiries into the Government's Religious Discrimination Bill 

 

Both reports endorse the Bill and both were stacked with Government members. The inquiries have been widely criticised for favouring supporters of the Bill. 

 

But Labor has also been criticised for failing to explicity oppose sections of the Religious Discrimination Bill that will weaken existing discrimination protections, something Labor has said it opposes.

 

Just.Equal Australia spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said,

 

"A recent national poll by YouGov Galaxy found that 77% of Australians oppose special exemptions to allow harmful speech in the name of religion while 62% oppose religious schools being allowed to sack LGBT teachers."

 

"Yet in the two parliamentary reports both major parties have either endorsed, or left the door open to, a federal Religious Discrimination Bill that would do exactly that."

 

"Both reports gloss over the key problems with the Federal Bill, problems that have been raised by a wide array of legal experts, community organisations, professional bodies and state governments."

 

"In their effort to chase the votes of the tiny number of Australians who want special legal privileges for religion, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have abandoned the vast majority of Australians who want equal treatment for all."

 

Mr Croome said analysis of one of the inquiries shows the majority of submissions were against the Bill, but the majority of witnesses called were for it.

 

"It's an indisputable fact that the inquiries had a bias toward the minority of Australians who support key features of the Bill."

 

Just.Equal will now increase its lobbying efforts to persuade moderate Liberals and Labor members to vote against the legislation. Emails can be sent to moderate Liberal and Laboe members here:

 

 

For a copy of this state,ment on the web, click here