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The Apple Isle risks taking a backward step as religious schools try to make discrimination against students legal.
Gay activists in Tasmania have labelled a recent proposal by the Catholic Church to gain an exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act as a “Bigot’s Charter”.
Rodney Croome, advocate for the GLBTIQ community, said the exemption has the potential to be abused and called for an investigation into the Catholic school system which by admission is already discriminating against non-Catholic students.
“The exemption sought for religious schools has the potential to be abused, not only to harass and intimidate students of different faiths, but also students of unmarried parents, students who come out as gay, or students who simply question church doctrine,” Croome said.
Hailey Conway from the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby thinks the move in Tasmania may set a precedent for other states.
“Bringing those sorts of things in anywhere is a pretty clear aggression for any state,” Conway said.
Australian Coalition for Equality spokesperson Corey Irlam said although Tasmania already has an exemption on the hiring and firing of teachers on the grounds of religious beliefs, the state currently actually leads the way in Australia on not having an exemption for discrimination against students whereas most other states do.
Irlam said it would be a backward move by the Tasmanian government if it granted the exemption.
“It would be very disappointing if the Tasmanian government was to now go backwards in their human rights stance,” Irlam said.
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