Discrimination Bill shelved

TORQUAY resident Merrin Wake didn’t expect to be campaigning against the Religious Discrimination Bill in 2022, after thinking it “had fallen over” when she and other Surf Coast and Geelong residents met with MPs in Canberra to lobby against the proposal over three years ago.

The federal government prioritised the bill in the first sitting week of the parliamentary calendar, introducing it to parliament on Wednesday, February 9.

Debate on the bill lasted through the night and well into the early morning, eventually passing through the lower house with Labor amendments that were supported by five Liberal MPs who crossed the floor after voicing concerns gay and transgender students and staff would not be protected.

The issue has again caused angst in the Wake household, particularly for her early teenage son Jay who identifies as transgender.

“I’m scared, the last few days have been very hard. Takes a toll on Jay hearing these conversations they do have social media,” Ms Wake said.

“A 13-year-old kid going to school, there’s already hassles, you don’t want the whole nation talking about who you are.”

Implementing the Bill was a 2019 election promise by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, but it now appears unlikely the government will try to move it through the Upper House with at least one coalition Senator, Andrew Bragg, making it clear he too would cross the floor to ensure protections for transgender students.

During last week’s late night parliamentary debate on the Bill, Corangamite MP Libby Coker thanked “everyone in my electorate who’s reached out to me and shared their thoughts and experiences about their children and members of their families. Your stories are very moving”, she said.

“This Bill has the potential to cause great anxiety in many people who fear persecution and vilification because of who they are. This is not acceptable. I want to make it clear that I do not support this Bill, and Labor does not support this bill as it stands.”

Labor’s amendments to the Bill, passed with support from the five Liberal MPs, changed the law to prohibit religious vilification; prohibit discrimination against children on the grounds of sexuality and gender identity; prohibit religious discrimination in the provision of in-home aged-care services and ensure it did not remove or diminish existing protections against discrimination.

“These amendments will go a long way to giving comfort and protections against discrimination for constituents like Merrin Wake and her son, Jay, who live in Torquay in my electorate,” Ms Coker told parliament.

Ms Wake said she would prefer Labor and Ms Coker had voted against the Bill.

“I am happy it’s been shelved but feel it will come back with a vengeance,” she said.

“What I would love the politicians who sit there and make these decisions to know is come and sit at our kitchen table, to get to know Jay and his friends. It is scary when you drop your kid at school and think, ‘what have they heard online, what’s going to happen today?’, you don’t want to be that parent that wraps them in cotton wool but some days you do want to do that.”

Speaking the day after the Religious Discrimination Bill’s short-lived appearance in parliament, Ms Wake said it had taken a toll on Jay, her family and the community.

“It’s reality today that my kid’s off school because of the impact at school yesterday, having the discussion with other students. He’s a pretty forthright kid but is struggling, I can’t imagine the impact it’s having on others who aren’t as resilient.

“One thing I have to say is there’s been a massive outpouring of support for trans kids, have never seen such outrage from people we’ve never heard from before, I feel that it has brought some people together.

“But I do feel it has caused a division between the LGTBQIA community and the whole of government.”