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Labor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese 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,\u201d Ms Coker told parliament.<\/p>\n
Ms Wake said she would prefer Labor and Ms Coker had voted against the Bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am happy it\u2019s been shelved but feel it will come back with a vengeance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat 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, \u2018what have they heard online, what\u2019s going to happen today?\u2019, you don\u2019t want to be that parent that wraps them in cotton wool but some days you do want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking the day after the Religious Discrimination Bill\u2019s short-lived appearance in parliament, Ms Wake said it had taken a toll on Jay, her family and the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s reality today that my kid\u2019s off school because of the impact at school yesterday, having the discussion with other students. He\u2019s a pretty forthright kid but is struggling, I can\u2019t imagine the impact it\u2019s having on others who aren\u2019t as resilient.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I have to say is there\u2019s been a massive outpouring of support for trans kids, have never seen such outrage from people we\u2019ve never heard from before, I feel that it has brought some people together.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I do feel it has caused a division between the LGTBQIA community and the whole of government.\u201d<\/p>\n
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TORQUAY resident Merrin Wake didn\u2019t expect to be campaigning against the Religious Discrimination Bill in 2022, after thinking it \u201chad fallen over\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n