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Western Australia’s proposed anti-discrimination overhaul has sparked warnings from Christian leaders that religious freedom, parental choice and faith-based schools’ ability to uphold their beliefs are at risk.

The Western Australian Labor government’s sales pitch for its “modernisation” of the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1984 is safetyism and inclusivity.

Those buzzwords say it all. This looks like a diabolical attack on Christians, freedom of association, parental rights, school choice, free speech, conscience and informed consent.

The proposed law is also pre-emptive, meaning it presumes discrimination where none exists in order to prevent discrimination.

Announced on 20 October, the press release dropped all the “progressive” buzzwords, raising red flags about protections for faith, families and freedom.

As reported by The ABC,

“Religious schools will no longer be allowed to sack teachers or expel students due to their sexuality, or to reject students due to a disability, under new laws proposed by the Western Australian government.

“Religious institutions, including schools, will still be allowed to discriminate based on religion, but not other grounds under a rewrite of the state’s Equal Opportunity Act.

“Attorney General Tony Buti said ‘that would stop institutions discriminating against people in the LGBTQIA+ community’.”

The ABC added that the “latest proposed overhaul follows Independent MP Allegra Spender’s calls to reform federal laws which exempt religious institutions from the Sex Discrimination Act.”

ACL Warns Christian Schools Could Lose Their Ethos

The Australian Christian Lobby will closely scrutinise these changes.

West Australian ACL director Josiah Trigg responded with a clear determination to ensure that “religious freedoms and the rights of faith-based communities are fully protected.”

ACL’s four areas of concern are:

1. Whether faith-based schools can maintain a teacher and staff community that shares and lives out their faith beyond the point of hire;
2. Whether churches, charities and other faith-based organisations can continue to operate freely according to their beliefs;
3. How any new obligations on faith-based schools and organisations will apply to teaching and practice on marriage and sexuality; and
4. Whether all West Australians, of any faith or none, will remain free to publicly express their views on contested issues without fear of legal action.

ACL’s four criteria are a direct response to the statements made by WA Labor Attorney General Tony Buti.

When calling out the potential negative impact on faith, families and freedom, ACL’s Josiah Trigg said, “The proposed restrictions to religious exemptions announced by the Attorney General will seriously impact the ability of Christian schools to maintain their ethos.”

He then explained, “Parents choose Christian schools because the whole school shares and lives out their faith as a community. Maintaining a school’s ethos relies on all teachers and staff and doesn’t stop at the point of their hire.”

“The proposed restrictions,” Trigg argued, “also raise serious questions about whether Christian schools will still be able to require teachers and staff to uphold Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality.”

In a determined stand for faith, families and freedom, he asserted, “ACL will be actively engaging MPs, faith-based leaders and communities over the days and weeks ahead to ensure religious freedoms remain fully protected.”

Roger Cook’s Labor government wants to “modernise” the laws, arguing that the changes will “support safer and more inclusive communities.”

WA Labor claims changes to the state’s Equal Opportunity Act 1984 will widen protections against discrimination, harassment, and vilification.

Those changes, they said, “for the first time, allow a person to make a complaint to the Equal Opportunity Commissioner for vilification based on disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex.”

Cook’s safety and inclusivity sales pitch includes, “providing a clear recourse for those that may be targeted with hatred, threats, or serious abuse, including, for example, those targeted due to antisemitism or ‘Islamophobia’.”

The proposals, WA Labor stated, “are designed to prevent harm, not simply respond to it.

“Businesses, schools, and other organisations will be required to take reasonable steps to eliminate discrimination, harassment, and vilification based on their size and available resources.”

These were the most alarming bits.

Australian Christians Warn of Government Overreach

As WA’s Australian Christians MLC Maryka Groenewald remarked on Facebook, “I have said for YEARS, this is an important hill, and NO government should force any religious school or organisation to violate their values!

“Families are flocking to Independent and Christian schools for a reason, and you can count on me fighting for these freedoms relentlessly.”

In a quick response posted via video online, Groenewald said the bill is being introduced today.

She added, “But there will be a little bit of time before it comes to the Upper House, and of course, that is where we go into the nitty-gritty and the detail of this piece of legislation.

“I think the most worrying thing in all of this is that numerous organisations and groups have met with different Attorneys-General over the year, including us, the Australian Christian Lobby; we’ve had the Islamic councils, we’ve had the Jewish associations.”

 

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There are a lot of faith-based schools, associations, communities, and families deeply worried about the precedent this sets, noted Groenewald.

That precedent is the really worrying thing in the legislation. It’s the government impinging on Christian rights and organisations by telling them they have to employ people who do not share those values.

In the caption, Groenewald said the bill comes up for debate next year, writing, “That is why consistent lobbying, informing families, educating schools and helping MPs understand the implications of these changes are crucial!”

FamilyVoice Defends Parental Choice and Faith-Based Education

FamilyVoice Australia (FVA) also commented. They rejected the Cook government’s sales pitch.

FVA WA director, Darryl Budge, said in a media statement sent to The Daily Declaration, “FamilyVoice opposes the Cook Labor government’s proposal to gaslight tens of thousands of parents in religious schools.”

“This bill must not change protections for religious schools at all.”

“For decades,” Budge added, “Christian schools, some operating for over 40 years, and successive generations of parents in Christian schools have witnessed countless young lives changed for the better through faithful Christian staff and maintaining high standards of operation and behavioural expectations aligned with their Christian faith.”

“Despite the assertion of this anti-religious bill being about a ‘safer’ environment,” he continued, “the growing shift among parents and new WA immigrants to prefer private religious schools over public schools shows the government is foolishly ignoring its own backyard, and attacking the more successful schools instead.”

This was in reference to semi-related criticisms from Liberal opposition shadow minister for education, Liam Staltari, who reported a 130 per cent increase since 2017 in public school lockdowns over threats of violence.

For Budge, if public safety were genuinely informing this legislation, Labor would exempt Christian and independent schools.

Parents were leaving public schools over safety concerns and flocking to private schools in droves.

Speaking for FamilyVoice, Budge wrote, “It is our opinion that the WA Labor Government choices on training and maintaining staff and failures on bullying and violent behaviours amongst their students have led to a flight from government-designed education to a Christian and religious-designed education.”

The FVA WA director concluded, “Christian schools in WA will keep sharing the good news of Jesus, who is full of love, grace and truth, through faithful teachers, and our WA MPs and MLCs must take note to protect what these schools have achieved for an impressive number of lives.”