Launch of Greens private members bill

Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) Bill
Parliament House, Sydney

Thankyou for coming to the launch of the Greens private members bill - Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) Bill.

When someone misses out on a job, or is abused or not served in a shop because of their sexuality, or disability or gender, our society suffers.

The dignity and humanity of those who are discriminated against suffers. The dignity and humanity of those who perpetrate the discrimination suffers. In fact, the dignity and humanity of all of us suffers.

The passing of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act in 1977 was a major achievement. I think history will see this as one of the outstanding legacies of the Wran government.

The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act has provided thousands of people in NSW with the opportunity to challenge injustice in employment, the workplace, education, the supply of goods and services and other areas of public life.

But let's remember that while Premier Wran and some of his Labor MPs were strong backers of this Act, the driving force to remove discrimination from our society - from our workplaces, our schools and all institutions - came from outside this place.

The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act arose out of the hard work of activists in what, back in the 1970s, we called the women's movement, the disability rights movement and gay liberation.

In 1977 the passing of Anti Discrimination Act for the first time provided legal protection for those in our communities who suffer discrimination. In turn, this brought a heightened level of humanity to our whole society. Over the past 27 years, this Act has been amended from time to time, to reflect the development of our own society. During that time, as a society we have become more aware of the need to remove discrimination in all its manifestations.

The Act has evolved to the stage where most areas of discrimination are now covered - explicitly banned under the Anti-Discrimination Act are discrimination based on race, sex, sexual harassment, age, disability, sexuality, transgender status, marital status, or carer status.

Despite the impressive advances, a major anomaly has lingered within the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. This is what the Greens private members bill addresses.

Since 1977, some workplaces have not been required to comply with the Anti-Discrimination Act. These are private and religious schools, and small businesses that employ fewer than six people. So side by side with the advances achieved by the Anti-Discrimination Act, we have allowed - and if anything codified - discrimination against people in private schools and small businesses.

Many people have spoken of the need to remove this exemption. In particular I would like to acknowledge the work in this field of Susan Halliday, the former Federal Sexual Discrimination Commissioner, and Chris Puplick, the former NSW Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.

In the areas of sex discrimination, transgender discrimination, marital status discrimination, disability discrimination, and homosexual discrimination the Act explicitly states in respect to the employment of teachers that the Act does "not apply to employment by a private educational authority".

Similarly, in accepting the enrolment of students, these sections of the Anti-Discrimination Act do not apply "to, or in respect of, a private educational authority".

Private and religious schools have used their exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act to adopt discriminatory employment practices. The exemption has been used by the Catholic Education Office to sack teachers who live in de-facto relationships or who are gay or lesbian. We know of private schools that have declined to enrol disabled students.

This anomaly, which has been used by a number of private schools, runs counter to developments in our society. Support for diversity is more commonplace these days. But if that support is to be reflected in our day-to-day lives, action is needed to end the legal loophole.

The Greens see our private members bill - the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) Bill as very much being part of that action. If passed, this bill would stop private schools and businesses that employ fewer than six people from discriminating on the basis of sexuality, disability, gender or age.

The exemption that these bodies have under certain parts of the current Anti Discrimination Act would be removed. The impact of our change to the current Act would be far reaching in private schools. The managements of such institutions would no longer be able to reject employees or students because they are -

· Lesbian or gay · Transgender · Disabled · Female or male · Too old · Unmarried · Act as a carer

The Greens proposed changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act will help create truly diverse workplaces and educational institutions. The Greens' Bill will help end some of the remaining vestiges of discrimination. It will ensure that all working people, students and teachers at our private schools have real opportunities to diversify and to learn from others who are not 'the same'.

Closing the loopholes in the current Act, and thereby respecting diversity, is also linked to occupational health and safety. A workplace were all people are respected and discrimination is eliminated is a workplace where we can learn from each other, work together to advance workplace safety and make our work more fulfilling.

There have been other attempts to challenge the special treatment of private and religious schools. In 2002, the Queensland Government introduced the Discrimination Law Amendment Bill, which if passed would have required private and religious schools to comply with their anti-discrimination laws. Queensland Attorney-General, Rod Welford, argued the bill was necessary. But the bill came under sustained attack from religious schools and their supporters. The result was a backdown by the Queensland Government.

Faced with that pressure, the Government shelved the plan to close loopholes that allowed private schools in that state to discriminate in similar ways to those in NSW. Earlier I congratulated the Wran government for their foresight in introducing the Anti-Discrimination Act. Unfortunately, the Carr Labor government have not had the same foresight.

They have had nine years to rectify the legal loopholes that have allowed discrimination in private schools and small businesses to continue. Unlike their Qld colleagues, they have not even tried to change the status quo. The Greens would have preferred Labor to have brought this Bill forward. We would then be much more confident that it would pass the first time. We need the backing of the government for this Bill to pass. But you can be assured that whatever the NSW Government does, the Greens will not back down.

We are already feeling pressure from the religious schools and their supporters. We have had phone calls. Emails are already rolling in from pastors, priests and parishoners. Every day that Parliament sits, the two Christian Democrat MPs, Fred Nile and Gordon Moyes, present petitions opposing our bill.

The religious lobby is getting organised. Using the network of churches around the state, they are spreading misinformation about a bill they haven't even seen yet.

We must counter this campaign with one of our own. We must explain why discrimination is never acceptable. We must send petitions of our own. We must write letters. We must lobby our local MPs.

Please use the information that has been supplied today to pass resolutions in your workplace, union, or community group. Forward all resolutions of support, and your letters to the Attorney General Mr Debus and the Shadow Attorney General Mr Andrew Tink.

Also look out for our postcard campaign. You can also download petitions and other materials from my website, www.lee.greens.org.au.

The time has come to work together and end all forms of discrimination. The age of exemptions is over. The Greens Bill provides a means to achieve that.

This Bill has had a long gestation - over three years. I would like to thank the many people who have given advice and worked on the content. In particular, I also give thanks to Andrew Burke, Hans van Leeuwen and Cate Faehrmann for their work on the bill. I'd also like to express my thanks to all the hard work from The Greens' LGBTI spokespeople Emelia Holdaway and Norman Thompson. Now the preparations are over and the campaign can begin in earnest.

It's up to all of us, all our friends, colleagues and supporters to campaign to have this bill passed.

I look forward to working with you all. Together we can end this discrimination.

Cleaning Up The Act campaign page >>

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Thankyou for coming to the launch of the Greens private members bill - Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) Bill.

When someone misses out on a job, or is abused or not served in a shop because of their sexuality, or disability or gender, our society suffers.

The dignity and humanity of those who are discriminated against suffers. The dignity and humanity of those who perpetrate the discrimination suffers. In fact, the dignity and humanity of all of us suffers.

The passing of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act in 1977 was a major achievement. I think history will see this as one of the outstanding legacies of the Wran government.

The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act has provided thousands of people in NSW with the opportunity to challenge injustice in employment, the workplace, education, the supply of goods and services and other areas of public life.

But let's remember that while Premier Wran and some of his Labor MPs were strong backers of this Act, the driving force to remove discrimination from our society - from our workplaces, our schools and all institutions - came from outside this place.

The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act arose out of the hard work of activists in what, back in the 1970s, we called the women's movement, the disability rights movement and gay liberation.

In 1977 the passing of Anti Discrimination Act for the first time provided legal protection for those in our communities who suffer discrimination. In turn, this brought a heightened level of humanity to our whole society. Over the past 27 years, this Act has been amended from time to time, to reflect the development of our own society. During that time, as a society we have become more aware of the need to remove discrimination in all its manifestations.

The Act has evolved to the stage where most areas of discrimination are now covered - explicitly banned under the Anti-Discrimination Act are discrimination based on race, sex, sexual harassment, age, disability, sexuality, transgender status, marital status, or carer status.

Despite the impressive advances, a major anomaly has lingered within the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. This is what the Greens private members bill addresses.

Since 1977, some workplaces have not been required to comply with the Anti-Discrimination Act. These are private and religious schools, and small businesses that employ fewer than six people. So side by side with the advances achieved by the Anti-Discrimination Act, we have allowed - and if anything codified - discrimination against people in private schools and small businesses.

Many people have spoken of the need to remove this exemption. In particular I would like to acknowledge the work in this field of Susan Halliday, the former Federal Sexual Discrimination Commissioner, and Chris Puplick, the former NSW Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.

In the areas of sex discrimination, transgender discrimination, marital status discrimination, disability discrimination, and homosexual discrimination the Act explicitly states in respect to the employment of teachers that the Act does "not apply to employment by a private educational authority".

Similarly, in accepting the enrolment of students, these sections of the Anti-Discrimination Act do not apply "to, or in respect of, a private educational authority".

Private and religious schools have used their exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act to adopt discriminatory employment practices. The exemption has been used by the Catholic Education Office to sack teachers who live in de-facto relationships or who are gay or lesbian. We know of private schools that have declined to enrol disabled students.

This anomaly, which has been used by a number of private schools, runs counter to developments in our society. Support for diversity is more commonplace these days. But if that support is to be reflected in our day-to-day lives, action is needed to end the legal loophole.

The Greens see our private members bill - the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) Bill as very much being part of that action. If passed, this bill would stop private schools and businesses that employ fewer than six people from discriminating on the basis of sexuality, disability, gender or age.

The exemption that these bodies have under certain parts of the current Anti Discrimination Act would be removed. The impact of our change to the current Act would be far reaching in private schools. The managements of such institutions would no longer be able to reject employees or students because they are -

· Lesbian or gay · Transgender · Disabled · Female or male · Too old · Unmarried · Act as a carer

The Greens proposed changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act will help create truly diverse workplaces and educational institutions. The Greens' Bill will help end some of the remaining vestiges of discrimination. It will ensure that all working people, students and teachers at our private schools have real opportunities to diversify and to learn from others who are not 'the same'.

Closing the loopholes in the current Act, and thereby respecting diversity, is also linked to occupational health and safety. A workplace were all people are respected and discrimination is eliminated is a workplace where we can learn from each other, work together to advance workplace safety and make our work more fulfilling.

There have been other attempts to challenge the special treatment of private and religious schools. In 2002, the Queensland Government introduced the Discrimination Law Amendment Bill, which if passed would have required private and religious schools to comply with their anti-discrimination laws. Queensland Attorney-General, Rod Welford, argued the bill was necessary. But the bill came under sustained attack from religious schools and their supporters. The result was a backdown by the Queensland Government.

Faced with that pressure, the Government shelved the plan to close loopholes that allowed private schools in that state to discriminate in similar ways to those in NSW. Earlier I congratulated the Wran government for their foresight in introducing the Anti-Discrimination Act. Unfortunately, the Carr Labor government have not had the same foresight.

They have had nine years to rectify the legal loopholes that have allowed discrimination in private schools and small businesses to continue. Unlike their Qld colleagues, they have not even tried to change the status quo. The Greens would have preferred Labor to have brought this Bill forward. We would then be much more confident that it would pass the first time. We need the backing of the government for this Bill to pass. But you can be assured that whatever the NSW Government does, the Greens will not back down.

We are already feeling pressure from the religious schools and their supporters. We have had phone calls. Emails are already rolling in from pastors, priests and parishoners. Every day that Parliament sits, the two Christian Democrat MPs, Fred Nile and Gordon Moyes, present petitions opposing our bill.

The religious lobby is getting organised. Using the network of churches around the state, they are spreading misinformation about a bill they haven't even seen yet.

We must counter this campaign with one of our own. We must explain why discrimination is never acceptable. We must send petitions of our own. We must write letters. We must lobby our local MPs.

Please use the information that has been supplied today to pass resolutions in your workplace, union, or community group. Forward all resolutions of support, and your letters to the Attorney General Mr Debus and the Shadow Attorney General Mr Andrew Tink.

Also look out for our postcard campaign. You can also download petitions and other materials from my website, www.lee.greens.org.au.

The time has come to work together and end all forms of discrimination. The age of exemptions is over. The Greens Bill provides a means to achieve that.

This Bill has had a long gestation - over three years. I would like to thank the many people who have given advice and worked on the content. In particular, I also give thanks to Andrew Burke, Hans van Leeuwen and Cate Faehrmann for their work on the bill. I'd also like to express my thanks to all the hard work from The Greens' LGBTI spokespeople Emelia Holdaway and Norman Thompson. Now the preparations are over and the campaign can begin in earnest.

It's up to all of us, all our friends, colleagues and supporters to campaign to have this bill passed.

I look forward to working with you all. Together we can end this discrimination.