Anthony Albanese appears to have confirmed that his Government has abandoned attempts to pass a religious discrimination bill during this term of Parliament. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The Prime Minister was asked for an update on the religious discrimination laws at a press conference in Western Australia on Friday afternoon, and said he was unwilling to proceed without bipartisan support – which he claimed had not been forthcoming.
“One of the things I’ve spoken about is the need for greater social cohesion,” Mr Albanese said.
“And the last thing that Australia needs is any divisive debate relating to religion and people’s faith … I don’t intend to engage in a partisan debate when it comes to religious discrimination.”
Mr Albanese said the time frame he had set for bipartisan agreement was to introduce legislation during the May federal budget sittings.
He blamed the Coalition for the lack of movement on the bill, saying bipartisan agreement had not been reached because the Opposition had not provided amendments to Labor’s draft.
Opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said in mid-July that Labor needed to go back to the drawing board entirely, given the rejection of the bill by faith groups.
It was widely suspected that the legislation was dead in the water after the May deadline passed, but the Prime Minister’s remarks are the first public confirmation that it would likely not proceed at all.
Responding to Mr Albanese’s comments, Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli said it was “regrettable that such important legislation is not proceeding”.
“However, I trust that the Prime Minister will be true to his word that protections for people of faith will not go backwards under his leadership,” Archbishop Comensoli said.
“In the absence of any new protections, today’s announcement should also mean that existing protections remain in place.”
FULL STORY
Labor appears to abandon religious discrimination bill after PM comments (The Catholic Weekly)
Government concedes religious discrimination legislation won’t go ahead (Melbourne Archdiocese)
