Penny Wong: Last News

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese-led Labor government would bring in a new religious discrimination bill before the Parliament. “It’s something that we will do… we are bringing the religious discrimination legislation before the parliament,” the Attorney General told Patricia Karvelas on RN Breakfast, in response to a question about whether Labor will legislate a religious discrimination law that also protects gay and trans students. Labor leader Anthony Albanese and Senator Penny Wong at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in March 2022. Image: SuppliedLGBTQI advocates have cautioned the Labor government against repeating the mistakes of the Scott Morrison government, which tried to unsuccessfully pass an anti-LGBTQI Religious discrimination bill earlier this year. The attorney general’s statement is not a new revelation.

Australia has elected one of its most diverse Parliaments, as the country voted against attempts by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison to push wedge politics to the national stage for electoral gains. While the media attention was focussed on the ‘teal wave’, this election showed that the ‘pink wave’ was here to stay. There are eight out gay, lesbian and bisexual members of parliament, with Labor Senator and foreign minister Penny Wong emerging as one of the most powerful LGBTQI political leaders in Australia. Some out gay Liberal MPs were voted out, but in good news a more progressive Parliament was voted in.

LGBTQI advocates have asked the Australian Labor Party and opposition leader Anthony Albanese to spell out their plans for a Religious Discrimination Bill. This follows National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) setting an April 29 deadline for the ALP to explain “what a finalised Albanese Government Religious Discrimination Bill will contain”.Just.Equal said they had written to Dreyfus with four questions on the issue. The organisation wanted to know, if a Labor government would “allow discrimination by faith-based schools against LGBTQ teachers at the point of recruitment, allow discrimination by faith-based schools against LGBTQ students under the guise of “religious belief”, allow discrimination against LGBTQ staff and volunteers in other faith-based services and override existing state and territory laws against LGBTQ discrimination, including existing protections for teachers in faith-based schools as well as Section 17 of Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act.” On February 10, 2022, Albanese had issued a statement after Prime Minister Scott Morrison indefinitely shelved his government’s Religious Discrimination Bill.