*Extremely* disappointing that Liberal MP Angie Bell, a member of the LGBT community, has decided not to stand up for trans and gender diverse children and young people. #trans #auslaw #auspol 1/
Bell is also supporting amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act that allow religious schools to discriminate against lesbian, gay and bisexual students in 1,001 ways other than expulsion. #auspol 2/
And supporting a #ReligiousDiscriminationBill that provides an alternative avenue to discriminate against LGBT kids on the basis of beliefs *about* sexual orientation and gender identity, rather than those things directly (including even, presumably, expelling them). #auspol 3/
It seems Bell has secured next-to-no material improvement in the lives of LGB kids, zero improvement in the lives of trans & gender diverse kids - in return for passing a Bill taking away rights from women, LGBT ppl, ppl with disability & more.

Not.
A.
Great.
Deal.

#auspol 5/

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Alastair Lawrie

Alastair Lawrie Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @alawriedejesus

Feb 9
For those celebrating the protection of LGBT students in religious schools under the Sex Discrimination Act, I have some news:

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple.

Discrimination against LGBT kids could continue, under the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill itself. #auspol 1/
That's because the RDB allows religious schools to discriminate against students on the basis of religious belief, throughout their education.

This could allow discrimination against LGBT kids 'under the guise of religious views', rather than on sexuality or gender ID itself. 2/
For a detailed explanation, see this helpful thread from the expert on these issues @LiamElphick_ 3/
Read 7 tweets
Feb 9
Based on what we know about Labor's proposed amendments to the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill, we can say the following:

-they make improvements in a few important areas

BUT

-don't redeem what remains, overall, a deeply flawed Bill. #auspol 1/
Improvements incl removing the ability of religious schools to discriminate against students on the basis of sexual orientation & gender identity under the Sex Discrimination Act.

And ensuring the statement of belief clause doesn't remove existing discrimination protections. 2/
However, Labor's amendments do *not* protect LGBT teachers in religious schools under the SDA.

Instead, they will wait for the ALRC to report on this.

Even though this issue is *not* complex, with Tasmania protecting LGBT teachers for two decades, & the ACT since 2019. 3/
Read 20 tweets
Feb 9
Disappointingly, this explainer does not discuss the loophole created by the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill itself, which could continue to see LGBT kids discriminated against 'under the guise of religious views', even if the SDA is fixed. #auslaw #auspol 1/ smh.com.au/politics/feder…
This is because the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill allows religious schools to discriminate against students throughout their education.

This falls far short of the best practice approach of Qld, Tasmania, ACT and NT, which limit such discrimination to the point of enrolment. 2/
As a result, a religious school could still punish, or expel, an LGBT student who refuses to publicly affirm 'homosexuality is intrinsically disordered', or 'god created man and women, so trans gender people don't exist.'

The outcome is the same: LGBT kids being mistreated. 3/
Read 4 tweets
Feb 8
"“My appeal to you is to come together and think about our team,” Mr Morrison told the meeting."

Internal party unity is more important to him than protecting trans and gender diverse students from discrimination on the basis of who they are. #auspol 1/ smh.com.au/politics/feder…
Contrast:

Bridget Archer said she was “horrified” that transgender children would not be protected under the proposed reforms and implored her parliamentary colleagues to think about the long term mental health effects of affected people. #auspol 2/
And more:

"I can’t wrap my head around this and I fear that it may risk lives,” she said. “In 2022 I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. This bill is an overreach." #auspol 3/
Read 4 tweets
Feb 7
My thoughts are with trans and gender diverse kids and their families, abandoned by this thoughtless, and in my view, heartless, exclusion.

But thoughts are not enough.

Please take *action* today to tell MPs to reject the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill. 1/ theguardian.com/australia-news…
Tell moderate Liberal MPs to reject the Bill here. 2/
equal.org.au/tell_liberals_…
Tell ALP MPs to reject the Bill here. 3/
equal.org.au/tell_labor_to_…
Read 5 tweets
Feb 7
"Faith-based schools would not be able to expel gay students, but would retain the right to expel transgender students under draft amendments to a contentious #ReligiousDiscrimination Bill package moderate Liberals say they cannot support." #auspol 1/ smh.com.au/politics/feder…
⬆️ I am struggling to find the (twitter-appropriate) words to express how I feel about a Govt that would target trans & gender diverse kids for abuse and mistreatment.

Discrimination law should protect the vulnerable, not expose them to discrimination because of why they are. 2/
There is *nothing* radical about protecting students in religious schools against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation *and* gender identity.

Tas, Qld & NT have done so for decades. ACT for almost 3 yrs. Religious schools continue to exist in all 4 jurisdictions. 3/
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

:(