Given Prime Minister @AlboMP is attending the launch of Qtopia in Sydney this morning, perhaps journalists might like to question him about the Govt's record, and plans, on LGBTIQ issues.

Some suggestions in the following tweets. #auspol🧵 1/
theaustralian.com.au/nation/qtopia-… 1. Given the rise in anti-LGBTIQ extremism over the past 12 months, what if anything has his Government done to respond to this?

[In contrast to the $50m in funding to religious orgs for their safety, it appears they have provided $0 to LGBTIQ orgs for the equivalent] #auspol 2/

Thinking about the past month - the TERF tour, & neo-Nazis, & CLM riot, & Latham's homophobic tweets - has made me reflect on one thing that is missing in our human rights framework, & which could have made a difference:

An LGBTIQA+ Commissioner at the AHRC. #auslaw #auspol 1/ The LGBTIQA+ community still lacks an independent office-holder, whose role would involve engaging in national conversations about human rights issues which affect us.

Unlike the existing AHRC Commissioners for Race, & Sex, & Disability, & Age, & First Nations, & Children. 2/

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/

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/

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/

"“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/

*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/

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_…

"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/

The amendment discussed in this story - "ensuring it is not discriminatory for an employer to take reasonable management action in relation to employees" - does nothing to guarantee protections for the victims of discrimination. #auspol 1/ theaustralian.com.au/nation/politic… In theory, this will allow employers to discipline employees who make discriminatory 'statements of belief' to others, without fearing that the employee will be able to turn around and claim the employer's actions amount to discrimination on the basis of religious belief. 2/

The details of the final #ReligiousDiscriminationBill were released a week ago today.

While there has been plenty of discussion about some of the major problems it will cause, I want to focus today on 4 issues which have received comparatively less focus. #auslaw #auspol 1/ 1. It will protect at least some religiously-motivated racist comments.

This is because of how broadly the radical and unprecedented 'statement of belief' provisions have been drafted. 2/

"Simon Rice, professor of law at USyd says the bill is “bizarrely complicated” because it is “trying to dress up freedom as discrimination” – a sword as a shield, in other words." #auslaw #auspol 1/ smh.com.au/politics/feder… "He warns that by allowing people to make discriminatory statements with impunity, it “emboldens” those inclined to discrimination." 2/

Misleading commentary by Jacinta Collins (of the National Catholic Education Commission) in today's SMH.

The problem with the Religious Discrimination Bill is that it does NOT protect religious belief 'in the same way' as existing attributes. Far from it. #auslaw #auspol 1/ The statement of belief provisions - which protect comments that offend, humiliate, insult & ridicule women, LGBTI people, people with disability & people of minority faiths, in all areas of public life - are radical & unprecedented.

They are not enjoyed by other groups. 2/

Even if the so-called 'Folau clause' has been dropped, the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill will likely still be extraordinary and extreme, entrenching the rights of religious individuals and orgs to discriminate against others.

Let me explain why. #auspol 1/ theguardian.com/world/2021/nov… As I have explained previously on this site, the 'Folau clause', while awful in and of itself, was actually the least terrible of the 4 major problems of the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill.

Based on media reports, it seems the 2 worst aspects of the 2nd Exposure Draft remain. 2/

I began writing my LGBTI rights blog 9 years ago today: alastairlawrie.net

It's fair to say I really didn't know what I was doing in the beginning.

But through perseverance, I think it's slowly improved, each year since then.

And I'm proud of this growing body of work. 1/ To mark the anniversary, I thought I'd share 9 posts which are important to me, often for quite different reasons. 2/