Catholic Online Forum

The Catholic Church says the draft anti-discrimination laws fail by not recognising religious freedom is a fundamental human right, not a special permission to discriminate granted by government.

The church also maintains it should be allowed to refuse to employ a teacher who argues publicly against church teachings or ''lives in such a way to challenge'' those teachings.

The views will be put to Thursday's hearing of a Senate committee holding its first public session in an inquiry into the government's draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012. The draft legislation aims to amalgamate five existing statutes covering age, disability, race, sex and other forms of discrimination into a single statute.

Father Brian Lucas, general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, will tell the hearing governments are obliged to ensure freedom of religion and the freedom to manifest religious beliefs in public is recognised and protected in law.

''It is a freedom that cannot be ignored but it is a freedom questioned by many who want churches to abandon their beliefs in the public square,'' he says.

''The draft laws propose religious freedom be exercised as exceptions to the anti-discrimination laws.

''Drafting legislation that way fails to recognise that religious freedom is not a special permission to discriminate granted by government but a fundamental human right that government is obliged to protect. To make this clear and to remove the potential for misunderstanding, the legislation should replace that language with words that recognise religious freedom as one of a number of important competing rights that must be balanced against each other.''

TWO of the cherished foundations of the Australian way of life are freedom of speech and the presumption of innocence. Changes are proposed which would undermine these.

On November 20, the attorney general published a draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012, which sets out to unify and consolidate five existing anti-discrimination acts. The draft goes much further...

The proposed legislation extends the meaning of discrimination to include "unfavourable treatment", "offending", and "insulting", perhaps even for some political opinions expressed in the workplace. All this is a step too far.

Most Australians want to reject some politicians, even speak insultingly about them. Any law to prohibit this would be unworkable.

In Australia, the state and territory governments have the primary responsibility for funding state government schools and also provide supplementary assistance to non-government schools, while the Australian federal government is the primary source of public funding for non-government schools (while also providing supplementary assistance to government schools). These public funds subsidise the fees paid by parents for the education of their children at Catholic schools, with the overall effect of reducing the numbers and therefore burden on public funding for government schools. Most non-government schools have some religious affiliation, with approximately two-thirds of their students enrolled in Catholic schools.[24] In the final year of secondary schooling, students at both government and non-government schools sit for a government-endorsed certificate that is recognised by all Australian universities and vocational education and training institutions.[25] Thus, Catholic schools may freely teach and encourage religious studies, values and community engagement but must adhere to the broader requirements of Australia's secular education system.

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference through the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education, is tasked with maintaining liaison with the federal government and other key national education bodies and complements and supports the work of the state and territory Catholic education commissions.[26] While some Catholic schools operate independently, the Catholic Education Office (CEO) is responsible for the leadership, efficient operation and management of the Catholic systemic schools which educate in parish primary and regional secondary schools in Australia and is charged with the implementation and management of the policies determined by the SACS Board and the allocation and administration of the funds provided by government and private sources to Catholic schools as well as the financial responsibilities for administration of salaries for staff members

The body representing Catholic Bishops has defended its right to discriminate against gay people within its education and health institutions.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has given evidence to a Senate Committee which is investigating the Government's planned changes to anti-discrimination laws.

The proposed bill allows an exemption for religious bodies if the discrimination is necessary to avoid injury to religious sensitivities.

Greg Whitby, executive director of schools with the Parramatta Diocese, said expectations of Catholic schools were clearly communicated to applicants and that teaching contracts featured clauses stipulating employees ''adhere and observe the principles and moral standings and teachings of the Catholic Church''.

''Being homosexual by nature is not a preclusion to working in Catholic schools,'' he said.

''But practising and supporting that lifestyle is contrary to what you've agreed to sign up with.''

Having teachers who openly flout the teachings of the Catholic church risked undermining those teachings, he said.

''If students see in their teacher that not only do they talk about this but they actually practise it, that's the power,'' he said.

For senior positions such as a school principal, Mr Whitby said employees had to be practising Catholics.

I think that bit will get quietly dumped somewhere along the way. Even politicians cherish freedom of speech.

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has moved to scrap a controversial element of the Government's proposed anti-discrimination laws amid a public backlash over concerns it could limit free speech.

Ms Roxon has asked her department to redraft sections of the legislation to remove a clause that would have prohibited conduct that "offends or insults".

A Senate inquiry has rejected the Federal Government's plans to prohibit conduct that offends or insults, saying the move could limit freedom of expression.

The inquiry says the clause may have unintended consequences, including making it illegal to offend someone.

The Federal Government is not making any promises about agreeing to any of the recommendations.

Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – The approval of the "Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill", intended to include and harmonise existing anti-discrimination legislation in society could backfire on Christian Churches and Christian organisations. The bill being discussed by the Australian parliament, in fact would suspend "exemptions" hitherto enjoyed by Churches and religious organisations which run schools hospitals, social assistance centres, and social institutes and centres belonging to various different Christian denominations. Churches, in fact, were exempt from hiring homosexual teachers, including homosexual persons in services for the adoption of children, and from including same sex couples in services offered to hetero couples. The new Bill suspends these exemptions. An Australian senate commission has stated "no organisation should enjoy dispensation from the principle of non-discrimination when involved in supplying services for the community in general ".

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is calling on the states to sign up to a three-year intensive reading program for schools as a condition of her education funding plan.

The "reading blitz" program would cover more than 1 million students from kindergarten to year three.

Every school would have their own plan to improve reading and would be required to report student progress to parents.

Today's announcement is part of the Government's Gonski plan for education reform.

"We support public schools, and we want to make sure that money gets to public schools," he said.

The number of students enrolled at Sydney's 149 Catholic primary and secondary schools for the 2013 school year is at an all-time high.

So far a total of 68,741 students have been enrolled at the Archdiocese of Sydney's 149 schools.

"This is an extraordinary vote of confidence by parents," says Dr Dan White, Director of Schools for the Archdiocese and says enrolments have not been at this level since the Archdiocese of Sydney was split in two and the Diocese of Parramatta created.

Each year Catholic schools across the Archdiocese continue to show increases in enrolments of both Catholic and non Catholic children. The figures for 2011 of 63,000 increased to 66,000 in 2012 and in 2013 have increased even further.

Australia's 1704 Catholic schools across the country educate 730,472 students.

One in five of all Australian children are educated at Catholic primary schools with this percentage rising to one in three at secondary school level.

At present funding provided per student to Catholic schools is $10,340 against $11,520 per head for public schools and $14,460 for independent schools.

"We do more with less," says Dr White but admits he is extremely concerned over future funding for Catholic schools with the Federal Government still not having released details of its proposed new funding model despite completion of the Gonski Review of school funding in November 2011.

The Federal Government has delayed its controversial overhaul of the nation's anti-discrimination laws indefinitely.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the proposed laws did not strike the right balance and will be reworked.

The Government has long promised to consolidate the nation's five anti-discrimination acts to make the laws more consistent and easier for employers and victims of discrimination to understand.

But the new laws are not ready despite many consultation sessions, an inquiry, and hours of debate.