In the fissile parliamentary sessions of late 2018 CSF staff were on the front foot in our national parliament promoting religious freedom around schools and tertiary employment. Along with extensive lobbying of elected members, Alphacrucis Associate Dean of Education, Dr David Hastie and Alphacrucis political liaison, Nick Jensen, have contributed two formal submissions to the SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES ON LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS inquiry: LEGISLATIVE EXEMPTIONS THAT ALLOW FAITH-BASED EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND STAFF
Their key tenor, similar to many other submissions, was to slow down the consultation process to a reasonable pace, and to enshrine religious freedom for Christian schools and Tertiary as a right, rather than an exemption, in anti-discrimination law. The push to rush legislation through the parliament in the November sittings was defeated in the senate, thwarting a highly politicised attempt to use the complex issues as a test of the government’s reduced numbers in the House of Representatives, following the surprise defection of Liberal Member Julia Banks. The submission (no.84) by Dr Hastie can be found here https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Schooldiscrimination/Submissions The submission (no. 60) by Nick Jensen on behalf of Australian Christian Higher Education Alliance can be found here: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Schooldiscrimination/Submissions It is unclear at this stage whether this will come up again in the life of this parliament, but religious freedom will certainly be a point of contention during the election campaign.
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May 2020
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