The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has welcomed the announcement by the Queensland Government to put the commencement of the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 on hold indefinitely, pending further consultation.
The Respect at Work Act was introduced by Labor last year and was set to take effect in July.
ACL Queensland State Director Rob Norman said: “This legislation contains repressive religious restrictions and would severely impact Queenslanders’ rights to free speech and to practice their faith.”
“We thank Premier David Crisafulli and the government for taking action to protect Christian churches, aged care facilities, schools and individuals from the extreme measures of this legislation.”
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington told state parliament last week she was honouring an election commitment to consult further on the legislative changes.
“The current timeline for commencement does not provide sufficient time to address potential issues and unintended consequences,” she said.
“Nor does it allow time for further consultation without being burdensome on organisations working to comply with the new laws.”
She said her department and police had concerns about unintended consequences, such as people who had been charged with – but not convicted of – domestic violence offences being able to access weapons licences.
“Reforming discrimination law is a difficult and complex process that attracts significant stakeholder interest, which is why it should not have been rushed through by the former Labor government.”
“I am extremely concerned with the prospect of some very serious unintended and unwanted consequences,” Ms. Frecklington explained.
The Respect at Work Bill was passed in the final sitting week of the Miles Labor government.
It banned discrimination on the basis of physical appearance, homelessness, being a victim of domestic or family violence, sexual harassment, potential pregnancy and irrelevant medical or criminal records.
It also strengthened the definition of sexual harassment in the workplace to include subjecting someone to a work environment that is hostile on the ground of sex, and made businesses responsible for proactively ensuring a workplace free of sexual harrassment.
The ACL said: “While the Act retained existing exemptions for religious institutions under section 25 of the Anti-Discrimination Act — allowing religious schools to hire staff based on their faith — it also imposed a positive duty on organisations to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment, and harassment on the basis of ‘sex’ as far as possible.”
“This would have severely restricted the ability of religious institutions, organisations, and individuals to teach Biblical views on marriage, gender, and sexuality.”
“Additionally, the Act introduced vilification provisions at an unprecedented low threshold, significantly threatening free speech.”
“These provisions could have been weaponised to silence Christian beliefs in public discussion, particularly on issues of sexuality and gender identity.”
“This Act would also have empowered activists to shut down the promotion and practice of Christian belief in religious schools and elsewhere, where it conflicts with gender ideologies.”
“It would have left them open to activist lawfare simply for continuing to operate on the basis of assumptions concerning the traditional view of the human person that a large percentage of Australians share.“
