A new YouGov Galaxy opinion survey shows that Australians strongly support the need for legal protections for freedoms of thought, conscience and belief (including religious belief) and that support has risen sharply in the last two years. 75% of those surveyed agreed that freedom of thought, conscience and belief in public through speech, practice and teaching
SUBMISSION TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA JUSTICE AND RELATED LEGISLATION (MARRIAGE AMENDMENTS) BILL 2018 20 March 2019 We oppose the new concept of “gender expression” being included in “gender identity” as a new basis for unlawful discrimination and for insulting or offending unlawful conduct - Clause 9 amendments (a) and (b).
On February 7, 2019, the Institute for Civil Society's Prof. Mark Sneddon and Dr Simon Kennedy appeared before the Senate Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee to further contribute to their inquiry into the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Removing Discrimination Against Students) Bill 2018. The Committee was appreciative of ICS's contribution to the inquiry and asked a
This is a submission prepared for the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. On 6 December 2018, the Senate referred the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Removing Discrimination Against Students) Bill 2018 and all circulated amendments to the bill to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. A PDF of the submission can be found here. Executive
The Labor Party’s proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, currently before the Senate, will severely limit the freedom of religious schools and religious adult education institutions which train chaplains, missionaries and in Australia. Summary Contrary to the recommendations of the Ruddock Panel on Religious Freedom, the ALP (Senator Wong) has introduced a Bill into the Senate to amend
Pre-empting the release of the Ruddock Panel Report on Religious Freedom, the Greens recently introduced a Bill to the Senate. It seeks to amend the Sex Discrimination Act and risks the freedom of religious Australians. The leaked recommendations of the Ruddock Report would continue the current exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act that allow religious
This is a submission prepared for the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. An inquiry was established to consider: Legislative exemptions that allow faith-based educational institutions to discriminate against students, teachers and staff, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and other attributes covered by the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, with particular reference
The protection of freedom of religion and belief is one key feature of a truly tolerant society. As the examples at the end of this article show, in recent times, increased hostility to religion among some cultural elites has led to some key aspects of freedom of religion and belief and related rights being
In early May, the Victorian Parliament debated proposed legislation which would see the tax-exempted status of many faith-based organisations revoked. Mark Sneddon and ICS were closely involved in assessing the bill, consulting with parliamentarians, and providing commentary on the potential consequences of the new laws. Below are extracts from the debate which cite Mark's important
On 18 May the Federal Government’s Inquiry into Religious Liberty under the Chairmanship of Philip Ruddock will present its report. It is very timely that the University of Divinity's Centre for Research in Religion and Social Policy (RASP) invites you to attend the second annual RASP Public Conversation on this significant topic on 1 June
