There is confusion over just who has seen the federal government's plans for a religious discrimination act, despite the prime minister insisting his cabinet colleagues had viewed two pieces of draft legislation.
It remains unclear who within Labor has seen the draft legislation, while some in the Coalition have access to it.
On Friday, Mr Albanese told reporters in regional New South Wales that his government had two pieces of draft legislation, one that would amend the Sex Discrimination Act and another that would create a religious discrimination act. Labor's foray into the issue escalated this week after Mr Albanese told his Labor colleagues at a party room meeting on Tuesday that he hadIt later emerged that the briefing between the leaders wasn't an official meeting but rather a conversation while on a plane together returning from a funeral on Monday. The two had previously discussed the matter on one earlier occasion, sources have told the ABC.
But none have been able to confirm that draft legislation was ever considered by the cabinet, contrary to what Mr Albanese said on Friday.Despite requesting bipartisan support on the issue, it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus handed a hard copy of the draft legislation to Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash.
In 2022, Mr Dreyfus asked the Australian Law Reform Commission to consider how best to prevent religious schools from discriminating against LGBT students and staff.An independent review into protecting LGBT staff and students at religious schools is now complete, but the government's own plans are no clearer.The almost 500-page document, which was informed by more than 40,000 submissions, proposed two major changes to protect LGBT staff and students in religious schools.
Mr Albanese on Friday hinted that Labor's draft legislation pursued a different path, with no suggestion the provision in the Sex Discrimination Act would be abolished. Nor did he suggest that the government would amend the Fair Work Act.
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