Victoria’s most senior Catholic has backed the Coalition’s proposal to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to allow religious schools to hire staff on the basis of faith, despite opposition from the state’s peak multicultural organisation and a leading Jewish group.
The Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, said he supported the Victorian opposition’s election pledge, arguing “any leader who supports fairness to religious organisations is simply doing the right thing by all Australians”.
“Faith-based organisations should be protected by the law, so that they can employ staff who support their faith, values and mission,” he said.
Changes to Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act, which came into effect in June, largely prohibit religious schools from sacking staff or refusing to hire people based on protected attributes such as sexuality, gender identity or marital status.
Schools have an exemption to make employment decisions based on an employee’s religious beliefs where it is critical to the job, such as the hiring of a religious education teacher.
The changes were in response to reports teachers at religious schools had been sacked after coming out as LGBTQ+.
But Victoria’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has denied existing teachers would be sacked if they identified as LGBTQ+ under his party’s proposal, which according to an authorised flyer will be subject to consultation to “genuinely balance religious freedoms and individual rights”.
Two senior Victorian Liberals argued the commitment would help the party gain support among ethnic and religious communities in the state’s outer suburbs, where it needs to win seats if it wants to form government at the 26 November election.
“It will have gone down well with conservatives on our side and a lot of those on Labor’s as well,” one said.
They said the “future of the Liberal party is in the outer suburbs”, citing the electoral success of Liberal MP Jason Wood in La Trobe, in Melbourne’s outer east, in the face of his party’s crushing defeat at the federal election.
However, Emiliano Zucchi, chief executive of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria, said the peak body did not support the opposition’s proposed change.
“We believe the act in its current form strikes the right balance between respecting the rights of religious institutions and protecting individuals from discrimination,” he said.
Several organisations have also told Guardian Australia they were not consulted over the proposal.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria had not raised amending the existing laws during its regular meetings with government and opposition MPs, while Independent Schools Victoria and the Independent Education Union were not consulted by the Coalition.
The Australian Association of Christian Schools, however, wrote to the opposition in September seeking clarity on its position on potential reform.
Its chief executive, Vanessa Cheng, said the recent changes to the laws had created “uncertainty and confusion” for faith-based schools.
“We don’t see faith as being something that is an add-on or just covered in religious studies class … it permeates all aspects of life,” Cheng said.
The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria’s executive director, Jim Miles, said the sector’s schools had “always sought the religious right to employ staff who support the ethos of our schools”.
Nevena Spirovska, co-convener of the Victorian Pride Lobby, said it had concerns about any weakening of Victoria’s anti-discrimination laws and the protections they gave to LGBTQ+ people.
“Religious freedom and LGBTIQ+ rights shouldn’t be pitted against each other,” she said.
Guy made the commitment on Monday, during a meeting with the Islamic Council of Victoria where he also pledged $4.5m to the peak body for their city community hub project.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, suggested a Coalition government could undo other progressive reforms.
“What’s next? Is he going to unpick the abortion law reform, is he going to unpick voluntary assisted dying?” he said.
