Coalition’s religious discrimination bill passes after marathon all-night sitting

The human rights amendment bill, which now prevents religious schools discriminating against students on the basis of gender and sexuality, passed shortly before 5am. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The Morrison government has passed the religious discrimination bill in the House of Representatives after a marathon all-night sitting, despite Liberal moderates defecting to help add more extensive protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The Liberal MPs Bridget Archer, Trent Zimmerman, Katie Allen, Fiona Martin and Dave Sharma crossed the floor against the government, helping Labor and the crossbench add protections for LGBTQ+ students into the Sex Discrimination Act.