Religious Discrimination Bill shelved: Unnecessary trauma ripples amongst Queer community

The government has pulled the Religious Discrimination Bill from the senate’s schedule, throwing doubt on the possibility of the legislation being revisited before the federal election.

Over the past night, the ripple effect of government policy overhauling the rights of the LGBTIAQ+ community has been felt. A sleepless night unsure of the consequences of weakening anti-discrimination laws would have on society tomorrow.

I sat at the TV at 6am this morning at the end of the government’s debate of the Religious Discrimination Laws, and felt a deep sorrow in my gut, that the reactionary response of the conservative right towards the LGBTIAQ+ community would be taken advantage of.

It was 9:00am on the train, when opposition leaders posted across social media of the win to protect students, not mentioning the loss of protecting teachers, that I was sick to my stomach and ashamed to be Australian.

What did the government just do?

This morning government ministers filled morning television slots arguing that the amendment that aims to stop transgender students being expelled from faith-based schools would have unintended negative consequences. Particularly on the Today Show, Jacqui Lambie and Anthony Albonese both spoke their piece.

It seems highly unlikely that the bills will be considered to pass to the upper house before the Prime Minister is forced to call the election before fullfilling it’s campaign’s bigoted 2019 election promise.

It’s unsettling that after all of the hurt, all of the fear instilled in the future direction of this country, that the debate for human rights has decidely been shelved.

After the endless protesting against the out-of-touch, medieval policy, the shockwave of hurt from the same-sex marriage plebiscite was felt again, for the bill to be shelved.

If you have been impacted by recent news or debate around the Religious Discrimination bill, support is available. Contact:

Compass: [email protected]

Contact Compass via email to make an appointment (Monday to Thursday)

Switchboard: 1800 184 527

Anonymous, free telephone counselling for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex communities. 3pm – 12 am, 7 days a week.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

For free and confidential counselling over the phone 24/7

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