Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong has accused the government of “perverting the course of the Senate” after it killed off a move to scrap laws that allow religious schools to kick out LGBT students.
Finance minister Mathias Cormann — the leader of the government in the Senate — successfully suspended standing orders minutes before the chamber was due to vote on Labor’s legislation on Monday afternoon.
The proposed changes to the Sex Discrimination Act, which has included exemptions for religious schools since its introduction in 1983, would strip non-government schools of the power to exclude or expel students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Cormann was aided in his eleventh-hour move to prevent the chamber passing Labor’s legislation by the two Centre Alliance senators, Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick, who had previously indicated their support for the bill.
With their help, the government won a vote to overturn an order made by the Senate last week that Labor’s legislation had to be debated and voted on by 1:50pm today.
David Leyonhjelm, Cory Bernardi, Brian Burston, Fraser Anning, and the two One Nation senators voted with the government.
Labor, the Greens, Tim Storer, and Derryn Hinch voted against the government’s move.
By using procedure to block the legislation passing the Senate, the government has saved itself the embarrassment of having its numbers tested on the floor of the House of Representatives.
All while claiming it still supports the legislation.
Labor is now furiously working behind the scenes to secure the support it needs to pass its bill before Question Time on Wednesday.
Wong accused the Morrison government of abandoning LGBT kids to save face now it is in minority government.
Penny Wong lets loose on the government after it stopped a Labor bill to end discrimination against LGBT teens 🔥🔥🔥
“[Cormann] has lost control,” Wong told the Senate. “This is an indication of the chaos that is the Morrison government. That they have to upend the Senate and not vote on protecting LGBTIQ kids, because they are so worried about the lack of control they have of the House of Representatives.
“Do you know what the decent thing to do would be? Call an election! Call an election and stop perverting the processes of the Senate.”
Wong also took aim at the Centre Alliance senators who shifted support to the government after previously indicating they would support Labor’s bill to remove discrimination.
Hinch called the deferral of the legislation a “bloody disgrace”.
Greens senator Janet Rice said failing to scrap the discrimination exemptions will leave “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students in despair”.
Centre Alliance Senators have just voted with Liberals to shut down debate on removing discrimination against gay students in schools. Appalling. We should have been able to fix this odious law today, but the Xenophon team have stopped the Senate from acting. #auspol
Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm said he supported the government’s move to delay the vote because he thought the bill was “poorly drafted” and misguided.
“Rushing a sub-standard bill through the Senate for the sake of getting it passed before Christmas — or before the next federal election — is legislation on the run and not acceptable,” Leyonhjelm said.
Cormann said the government supported the need to protect LGBT teens from discrimination in school, but he wants the legislation amended to ensure that “religious schools can provide appropriate rules for the proper conduct of their schools”. For example, giving religious schools the power to compel all students to attend chapel.
In October, prime minister Scott Morrison said he would move quickly to end discrimination against LGBT schoolchildren.
“I will be taking action to ensure amendments are introduced as soon as practicable to make it clear that no student of a non-state school should be expelled on the basis of their sexuality,” Morrison said on Oct. 13. “I believe this view is shared across the parliament and we should use the next fortnight to ensure this matter is addressed.”
“Our government does not support expulsion of students from religious non-state schools on the basis of their sexuality. I also know that this view is widely shared by religious schools and communities across the country.”