Labor has ruled out allowing a conscience vote on the government’s proposed legislation to remove exceptions that allow discrimination against LGBTIQ+ students.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said there was no need for a conscience vote because all Labor MPs agreed that the current laws need to be changed.
“No one with a conscience supports discrimination.” Shorten said, arguing that all Labor politicians were united on the issue.
Shorten said the entire issue was just the “backwash” from the marriage equality debate of last year, and most Australians would be disappointed that the parliament was drawing out the issue.
“We are deeply frustrated…one again we have the parliament set a task by the people of Australia and it’s just descending into high farce.” Shorten said.
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had agreed to address the issue during the Wentworth by-election but had since capitulated to the right wing members of his party.
Plibersek said the changes that needed to be made were simple but the government had tried to make the process complicated.
“We thought we could get this done in the first couple of weeks after the Wentworth by-election, but something changed.” Plibersek said. “I think what changed is that the right wing of the Liberal party said to Scott Morrison, ‘Prime Minister- that’s not happening – we’re not doing that.'”
Plibersek said history was repeating and mirroring the marriage debate where Liberal MPs attempted to introduce complex amendments to change the proposed laws.
“Someone will be suggesting a plebiscite next.” Plibersek said. The deputy leader said the Prime Minister was making a simple task complicated by demanding a conscience vote from opposition members.
“Labor doesn’t need a conscience vote. Every member of the Labor party agrees that it’s wrong to discriminate against children. It’s not complicated. In fact I don’t know how anyone who claims to have a conscience can think it’s okay to discriminate against children.” Plibersek said.
The deputy Labor leader said the solution was simple but the government was making it complex.
“There is a very nasty scare campaign being run by the right wing of the Liberal Party saying that this somehow undermines religious freedoms, when it doesn’t.”
“This is simple – do we support discrimination against children? Or do we not? If we don’t support discrimination against children in our schools, then we move the simple bill, support the simple bill that removes the right to discriminate. We should not allow this to be a complicated, by political agendas, other than the simple desire to let our children live their true selves, not to be discriminated against in their schooling.” Plibersek said.
OIP Staff
