I rise to speak on the Greens sex discrimination amendment bill, the Discrimination Free Schools Bill 2018, and I do so very proudly. This is the reason I joined the Greens. We do not accept discriminating against people on any basis. We will not accept and allow discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice today said that voting for the Greens’ bill to end exemptions to anti-discrimination laws that allow religious schools to expel LGBT+ students is Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s chance to “act right now” and deal with this issue “once and for all”.

The Greens introduced the Discrimination Free Schools Bill 2018 into the Senate this afternoon.

“Prime Minister Scott Morrison is right: we need to ‘act right now’ to end this unfair discrimination while both parties are feeling the pressure in Wentworth,” Senator Rice said.

The Australian Greens met today with intersex community representatives at Parliament House as part of recognition of celebrations for Intersex Awareness Day next Friday 26 October.

“My Greens colleagues and I were pleased to meet with members of our intersex community to hear their lived experiences and discuss the urgent actions needed to protect the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson.

Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice today said that if Prime Minister Scott Morrison works in good faith with the Greens and Labor, the Parliament could end exemptions this week to Federal anti-discrimination laws that currently allow religious schools to fire LGBT+ teachers and staff because of who they are.

“For years the Greens have fought to remove exemptions to our laws that allow religious schools to expel students and fire teachers and staff members simply because of who they are,” Senator Rice said.

Following the release of the report into LGBT+ conversion attempts by La Trobe University, the Human Rights Law Centre and Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice said governments must do more to stop these harmful practices.

"Gay and trans conversion practices are grounded in homophobia and transphobia. Conversion practices still exist in many forms across the country and are often insidiously hidden or dressed up as 'mentoring' or 'counselling'," Senator Rice said.

Last week I thought I'd woken up in the 1950s. The Ruddock review into religious freedom recommended that the ability for religious schools to legally discriminate against LGBTQI students and teachers be entrenched in federal law. We already know the horrific consequences that such laws have for people in our community. Young people in all schools are receiving the very public message that they are not accepted. LGBTQI students feel they have to live their teenage years in silence and hide their identity for fear of being expelled.

Following the leak of the Ruddock Review into Religious Freedom, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told journalists this morning that "this has not been through cabinet at this point. It hasn’t been considered by cabinet, so we will take it through that orderly process, and we will come out with our response to the Ruddock review." However, last month Sen. Mathias Cormann refused to comply with an order from the Senate to produce the review, citing ongoing confidential cabinet deliberations.

The Ruddock review recommendations to allow religious schools to expel LGBTIQ+ students and fire LGBTIQ+ teachers would be disastrous, say the Greens.

“Last year in the marriage equality postal survey Australians voted for equality for LGBTIQ+ Australians, not for more discrimination,” Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson Senator Janet Rice said.

“The Ruddock review recommendations to change our laws to allow religious schools to expel students on the basis of who they are or who they love at a time when they are already vulnerable is unacceptable.”