On Friday, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights released the inquiry report on the Religious Discrimination legislative package of Bills.

Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Anne Webster, said “Increasingly, people of faith are being silenced for their genuinely held religious beliefs.

“Minority religions are experiencing this even more so. Australia is a democracy and a broadly tolerant society. This is unacceptable,” Dr Webster said.

“Freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a fundamental human right as recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of which Australia is a signatory. To provide adequate protections for religious people in Australia, or even those who hold no belief, we need to render discrimination on these grounds unlawful at a federal level. This bill will seek to remedy the gap in our legal framework.

“Religious belief is ingrained into a person’s identity and manifests in their manner of life and ethos. It is important that people be able to explain, discuss, share and express their moderate genuine faith-based beliefs without the fear of complaints being brought to silence them.”

Acknowledging a wide range of views, the committee acknowledges that the legislative framework of the Religious Discrimination Act is essential to uphold and protect the fundamental rights to freedom of religion and belief.

“After carefully considering the evidence, the committee has concluded that the religious discrimination legislative package is a sensible and balanced approach,” Dr Webster said.

“This bill is solely focussed on protecting the rights of people of faith to ensure that the principles of universality, equality and freedom are upheld. This legislative framework is a shield, not a sword, that rightly affords protections to religious people.

“Other protective frameworks have provided fundamental protections for Australian citizens, including the Sex Discrimination Act, Racial Discrimination Act, Age Discrimination Act and the Disability Discrimination Act. While the Religious Discrimination Bill has been overdue for some time, I’m relieved to see this promising pathway towards legislative protection.

“Of course, the right to freedom of religion must be balanced against other fundamental human rights. This is why the committee was diligent to consider submissions and testimonies from all sectors of Australian society.

The recommendations endorsed by the committee reflect a tolerant and inclusive society that understands the importance of faith to a pluralist democracy, but does not seek to impose those beliefs on, or injure others.

“Religious values are caught more than taught. Religious schools should have the right to preserve their faith-based culture and ethos. This includes the right to hire in accordance with their morals and convictions.”

The bill is set to be presented to the House next week.