Baillieu Govt strips rights protections
Less than a week after a tardy MP denied the Baillieu Liberal Government the numbers to pass a bill stripping back protections in the Victorian Equal Opportunities Act, the Government has brought the bill back for a second vote and passed it.
Under the rules of the Victorian Parliament a bill cannot be voted on more than once in a session of Parliament.
However the Government set procedure aside and brought the bill up for another vote despite outcry from the Victorian Opposition.
Victorian Attorney General Robert Clark pointed to the different rules used in the Federal Parliament regarding missed votes.
“It’s clearly recognised by the commonwealth parliament that in cases where there is a misadventure, where there is a missed vote, it is appropriate for the question to be again put.”
GLBT activists had appealed to government MPs to vote with their conscience but in the end the bill was passed unanimously by Coalition members in a vote of 43-42.
It is unclear at this stage whether putting the bill up for a vote in this manner could be subject to court challenge.
Speaking on the Equal Opportunity Amendment Bill in Parliament last week, Prahran MP Clem Newton-Brown said the exemptions apply to staff recruitment only.
鈥淔aith-based schools need to be aware that existing staff have the full protection of their contract of employment and any applicable award or collective agreement, as well as protection under unfair dismissal,鈥� he said.
鈥淣o faith-based schools are entitled to terminate employment in breach of these rights.鈥�
The Liberal MP said the Government was fulfilling an election commitment to faith-based schools in removing the inherent requirements test and that it was also ensuring balance so that other organisations (including GLBTI groups) have the ability to exercise employment discrimination in appropriate circumstances.
鈥淚t cuts both ways … a gay counselling service should be able to discriminate to employ only gay counsellors if they wish and the Act makes provisions for this.鈥�
Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL) co-convenor Sarah Rogan said Newton-Brown was attempting to hide the true nature of the amendments.
鈥淧utting faith-based organisations on notice does not provide any comfort to our community at all,鈥� she said.
鈥淧erhaps Mr Newton-Brown does not realise that should a gay counselling service wish to employ a gay counsellor, the service would need to go to VCAT to have an exemption granted on a case-by-case basis 鈥� something very different from this blanket exception.
鈥淭he VGLRL does not see the 鈥榖alance鈥� [he] is referring to. The Act is weighted entirely in favour of faith-based organisations, with no regard paid to the individual GLBTI job or service-seeker.鈥�
[…] described by the press as LGBT (eg: this) and I’ve heard Hillary Clinton use this term but in Australia and New Zealand, I’ve only ever heard GLBTI. Not trying to create division but I’m […]
Would not get too excited about Andrea Coote crossing the floor, she voted against previous ALP Government’s amendments to allow a Woman who is not married access to Assisted Reproduction Technologies such as IVF. Interestingly the only Victorian Liberal in the Upper House to vote for those amendments was Bruce Atkinson who is now the President of the Upper House.
Clark has said that Faith Based Organisation will not be able to refuse services to anyone, but once bill is signed into law will be able to discriminate regarding employment. IMO no organisation that gets public money should be able to discriminate unless they can prove good reason on a case by case basis.
The Coalition and the Libs want to do away with the Bill of Rights now, wonder what a socially conservative coalition would look like compared to this “Progressive or Moderate” one?
Pity Clem Newton Brown didn’t cross the floor, maybe he does actually believe in the changes? or given majority of only 1 the Coalition have he has been whipped into submission by his party. Guess we will see long term impact next election in 2014 he probably hopes his LGBT constituents would have forgotten by then…
Iain take your worthless homophobic responses to the ACL website where they will be welcome you cockroach.
Good on you Ted. We need someone to bring us back to reality. Job well done.
To ALL the people who voted for CLEM NEWTON BROWN remember he is still a LIBERAL .
That he is too weak to speak up for the Gay Community who got him into the Seat.
After a lot of correspondensce with him he never really answered any questions in a way that gave the idea he was concerned about “The Gays”. These questions related to ,Robert Clarkes Comments, The Homophobic member for Frankston emails ,Victorian Equal Opportunities Act being discrimatory all he did was protest his A”’se with pussy foot replies.
Worse the a form letter answer.
Frightened that he may be kicked out by the people of Prahran/Windsor/South Yarra at the next election. Replaced by a person who is a REAl GENUINUE person not a very good actor ,riding his push bike in Pride March then off to being a good Liberal Family Man with the wife and kids in the “Toorak Tractor” at his Liberal Party Events.
HE IS NOT A CLOVER MOORE from inner Sydney and will never do for the Seat of Prahran what she has done for the Gay Community of Sydney.
WAKE UP he is just using the gay people who he represents and HOLD HIM TO ACCOUNT.
ASK HIM HARD QUESTIONS that will test his courage!!
Incorrect web address now fixed
I feel this segregation should be clearly marked with Lib/Nat party wearing white sheets with eye-cutouts over their head. No… forget the eye-cutouts, let them wander around not knowing where they are going, just as they want the GLBTI community to do.
If the Global Athiest Convention is getting money, that must make the thousands of job losses alright then…
An irony is that the same government is providing financial support to the Global Atheist Convention next year. Shhh … no body tell Baillieu!
Robert Clark has only recently called himself a “Buddhist”. No doubt to match the 100,000 Cantonese in his electorate. The man entered parliament after just a couple of years outside of University, he has very little real world experience. He has spent since 1988 inside the plush offices of parliament. He has a long history of vilification of people who are in the GLBTI community.
What Prahran MP Clem Newton-Brown does not want to tell you, is the changes do just apply to education, they are to thousands of jobs across the welfare sector, the disability sector, the aged care sector, foster agencies, service for young people and many more.
Clem has being misleading people as he is shit scared of getting held to account.
So now is being asleep when a vote is taken also a “misadventure” according to the Attorney General who in spite of being one for precedent and form has been the architect of overthrowing 150 years of parliamentary procedure here in Victoria. Why have Parliament at all in that case and rule by dictatorship. Late is late and you miss out whether you left your run too late or were asleep!
What will Andrea Coote do in the Upper House – she has always been progressive and crossing the floor could lead to the Bill failing?
PS To be fair Robert Clark is Buddhist.
Suddenly WA doesn’t seem like such a backward state to live in anymore
Doug is correct, in order for this legislation to become law it *must* pass the upper house of the Victorian Parliament.
As such, petition your local MLC to vote against this legislation in the Upper House.
People need to contact the Jewish organizations as these good people are now subject to the same Vilification.
We have been asked to wear a pink triangle by the Liberal/National Party. Jewish people are asked to wear a yellow star.
I remember when Robert Clark last had control of the Liberal Party. A gay man walked out of a cinema and was charged with having a deadly weapon. It was a small studded belt. He did no crime and was leaving the cinema after a movie. How many of us have done that? Heterosexual people wore them but were not charged. This was a time when police tapped the phones of GLBTI journalist. When people were stripped searched at the Tasty Night Club. And when police went to parties dressed in drag and then strip searched everyone. Those were terrible times. But we are now returning to them. Petery Ryan is seeking to get rid of the GLBTI liason office in the police, and he is knifing the head of the police as he is seen to close to justice and equality for all. They want to replace him with a conservative man, like they had when the Liberal/National Party last had power. One who can change the culture in the police force.
There is a campaign of absolute terror being unleashed in Victoria by the Liberal/National Party. They are turning back the clock.
This will effect you. It is not a matter of if but when.
So, Clem Newton-Brown has proven he is a party first, constituents second man by supporting this draconian law claw-back.
I suggest he note get our vote at the next election …. no matter how poor the alternate candidates may seem.
Man is clearly just paying us lip service in the quest to secure votes ….
SHAME
This is exactly why I will NEVER vote Liberal. Ultimately all they have to offer the world is greed, selfishness and hatred. I grew up loathing the Frazer government. How even handed and reasonable they seem by comparison.
Doug the legislation has passed, we have have been knifed by every member of the Liberal/National Party. And those who have power in the Liberal/National Party, are on record saying our “lyfestyle” and “agenda” is Evil, and the “community” finds homosexuality is “wrong”.
As I understand it this measure goes to the upper house.
MLC lineup is Liberals 18 Nats 3 = 21 / ALP 16 Greens 3 = 19
Which by my calculation means if we can move one Lib across we can force a draw
Andrea Coote is MLC Southern Metropolitan Region
“Andrea was elected to Parliament in 1999 and her Electorate, the Southern Metropolitan Region includes the lower house electorates of Albert Park; Bentleigh; Brighton; Burwood; Caulfield; Hawthorn; Kew; Malvern; Prahran; Oakleigh and Sandringham. In this capacity Andrea deals with many issues of importance to her constituents:- planning, housing, transport, education and health are the issues for which people mainly come to her for assistance .Her electorate is very diverse encompassing the Yarra River, Port Philip Bay, the Shrine, the very wealthy, the very poor and homeless, the gay community, the Jewish community… Andrea is interested in them all!”
Wikipedia
“During her first term, Coote also became notable for her support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. While the Liberal Party, as a conservative party, has traditionally opposed any liberalisation in this area, Coote became one of a small group of Liberal Legislative Councillors . . . . that lobbied for gay-friendly changes in party policy. . . . . The Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby specifically singled out Coote for praise, describing her as “very proactive on gay issues.鈥� ”
Electorate Office
Address 306 Bay Street, Port Melbourne 3207
Phone (03) 9681 9555
Fax (03) 9681 9792
Email Address [email protected]
In 1995, the current Liberal Party Christian Fundamentalist Attorney-General said of homosexuality to parliament, “I believe homosexual practices form a destructive way of life, destructive to the individual and destructive also to other individuals who are brought into that way of life. I suppose it is most readily demonstrable at a physical level; it is a physical fact that the human body is not designed for many homosexual practices and it is clear that physical problems follow from those practices.” Mr Clark went on to quote a student medical text stating that homosexual male pedophiles commonly reported molesting hundreds of victims, while heterosexual pedophiles “molest only a few”. (Read more: ).
Today the Victorian Liberal/National Party has shredded all concepts of fairness and dignity when they repealed the Equal Opportunity Act to exclude GLBTI people from vast amounts of government services and jobs. Billions of dollars are given to religious businesses, often in a monopoly, to run thousands of essential services. But purely on the basis of your sexuality, you can study all you want, have all the relevant experience, and be denied the job. This was against the Uniting Church, and Anglican Bishop John McIntyre鈥檚 advice. John argued religious businesses should have no excuse to discriminate against GLBTI people, as it is breach of a fundamental Human right. (Read more: )
The actions of the Liberal/National Party, to reinvent what a Human Right is, and to determine that you should not have access to many services due to your birth, is a monumental change in direction for Victoria. It represents an attack on your dignity. Your right not to have to follow a particular religion to keep employment, your right to seek employment based on your ability and experience, and your right to access a government service and not to have to follow a particular religion to access that service.
The former Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett said employing a homosexual is like employing a Child Sex Offender. I cannot help but think this new Liberal Premier is following in his footsteps. (Read more: )
On the horizon, the new Christian Fundamentalist Attorney-General, Robert Clark, has now announced a review of the Charter of rights in Victoria, with a view to removing protections of GLBTI people from this also.
It is important to understand that we are now at war. We are fighting to save what we have gained over the last 30years. This war will leave no person untouched by the end of it. Gay bars will once again be the subject of constant police strip searches, and those who have children will be targeted. ( Read more: ) You are also now being excluded from a range of government services. This is how it starts.
Peter Ryan the National Party head is trying to knife Simon Overlander, the Police Commissioner, for marching in Pride, and daring to show he stands for justice and equality. Bit by bit they are attacking those who stand with us for equality. They are removing the obstacles so they will be free to turn back the clock.
Not one member of the Liberal/National Party, not one, stood up for you. All of them voted to remove your rights. All of them voted to get you in the neck.
What a travesty of justice – and maybe the GLBTIQ media will have better judgement at the next election than to print advertisements from this pack of rabid, hypocritical homophobes.
I also suggest the Star Observer have a nice little chat with Clem Newton-Brown, member for Prahran who voted in favour of such a disgusting amendment.
What a fucking farce ….