Defend Tasmanian Discrimination Law

Defend the progress Tasmania has made towards equality and inclusion. Email our political leaders now!

The Federal Government wants to reverse Tasmania's progress on human rights by allowing discrimination in the name of religion.

In particular, the Government's Religious Discrimination Bill will override Tasmania's laws that protect us from being publicly humiliated and intimidated.

You can make a difference by emailing our political leaders telling them that the rest of Australia should copy Tasmania's gold-standard anti-discrimination laws instead of trying to water them down.

Your email will go to all Tasmania's federal members of parliament, as well as national officials who are conducting consultations on the Religious Discrimination Bill including Attorney-General, Christian Porter, and Shadow Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus.

For more on how the Bill impacts Tasmanians, click here.

Dear federal ministers and parliamentarians,
I oppose the proposed override of the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act by the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill.
Our Act fosters fair treatment and respect for all Tasmanians, including those who have been traditionally stigmatised like people with disability, racial and religious minorities, women and LGBTIQ+ people.
It is inappropriate for the Federal Government to interfere with and water down the anti-discrimination protections that have been upheld by the Tasmanian Parliament.
I also oppose the Religious Discrimination Bill because it will:
<ol>
<li>Undermine social inclusion by allowing statements of religious belief that are offensive and harmful to some members of the community</li>
<li>Limit access to health care by allowing health care practitioners, including doctors and pharmacists, to refuse treatment on the basis of their religion. This will impact most severely on rural and remote communities with limited health care services</li>
<li>Punch holes in a range of federal and state discrimination laws that will allow further discrimination</li>
</ol>
I believe all Australians should be protected from discrimination on the ground of their religion. But I oppose the Religious Discrimination Bill because it permits discrimination against others in the name of religion.
The Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act provides a model for how to fairly and equally protect everyone from discrimination.
Our Act provides strong protections for people of faith, alongside other groups including people with disability, women, racial minorities and LGBTIQ people.
I urge you to oppose the flawed Religious Discrimination Bill and adopt the gold-standard set by Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act instead.
Yours Sincerely,

No Right to Discriminate

Defend the progress Tasmania has made towards equality and inclusion. Email our political leaders now!