It may be surprising for many to hear that even in 2015 schools and educational institutions are still legally allowed to discriminate against people based on their sexuality, and hide behind their religious beliefs as a defence. That includes refusing to hire or firing gay and lesbian teachers, or refusing to enrol students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans. While it might seem far-fetched, last week we were reminded that this kind of discrimination is still alive and well.
Over in Western Australia, a school principal told the gay dad of a seven-year-old girl his daughter would not have been welcome at the school if the school had known her father was gay. Principal Andrew Newhouse, a candidate for the Christian Family First party in the last federal election and a staunch opponent of marriage equality, told the father of a seven-year-old girl after she told her school mates that her father was gay, that his daughter wouldn’t have been welcome at the Foundation Christian College if the school had known her father was gay. The principal told him the school didn’t promote “gay” at the school.
The father, who was identified only as Brendan to protect his daughter’s anonymity, recently came out and separated from his wife, the girl’s mother. The principal told the father his daughter couldn’t talk about her gay dad or his male partner, and said she would be asked to leave the school if a parent complained. Understandably, the father – who chose to remain anonymous when speaking to the press – was outraged and has pulled his daughter, who was at risk of expulsion, out of the school.
Since this story appeared in the Mandurah Mail, the principal has been inundated with emails condemning his homophobic stance, the school has been attacked with graffiti, dozens of angry parents have contacted the local paper to criticise the principal’s views and the school’s website has been taken offline. More importantly, there is a change.org petition encouraging the WA government to change its Equal Opportunity Act to prevent schools that receive public funding from discriminating against rainbow families. The petition received more than 1,000 signatures in less than 12 hours. Foundation Christian College receives more than $5 million in federal and state funding.
This school – and many other religious private schools around the country – receive millions in state and federal funding to educate young people, including children with same sex parents and children who will grow up to be gay, lesbian, bi or trans themselves. This is another reason why Australia needs to amend our own federal discrimination legalisation to include sexuality as a ground of discrimination, and to stop loopholes that allow taxpayer-funded institutions to use religion as an excuse for bigotry.
Thankfully, there is some good news. The City of Melbourne last month unanimously voted to pass a motion in support of legalising marriage for same sex couples, sending the message to Canberra to get it down. The Victorian AIDS Council is looking for volunteers for World AIDS Day on Tuesday December 1. They’ve packed more than 38,000 red ribbons to raise money for HIV research and support initiatives. You can volunteer at vac.org.au/volunteer.
Australia may welcome its first ever queer gaming and geek convention in February next year. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to bring US-based convention GaymerX to Sydney for the first time. It is hoped the inclusive queer GX Australia will take place on Saturday February 27 – Sunday February 28 next year, and almost $10,000 has already been raised towards the event.
