Faith leaders describe the Conversion Practices Ban Bill 2024 introduced into the NSW parliament last week as “a genuine effort by the Government to fulfill its election promises to protect religious freedom.”
In a joint letter
• Imam Shadi Alsuleiman, President of the Australian National Imams Council,
• Michael Stead, Bishop of South Sydney Anglican Diocese of Sydney,
• Monica Doumit. Director of Public Affairs and Engagement, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, and
• Rev Dr Ross Clifford, Executive Director NSW Council of Churches
” thank the Government for their commitments before the election to protect religious freedom and for their good-faith consultation with faith leaders in recent months.”
They want some changes:
- The key term “suppress” should be defined as “to eliminate.” At present, suppression could include
• telling a young person to reserve sex until marriage;
•counselling a married, heterosexual man to not have an affair with another
woman;
• encouraging a homosexual person who wants to live in accordance with their
religious beliefs to remain celibate
• consensual prayer with an individual along the lines of “Please, God, help X stay
faithful sexually” - Fix some circular reasoning in the bill. Subsection 3(3)(c) provides an exemption for “an expression that a belief or principle ought to be followed or applied.” But the section qualifies those protections with the requirement that “the expression is not […] directed to changing or suppressing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity”. This makes the exemption circular and risks a lack of clarity as to how it will be interpreted by a court or tribunal.
- “Parents discussing matters … with their children” are exempt, but the role of other carers is unclear. The leaders want the Bill to allow parents and carers to set rules for children
- The bill provides protection by “genuinely facilitating an individual’s coping skills, development or identity exploration to meet the individual’s needs,” but it is not clear that this meets Labor’s promise to protect prayer. The leaders want individuals’ needs or requests to be able to be met.
The faith leaders are urging Christians to express their concern to MPs. A simple, quick way to contact MPs is at contactyourMP