Andrews government fails to curb legal right to fire gay staff

The Andrews government has so far failed to honour an election pledge to stop religious schools discriminating against LGBTQ+ staff and students, who can still legally be sacked and expelled due to their sexuality.

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and unions are pressing the state government for action after an investigation by The Age found gay and lesbian teachers were being dismissed or pressured to leave their jobs. The discrimination is particularly prevalent in evangelical schools.

John Pendergast, who formerly worked as a teacher at a conservative Christian School.Credit:Penny Stephens

The state Labor government has championed LGBTQ+ rights, banning gay conversion practices and allowing couples to adopt children regardless of their sexuality. But as an election looms next year, the government has been much slower on giving rights to LGBTQ+ people at religious schools.

In its 2018 platform Labor promised to ensure that LGBTQ+ staff enjoyed an “inclusive workplace in their employment”, and in an answer to a 2018 election survey the party vowed to fix gaps in protections for LGBTQ+ students and teachers through amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act.

But a recent survey by the Independent Education Union’s Victoria and Tasmania branch detailed numerous complaints of discrimination against teachers and students â€" including fear of being sacked â€" because of their sexuality in Victorian religious schools.

Leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Australia has pushed state Labor for change but chief executive Anna Brown said she was disappointed with the lack of progress.

Equality Australia’s Anna Brown says she is disappointed with the Victorian government’s lack of progressCredit:Eddie Jim

“Victoria’s been a leader in equality but the continued delay on this reform means teachers have suffered needlessly without the protection of the law,” Ms Brown said. “Every month they wait, LGBTQ+ students, teachers and people accessing services will be at risk of discrimination and harm.”

Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes did not respond directly to questions, saying there would be a response shortly to a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s anti-vilification protections.

Ms Symes said equality was “non-negotiable” including in the workplace and that the Andrews government “will always do what it takes to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination”.

She said Victoria was monitoring the Morrison government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill and would “carefully review any gaps in protections for Victorians”.

Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes.Credit:

The Morrison government is planning to table a third draft of its contentious bill. Earlier versions extended the right of religious organisations to discriminate.

Mr Morrison also promised in 2018 urgent new laws to prevent religious schools expelling students because of their sexuality or gender identity. No legislation has since been forthcoming. Instead, the matter was referred to the Law Reform Commission where it remains.

John Pendergast was a teacher at the large Flinders Christian Community College in Melbourne’s south-east. He had more than a decade of service at the school, then faced questioning when he came out as gay in 2016.

His former colleague Sam Cairns was sacked from Flinders College in 2012 for being gay.

Teacher Sam Cairns was sacked from Flinders Christian Community College for being gay Credit:Penny Stephens

Mr Pendergast said he had come to terms with his sexuality over time and decided he would no longer hide, or lie about it. The 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Florida fortified him further, and he decided to tell the campus principal about his sexuality.

A two-hour meeting with school leaders followed. “They asked all these questions. There was still this assumption that this was a choice I had made about my sexuality, that it wasn’t who I was.”

Mr Pendergast later found out that after the meeting the school had been to lawyers for advice on how to deal with his disclosure.

“I decided that if they’re going to treat me like that, I don’t want to work there.”

College executive principal Cameron Pearce said he was bound by privacy restrictions but said Mr Pendergast was “a loved and valued member of our community both before and after disclosing his same-sex attraction”.

Independent education union general secretary Debra James said there was still too much discrimination allowed under Victorian law and “too many schools where both staff and students are forced to hide aspects of their identity or are made to feel unwelcome”.

Ms James said the union accepted there might be cases where particular attributes were required for a particular educational role. “However, we simply reject the argument that the personal life of a law-abiding maths teacher, learning support officer, deputy principal or administrative assistant, has any bearing on their ability to do their job.”

Legislative progress in Victoria had been “very slow” after the Baillieu government’s “shameful overturning” of Brumby-era laws intended to provide protections, she said.

“Other states, such as Tasmania, have shown us that protecting workers from discrimination does not undermine the right to religious expression and does not cause a crisis in faith-based schools.”

Tasmania and the ACT have the country’s strongest anti-vilification laws.

Human rights activist Rodney Croome, a founder of Australian Marriage Equality, said the sackings of LGBTQ+ staff had been unlawful for more than 20 years in Tasmania and also in the ACT. “This matters because it shows that the sky doesn’t fall in when LGBTQ+ teachers in faith-based schools are protected from unfair treatment,” he said.

Many respondents to the union survey on discrimination said they were Christians and had come out during their time at the school. One said they had to keep their sexuality a secret as they feared losing their job. ″⁣I understand they have a right to their faith, but it feels awful having to hide who I am.”

A Christian teacher from a regional Victorian evangelical school said students were told that being gay would send them to hell. A gay teacher from the same school lived in fear of being exposed.

Another respondent said being gay in a Catholic school was “inherently conflicted” with a “don’t ask/don’t tell approach” the norm. Another Catholic school teacher said as a queer person they had to keep their private life secret “for threat of termination”.

A teacher at a Melbourne evangelical school said school assembly included a speech from a student about the evils of being gay and “praying the gay away”.

“It was like stepping back in time or in a different country,” the teacher said.

Royce Millar is an investigative journalist at The Age with a special interest in public policy and government decision-making.

Ben Schneiders is a multi-award winning investigative journalist at The Age with a focus on workplace issues, politics, business and corruption.

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