2016-05-19
The Australian Greens are urging Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to back the Greens' push to remove religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws and protect the rights of LGBTI Australians.
"It seems that while Labor's legal affairs spokesperson Mark Dreyfus agrees with the Greens position that no-one should be discriminated against for their sexuality or gender identity, the jury is still out for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten," Greens sexuality spokesperson Senator Robert Simms said.
"Mr Shorten should clarify Labor's position on whether his party will back the Greens' call to end this discrimination. While eliminating this discrimination is part of Labor's platform, Mr Shorten won't commit to implement this if he wins the election."
On Tuesday, Senator Simms and gender identity spokesperson Senator Janet Rice announced the Greens' suite of LGBTI policies - a key component was the removal of religious exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act.