'This Sunday, state Greens MPs Greg Barber, and Colleen Hartland, along with special guest Senator Rachel Siewert and I, will join the Pride March in St Kilda to celebrate sexual diversity and call for an end to the discrimination and injustice faced by GLBTI people in our community,' she said.

'The Equal Opportunity Act contains exemptions that allow religious schools and small businesses to discriminate on any grounds, including age, race, gender, religious belief, impairment, marital status, breastfeeding, physical features, industrial activity, marital status, sexual orientation,
parental status or status as a carer. In 2007, the Greens moved amendments to the Equal Opportunity Amendment Bill 2007 to remove these exemptions, which were blocked by all other parties in the Legislative Council,’ she said.

'The existing legislation, introduced by the Kennett Government, would allow the owner of a business employing less than five people to reject a job applicant because they were gay, lesbian or breastfeeding. It means that employees in small businesses and religious schools have less rights than people in the rest of the community,' said Ms Pennicuik.

'The Greens believe discrimination is not a relative concept. Discrimination is either right or wrong in principle, and it is wrong to allow discrimination if there less than five people in a workplace or if a person happens to work in a religious school', said Ms Pennicuik.

'Labor governments should work together to introduce a nationally consistent scheme to immediately expunge all discriminatory clauses from state and commonwealth legislation, including the Marriage Act, so that same sex couples have all the same rights as heterosexual couples',she said.

Further comment: Sue Pennicuik: 0407 000 270

Greens GLBTI policy s.3.1.3: "Amending the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 to remove exemptions for religious organisations to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity"

Greens Education policy s.3.3.11: "Ensuring all schools that receive public funding are subject to the same level of accountability, transparency and non-discriminatory staff recruitment and student enrolment policies."

(See attached file: 080201 Greens announce moves to outlaw discrimination.mdi)