A church and its believers pay a lot of money to create a school that inculcates its faith. Then this happens:
A CHRISTIAN school in Werribee has been forced to defend its refusal to offer a training placement to a Muslim teaching student on the grounds of her religion. Victoria University student Rachida Dahlal has reportedly lodged a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission against Heathdale Christian College, accusing it of discrimination and prejudice…
Principal Reynald Tibben said Mrs Dahlal - who wears a head scarf and is a devout Muslim - may have found it difficult to work at a school where the teachers’ morning staff briefing includes prayer devotion and Bible reading.
You may think this punitive nonsense will be tossed out of the commission (after the school has racked up big legal bills) on the grounds that there is an exception in these much-abused laws against discrimination for religious schools wanting to hire teachers of their faith. But that exemption may not be much protection for much longer in Victoria, headquarters of the authoritarian Left:
Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls today announced a review of the exceptions and exemptions in the Equal Opportunity Act… “With the introduction of the Human Rights Charter, it is timely to review these exceptions and exemptions to ensure they are compatible with the Charter,” Mr Hulls said.
Now observe the next step in the process initiated by Hulls - the appointing of someone to help this inquiry:
Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee… met on 10 March (2009) and resolved to engage Associate Professor Elizabeth Gaze as the consultant for the inquiry.
But wait a minute. Isn’t that the same Elizabeth Gaze who had earlier made a submission to Hull’s exemption review, declaring:
Religious susceptibilities should not be able to be protected in situations where the offence to them would be small and the effect on the person affected would be serious.
The fix is in. Religious schools - well, Christian ones, anyway - can start worrying now.
PS
How come Victoria’s discrimination laws are now used so often against Christians, but virtually never against real hate-preachers of other faiths?
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