Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles says students’ leadership qualities shouldn’t be tied to their sexuality as a major church group calls for the right to exclude gay pupils from roles like captain in religious schools.
In a submission to a review of anti-discrimination laws, the Presbyterian Church of Australia argued for the right to exclude students from leadership positions if they were in a same-sex relationship or having pre-marital sex.
“They would not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership in a Christian school which requires modelling Christian living,” the church said in its submission.
Marles, the deputy prime minister, said while the government respected the views of people of faith, discriminating against children made him uncomfortable….