The Queensland government is facing criticism after announcing an indefinite delay to the implementation of anti-discrimination law reforms designed to protect victims of domestic violence, homeless people, women at work and others.
The state attorney general, Deb Frecklington, told parliament on Friday she would introduce legislation to delay implementation of the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024.
The Act is the most substantial reform to the state’s anti-discrimination laws since they were passed in 1991. Among other things, it establishes a positive duty on employers to prevent discrimination in their workplace and creates additional protected classes, including homeless people and those with an irrelevant criminal record.
It was developed after a three-and-a-half year consultation process conducted by Queensland’s Human Rights Commission, sparked by a scandal at Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College, which required families to sign a statement declaring “homosexual acts” are immoral.
The commission published a draft bill in February last year. Labor subsequently put only the least controversial parts of the legislation to parliament, which passed into law in September; all LNP MPs voted against it.
Frecklington said the planned 1 July commencement date does not allow sufficient time for consultation. She said the legislation could create “unnecessary burden on organisations and institutions” and protections for people with an irrelevant criminal record might complicate “decisions relating to weapons licensing, police protection notices and security provider licensing”.
Queensland’s human rights commissioner, Scott McDougall, said he was “bewildered” by the announcement and the attorney general’s concerns had never been raised with him.
Aside from the review by the commission, he said the laws had been backed by inquiries by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Queensland sentencing advisory council and two prior inquiries by the parliamentary legal affairs and safety committee.
“To pause the implementation of all these changes due to a concern about one aspect of the reforms, with no notice and no concerns previously having been raised with us, is a disproportionate response,” he said.
“To claim the reforms were rushed and not consultative enough is additionally misleading.”
The general secretary of the Queensland Council of Unions, Jacqueline King, said the decision was “an outrageous betrayal of Queensland workers”.
“We don’t need any more consultation. We have been consulted to death over important reforms in this space on sexual harassment. We just need to get on and act the legislation and do it,” she said.
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Matilda Alexander from the Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network said Queenslanders with a disability had been waiting “too long” for changes to discrimination and hate speech laws.
“For the first time, hate speech would have been unlawful on the basis of disability. For the first time victims of crime and domestic violence would have been protected from discrimination,” she said.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. This delay will mean people with disability will continue to experience unfair discrimination, hate speech, abuse and harm.”
Equality Australia’s CEO, Anna Brown, said the “uncontroversial changes” had already been through a “full and comprehensive consultation process that took many years and reopening it is a waste of time and taxpayer money”.
“Delaying these laws without any real justification is alarming given they offer strengthened protections for so many communities, including LGBTIQ+ people, the homeless and survivors of domestic violence,” she said.
“Serious questions need to be asked about who is pressuring the government to pause these commonsense changes that simply modernise Queensland’s anti-discrimination laws.”
