Neil Mitchell takes aim at ‘cruel’ religious discrimination bill

Neil Mitchell says the federal government’s contentious proposed religious discrimination laws are “cruel” and “unchristian”.

The proposal includes a new Religious Discrimination Act and an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act, and would mean while schools couldn’t discriminate against gay students, they’d retain the right to exclude transgender students.

Neil Mitchell says the proposed legislation is “abandoning a care of duty to the kids”.

“It is cruel, it is unchristian, to suggest a child should be turned away because they’re transgender. It is just essentially wrong,” the 3AW Mornings host said.

“I’d suggest no school can discriminate against any child for any reason, including if they’re transgender, particularly if they’re taking public money as a school.

“The schools, if they really have strong religious objection to these things, they’ve got to have certain rights to express it, but I don’t think they’ve got rights to exclude the kids.

“Teachers might be a different area.

“But the kids? No. The kids come first — ALL of them.”

Press PLAY below to hear Neil’s thoughts on the bill

Trans advocate Michelle Shepherd says being excluded from school would have a devastating impact on transgender kids.

“You’re dealing with a group of children who already can’t see themselves in society — they can’t see themselves as teachers, as doctors, as politicians, as garbage people, whatever,” she told Neil Mitchell.

“The language I hear from kids is ‘Well what does it matter? I can’t actually be anything anyway’.”

Ms Shepherd says excluding them from school would be “a double whammy”, and would harm the mental health of a group who are already at elevated risk of mental health conditions.

“They should just scrap it (the bill),” she said.

Press PLAY below to hear about how Michelle Shepherd thinks the proposed laws would impact transgender students