SW News:

A letter was addressed to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus by an alliance made up of 30 religious leaders from the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths, warning him of a contentious reform plan made public by the influential Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in late January. 

The future of religious education, according to a group of the country's religious leaders, is in peril since schools won't be able to hire instructors who adhere to the same religion anymore due to impending anti-discrimination laws. 

Religious organizations expressed worry in their letter that the government's terms of reference did not clearly or implicitly call for the additional restrictions on religious schools and that this put religious educators in danger of being deceived. 

The idea, in their opinion, would force schools to hire academics who "may not share or accept the religious beliefs of the organization" and whose employment could only be terminated if they "actively undermine" the school's religious ethos. 

The letter from the religious leaders, which was signed by Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and Melbourne Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli, warned that the ALRC reform proposals could not be implemented in their present form and would "severely harm authentic faith-based education." 

The ALRC consultation document proposed that religious educators might only "continue to provide preference to prospective personnel on religious grounds if the teaching, observance, or practicing of religion is really a component of the position." Schools cannot recruit instructors who share or support the school's religious convictions for any other teaching role, including math, science, history, and English. 

Meanwhile, after receiving vociferous complaints from religious groups about a plan to curtail their hiring and firing authority, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed that the ALRC would protect religious schools' freedom to choose staff members based on their religious principles.