During the first hour of Parliament for 2025, the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, the Hon. Lia Finocchiaro, outlined the Country Liberal Party’s blueprint for the year ahead. The Chief Minister said “We will amend the Anti-Discrimination Act to fix the mess that Labor made so that religious schools can prioritise same-faith teachers, and we will remove the ridiculous inclusion of offending someone as some type of discrimination. Labor wanted to tell Territorians what to say, when to say it and how to say it, but we know that our role is to create the environment where Territorians are in control of their lives, making the best decisions for their families and having the opportunity to deliver on their families’ aspirations and dreams for the future. It is not for us to tell people how to live their lives. It is our government’s responsibility to give every Territorian every opportunity to achieve their goals in life.”
Nicholas Lay, NT Director of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said “This is a magnificent commitment from the Chief Minister to protect faith-based schools and freedom of speech and religion. We commend and thank the Chief Minister for placing this amendment on the agenda for 2025. We look forward to seeing the draft legislation that will correct the terrible amendments made in 2022.” The amendments made to the Anti-Discrimination Act in 2022 were a direct attack on faith-based schooling and freedom of speech and religion. At that time, there was significant backlash from faith-schools and multi-faith groups within the Northern Territory. Lia Finocchiaro as Opposition Leader, made a public commitment in 2022 that if elected in 2024, she would repeal those changes. Nicholas says: “This announcement provides action, certainty and security for Territorians. It will be great to see needed protections and our freedoms restored.”
Source: Australian Christian Lobby
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