Published: 14 November 2016

The Advocate - Michelle Wisbey - 7 Nov 2016

Anti-Discrimination Bill could go to committee in Upper House. Murchison Independent MLC Ruth Forrest is set to seek support from the Legislative Council to refer the Anti-Discrimination Bill to a committee when it is discussed in the Upper House on Tuesday.

The state government’s proposed amendments to the bill would allow people to use religion as a basis for expressing certain views. The changes would also allow the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner to reject a complaint if it could not have been predicted that it would cause offence. The government said previously that the bill aimed to strike a balance between providing protection from discrimination and allowing for public debate.

Ms Forrest said she thought that in order for members to do their job as legislators effectively and to scrutinise legislation, she wanted more time to hear from all stakeholders to fully understand this issue.

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