A two-year Parliamentary inquiry into discrimination and bullying in Tasmanian schools has handed down its findings, showing homosexual and divorced teachers are being discriminated against by the state’s Catholic education system.
Such discrimination is contrary to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas) and Catholic Education Tasmania knows this. They admitted it. But they say Tasmanian law doesn’t apply to them.
This is a test for the Rockliff government.
Will it stand by its gold class anti-discrimination legislation and take up the fight on behalf of Tasmanians experiencing discrimination, because in Tasmania we don’t discriminate?
Will it stand up to the Catholic church?
All Tasmanian students and educators deserve to learn and work in an environment that is free from discrimination – surely that’s a principle that we can all get behind,
The inquiry’s 55 findings and 33 recommendations came after 294 submissions, 47 witnesses, 10 hearings and after I successfully moved a motion in June 2024 calling for the inquiry.
The inquiry can be found HERE on the Parliament website.
Findings #49 and #50 address the Catholic discrimination issues, while recommendations #28 and #30 call on the government to defend those teachers, ensuring all Tasmanian schools are compliant with the state laws.
Chapter 5.16 details evidence in February 2025 from Dr Gerard Gaskin, then-Executive Director of Catholic Education Tasmania and then-Archbishop Julian Porteous.
The inquiry also makes findings and recommendations supporting transgender and gender diverse students.