Should schools refusing gay teachers lose government funding? - Q&A bonus question (video)

Philip Ruddock was head of the religious freedom review

The ABC's Question And Answer show on Monday nights often has a "bonus question" that they put on YouTube after running out of time on the broadcast program. Sometimes those questions not seen except online can be one of the most interesting in the whole show, as is this one.


We all know in Australia how the leaking of a part of the Philip Ruddock (above) religious freedom review caused Mad Morrison all sorts of problems when he at first backed the existing right of religious schools in some states to expel gay students because of their sexuality. There was such an uproar that within a couple of days Mad Morrison completely back flipped and promised federal legislation to make this illegal Australia wide. That "urgent" legislation however has still not been presented to the parliament.

The next logical question following that was why should gay teachers be discriminated against by religious schools, where it's still fine in parts of Australia (NSW a prime example) to either not hire a teacher or sack them because they're gay.  After all, what would a gay student think about seeing a teacher in the religious school fired by the school because the teacher was gay? Obviously it follows that the school fired the teacher because the school considered that there was something wrong with the teacher; their sexuality. 

What would that do to a vulnerable teenager? When all their friends knew why the teacher was fired, would they then look at the gay student like there must be something wrong with him too? Would that instigate a situation of bullying against the gay student by homophobic bully's in the school? What would the gay student's life be like after that knowing the school was against them at the highest level?

So now that the Australian public is aware of this discrimination, has soundly supported the LGBT in the (unnecessary) postal survey, is it right that religious schools who receive gov funding to continue to be allowed to discriminate against LGBT teachers in 2018? Is state funded discrimination still OK in a modern secular Australia, where 30% of all Australians don't identify with any religion at all?