The Presbyterian Church of Australia wants to stop students from being school captains if they are sexually active or identify as LGBTQI+.
The church group made this case in a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission, saying these students “would not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership”.
The Presbyterian Church has more than 500 congregations in Australia, and runs more than 20 schools and pre-schools, including some of the most prestigious private schools in the country.
“If this student were in an active same-sex relationship, they would not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership in a Christian school which requires modelling Christian living,” the submission stated.
“This would also be the case for a student in a sexually active unmarried heterosexual relationship.”
“In both cases, the proposal removes from schools the ability to determine an ethos by selecting appropriate leaders.”
The submission to the Law Reform Commission was part of a review on how anti-discrimination laws would apply to religious schools.
Meaghan Scanlon, Queensland’s Minister for Youth Affairs, said the views were “weird” and “wrong” and had “no place in a modern Queensland”.
“We would not tolerate those sorts of views in a state school,” Scanlon said.
“I do not think that students should be punished for their gender identity or whether they are sexually active. It has no bearing on their leadership ability.”
In relation to school staff, the submission said Presbyterian schools “are not seeking to select or exclude staff simply based on their sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity”.
“Rather, they aim to employ staff who embrace and live out the whole Christian faith consistently. This includes, but is not limited to, a commitment to following the classic Christian ethic in relation to marriage, sex and gender.”