Senator WRIGHT (South Australia) (22:57): Tonight I am going to speak about the importance of the right to equality in Australian society. Equality is a core democratic principle that underpins our society. Applying this principle is fundamental to making sure that individuals and groups can have access to opportunities and essential standards of living so that they can participate fully in society and realise their own potential. The Australian Greens are committed to working towards a more equal world. We believe that as a community we should take positive steps to promote the right to equality and principles of nondiscrimination, to uphold equality before the law and to address the underlying causes of systemic discrimination. We must also seek to ensure that people are treated with equal dignity and worth. We should celebrate diversity and recognise people's different needs and identities. And we must endeavour to provide and create the conditions and opportunities that are necessary to empower all people to live a fulfilling life in Australia. Development economist Amartya Sen recognised the importance of giving people the freedom to develop their inherent capabilities and to reach their potential when he stated: What people can achieve is influenced by economic opportunities, political liberties, social powers and the enabling conditions of good health, basic education, and the encouragement and cultivation of initiatives. The Australian Greens welcomed today's release by the Attorney-General of the government's exposure draft of new antidiscrimination legislation and the referral of that legislation to a Senate committee for inquiry. The Australian Greens have been advocating throughout 2012 for this legislation to be introduced into the parliament as soon as possible. The review process that has considered the consolidation of current antidiscrimination laws has been extensive and ongoing for some time. In September last year the government released a discussion paper, and many individuals and public and private organisations responded with approximately 270 submissions. The Attorney-General's Department has also conducted additional forums and one-on-one meetings with stakeholders. Throughout this consultation process, the majority of stakeholders have called for stronger equality laws in Australia. The Australian Greens acknowledge that the government has responded to a number of these calls by, for example, shifting the burden of proof to the respondent where a complainant has established a prima facie case. The Australian Greens also support the new definition of 'discrimination' to mean unfavourable treatment and the change to make discrimination unlawful in connection with any area of public life. We also welcome the move to reduce costs for complainants, which will make the system more accessible. These are all positive changes that will improve the effectiveness of Commonwealth antidiscrimination laws, and the Australian Greens support these changes and the bill in principle. However, there are some things that have not been addressed in the bill, and we say that some further changes should be made to better protect and promote every Australian's right to equality. In particular, more could be done to actively address systemic discrimination in society. These are the pervasive and deeply entrenched discriminations that occur due to social behaviours, structures and institutions against some particular groups. These patterns then restrict people in these groups from realising their full potential. The laws could also be expanded to protect against discrimination on a number of additional grounds. For example, in addition to the new provisions that will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the Australian Greens say that the bill must go much further and extend protection from discrimination to additional attributes including being of intersex status, having an irrelevant criminal record, religious belief or activity, political opinion, nationality, industrial activity, status as a victim of domestic or family violence and social status such as homelessness, unemployment status or being in receipt of social security payments. These changes are incredibly important because the practical reality is that discrimination exists on a daily basis in Australia and in many cases it is entrenched within our social behaviour and structures. An example is the experience of homeless people, who often endure breaches of their right to equality when attempting to access employment, accommodation and other services. A 2006 survey by the Public Interest Law Clearing House Homeless Persons Legal Clinic found that 70 per cent of participants had experienced discrimination on the basis of homelessness or social status when attempting to access accommodation. In 2009 the clinic consulted widely with people experiencing homelessness regarding the human rights issues they encountered. Discrimination and unequal treatment were common occurrences for many, with homeless people often experiencing discrimination at the hands of goods-and-services providers and, ironically, even those providing accommodation, thus entrenching their very status of homelessness. The clinic's report highlighted that it is currently lawful for a real estate agent or caravan park owner to refuse accommodation to someone who may be homeless or precariously housed because they want to pay either with a cheque from a welfare agency or from their social security benefits. The report also gave the following examples of discrimination experienced by homeless people. One participant described the experience of looking for accommodation: … a couple of places have not accepted us because we were paying the bond with HEF (housing establishment fund) cheques. One caravan park organised a van, then rang back and said it wasn't vacant after they found out how we were paying. Many participants also highlighted the stigmatisation and stereotyping of homelessness which contributes to and causes entrenched and systemic discrimination. Participants described the stigma of homelessness as creating 'a feeling that society is looking down on you because you are homeless'. One participant said: 'The services—you know, housing, health, social security—have always looked down on you because of the way you look.' Another participant felt that they had been treated unfairly because of their appearance, which was because of homelessness. Participants gave many examples of experiencing discrimination at the hands of police, public transport ticket inspectors and, ironically, providers of homelessness services. Another amendment that should be made to the bill is the removal of the arbitrary permanent exemptions from the law relating to religious organisations. Such exemptions uphold traditional social structures and hierarchies that discriminate against marginalised and disadvantaged groups. As such, these exemptions help to perpetuate inequality. We respect the rights of persons to hold religious beliefs and so we support extending protection against discrimination on the basis of those beliefs. However, we do not support blanket exemptions which enable religious organisations to operate above the law and outside accepted community standards. These sorts of exemptions are often outdated and arbitrary, and should be replaced with a process that requires a principled and balanced assessment on a case-by-case basis—a temporary exemption provision such as this already exists. The Senate inquiry process should also consider whether other blanket exemptions are necessary and consistent with the right to equality. The recent situation in New South Wales of a five-year-old girl being refused admission to a government-funded kindergarten on the basis of her parents' same-sex relationship is a disgraceful example of the law supporting harmful practices of discrimination. There are clear moral arguments for eliminating discrimination and inequality in our society. However, there are also indisputable economic and social reasons why we should work towards achieving more equal societies. Recent evidence shows that more equal societies enjoy better public health and educational outcomes, improved social cohesion, and positive economic results such as increased productivity, efficiency and growth. These outcomes clearly benefit the whole community, not just people within minority groups or individuals experiencing disadvantage. That is why equality is truly good for everyone. To ensure greater equality for all Australians, we need to improve and strengthen Australia's anti-discrimination laws. We should look to global best practice and ensure that our laws are consistent with international human rights law. Australia is a proud signatory to numerous human rights instruments that promote the right to equality and nondiscrimination. These bring with them an obligation to take concrete, targeted measures to promote substantive equality and eliminate discrimination. The Australian Greens are pleased that we are on the way to achieving these goals. However, we say that there is still more that can be done to improve the legislation so that it really does provide a gold standard approach to promoting and protecting the right to equality in Australia. In this way, we can ensure that equality truly is for everyone.