What’s our petition about?

The Morrison Government’s Religious Discrimination Bill will lead to an increase in nuisance and derogatory street preaching and limit the right of local councils to control this preaching

In particular the Bill will:

• allow street preachers freer rein to preach whenever and wherever they want, including in shopping centres and outside schools, by limiting the right of democratically-elected local councils to restrict street preaching to particular places and times
• allow street preachers freer rein to use language that is intrusive, haranguing, disruptive, offensive, humiliating, intimidating, demeaning and damaging by limiting the right of state governments to pass laws constraining such language
• give street preachers the right to take complaints of “religious discrimination” to the Human Rights Commission whenever local councils attempt to manage where and when they can preach
• mean councils, local business or members of the public that seek to constrain street preaching could either be worn down by constant litigation, or intimidated into silence
• result in an increase in nuisance and derogatory street preaching.

If you are concerned, please sign our petition:

To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate, in Parliament assembled:

The petition of the undersigned shows:

We are concerned that the federal Religious Discrimination Bill will lead to an increase in unregulated street preaching in public places across our nation. 

We are concerned that some street preaching behaviour is already a nuisance for many within the community, and that there will be a significant rise in bigoted, demeaning and hateful rhetoric if this Bill is passed.

Furthermore, we are concerned that the Bill will severely limit the ability of democratically-elected local councils to manage street preaching, and protect ratepayers and citizens from being harangued, ridiculed, or abused under the guise of "religious freedom".

Your petitioners ask that the Senate:

Vote against the Religious Discrimination Bill.