Ruddock review branded ‘a smokescreen for discrimination’ as gay students, staff remain at risk

With the release of the Ruddock review on Thursday, gay students have become the latest political football. Despite the long-awaited review finding little evidence of religious discrimination in Australia, and Ruddock himself stating that "freedom of religion gives you certainly protection to have your beliefs, but it doesn't mean you can infringe other fundamental human rights", the government signalled it would not immediately prohibit faith-based schools from discriminating against gay students and staff. Rather, it would refer this and other questions to the Australian Law Reform Commission.