Citipointe Christian College, which you may simply remember as that fucked homophobic school in Brisbane, is in trouble yet again. And just when you thought we’d never hear about it again, they appear like fungus gnats on a monstera.
The school came under fire last month for a fkd anti-gay and trans enrolment contract that it made families sign. Following this, it claimed their rampant homophobia was simply a product of its “Christian ethos”. Then the principal made a video defending the contract, he stood down and hopped on extended leave and then the contract was withdrawn completely. It was a whole fkn mess.
Now, the school is under fire for a fkn cooked employment contract it sent out to teachers which warned they would be immediately dismissed for being gay. Babes, you can’t fire gay teachers, that’s like more than half of them. You wouldn’t have a single English or Visual Arts teacher left.
The employment contract obtained by The Guardian read as follows:
“It is a genuine occupational requirement of the college that the employee not act in a way he knows, or ought reasonably to know, is contrary to the religious beliefs of the college.
“Nothing in his/her deliberate conduct should be incompatible with the intrinsic character of their position, especially, but not only, in relation to the expression of human sexuality through heterosexual, monogamous relationships, expressed intimately through marriage.
“Your failure to abide by such requirements expressed in the above clauses could constitute a breach of your employment contract and subsequent dismissal.”
You’re probably thinking: “Surely they can’t do that”. And you’d be right! It’s literally discrimination and it absolutely is not allowed anywhere in Queensland.
I’m truly shocked that a Christian body would assume it had more power than it did to discriminate against gay people. Unheard of.
“My legal opinion is that this contract is likely to be found unlawful under Queensland anti-discrimination laws,” LGBTI Legal Service representative Matilda Alexander told The Guardian.
“It seeks to prohibit conduct that is not in connection with the workplace by stopping an employee acting in a way that is contrary to the religious beliefs of the college, whether or not this is done openly.
“It changes the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ mantra to ‘don’t do it’.
“This is far beyond the power of any employer in Queensland. We all have the right to attend work and pursue our own personal lives outside of work, even if working for a religious school.”
Citipointe Christian College has reportedly stated the employment contract is “under review” after receiving complaints. My brothers in Christ, you wrote the damn thing. You knew what you were fkn doing.
If you or someone you know has been discriminated against by Citipointe Christian College, you can talk to the Queensland Human Rights Commission and get shit shorted. Don’t wanna hear about this school again, tbh.
Editor’s note: A previously published version of this article incorrectly called Citipointe a Catholic school. Citipointe Christian College is part of the Pentecostal movement. We have since amended this error.
If you’d like to talk about the issues raised in this story, you can call the QLife LGBTI peer support hotline on 1800 184 527 or chat online.
QLife operates between 3pm and midnight daily.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
