Moses said that "the concept of offend and insult in section 18C is not to be found in this legislation – so the test is much more difficult to establish in relation to provisions of the religious freedom bill than what is currently contained in the Racial Discrimination Act."
He maintained that "this is an area where we have said you need to be very careful because some comments that are made do have an impact on the most vulnerable members of our community."
Moses also said the religious discrimination bill would allow employers to prohibit religious speech if they would suffer "unjustifiable financial hardship".
He called this "an interesting concept … there is a mirage of freedom of speech but it's confined by the employer's bottom line. I think that's silly, with all due respect."
Australia's coalition government is led by the Liberal Party, which is joined by the National Party. The opposition Australian Labor Party is expected to back the bill.
LGBT advocates are opposed to the bill, as it could override some provisions of Tasmanian law.
Some conservative members of parliament have asked instead for a religious freedom bill.
Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, of the Liberal Party, voiced concerns July 9 that the bill does not go far enough, saying it "would be defensive in nature and limited to protecting against acts and practices by others which are discriminatory on the grounds of religion."
She said that "quiet Australians now expect the Coalition to legislate to protect their religious freedom."
The religious discrimination bill is being introduced to implement a commitment made in the 2019 federal election.
A review of religious freedom in Australia was finished in May 2018, making 20 recommendations; among these was a Religious Discrimination Bill.
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The government has asked the Australian Law Reform Commission to report on how to balance competing claims of religious freedom rights and LGBT rights.
Australia has seen debate over religious freedom in recent years with respect to the seal of the confessional, hiring decisions, and same-sex marriage.
When same-sex marriage was legalized in Australia in 2017, efforts to include amendments that would protect religious freedom failed during parliamentary debate.
Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney noted last year that "we cannot take the freedom to hold and practice our beliefs for granted, even here in Australia," and that "powerful interests now seek to marginalize religious believers and beliefs, especially Christian ones, and exclude them from public life. They would end funding to faith-based schools, hospitals and welfare agencies, strip us of charitable status and protections."