Why shelving the Religious Discrimination Bill is not necessarily a win for queer kids

He is also bloody tired.

This week, the Religious Discrimination Bill fronted parliament in Canberra, sparking a national conversation about the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.

And after an all night sitting in the House of Representatives on Wednesday - which saw the bill passed after several amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act were made - the Religious Discrimination Bill was shelved indefinitely before it made it to Senate on Thursday.

While this political debate was unfolding centre-stage the question on MPs minds was, do gay and trans kids need protection from discrimination?

Angus said the answer is undoubtedly, yes, but he's sick of having to say it.

"When the gay marriage plebiscite happened, plenty of queer, transgender and intersex people were so traumatized," he said.

"It just makes you feel as if, you know, your future, and your happiness has to be decided by someone else.

"Seeing what's been in the news, I think of not just myself but other kids, there are so many students already experiencing discrimination and now the whole country is talking about their rights.

"I feel sad for young queer people out there, it's so sad that they have to go through and experience this debate again."

The fact that bill has now been shelved after tremendous amounts of controversy, Angus said, is not necessarily a win for the queer community.

"It's basically like stirring the pot, then saying you're gonna put the pot to the side and let everyone simmer," he said.

Angus, who has experienced his fair share of discrimination throughout his education, said it's taken him a long time to rebuild.

The former Girton Grammar school captain made headlines in 2016 when he was ejected from a school foundation day event where his brother was being presented an award.

Angus said he was approached by the deputy head of the school, Robyn MacCulloch, shortly after he arrived at the event at Sacred Heart Cathedral, "and without even greeting me she told me I was inappropriately dressed and commanded that I leave the event."

"I'd walked all the way down the aisle to take my seat in front of the whole school," Angus said,

"And just before the ceremony started, she was like 'you need to leave now', so I walked out."

At the time, the school issued a statement saying Angus' ejection from the event was due to his clothing - which Angus recalled as "a single small earring, neat black leather pants, a white shirt with a black bow tie and a black designer jacket - a suit by any definition of the word, although not in the typical commercial fabrics."

Former Girton headmaster Matthew Maruff denied the incident was about anything other than the young man's attire.

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He described the allegations the former college captain made - that the school had discriminated against for his sexuality - as "outrageous."

"The issue is what someone wears at the appropriate time and appropriate place," Mr Maruff said.

For Angus however, while the incident was devastating, it wasn't the first time he had experienced it.

And he definitely wasn't alone, noting young gay and trans kids often face discrimination in education.

"There were definitely certain teachers and certain people at the school who really disliked that I was gay," he said.

"They'd go out of their way to make things difficult or whip me back into kind of a cookie cutter mold that they wanted."

While he is now comfortable in his male identity, when Angus was younger he often experimented with his clothing and fashion choices, toeing the line of femininity.

"In primary school, I was always picked on and asked the whole question of, you know, 'are you a boy or girl?'," he said.

If the Religious Discrimination Bill had passed - even with the amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act - the statement of belief clause would have protected educational institutions if they were to discriminate against queer students.

"It's so important there are protections for queer people," he said.

"Because when you don't get that support, it contributes to a lifelong struggle of mental health and anxiety and depression."

Now a 26-year-old artist based in Melbourne, Angus said he's grieved the discrimination he faced as a child.

"After six years since I've finished school, I've managed to get to a spot in my life where I'm at peace with what's happened," he said.

"I don't wanna quote Lady Gaga, but it's always a good quote, so I'm gonna say it," he laughed.

"One time she said 'trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can always see the cracks in the reflection'.

"It's like breaking a vase and then glueing it back together. There's always going to be fragments of damage there."

While the debate continues over coming months, Angus wants queer kids to know there is life after school.

"When you're at school it can feel like that's your whole world, but you have no idea there's a whole world out there of people who will support and love you for you," he said.

"I've got an amazing partner who I've been with for six years - we live together, we've got a dog together - things are really good, but for a few years there it was a really rocky internal battle.

"But I just thought, you know what, screw what anyone else thinks, live your life how you want, because you only get one shot so live it as authentically as you can."

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can reach out to QLife - a free LGBTQIA+ helpline: 1800 184 527.