Changes to the Fyles Government’s proposed anti-discrimination bill that the public have not seen will have alarming impacts on every Territorian, NT religious leaders and the Opposition say, just weeks before it’s expected to pass Parliament.

The government presented a draft version of the bill to the public back in July calling for feedback around the amendments, but the CLP said the draft bill the public was presented is different than the actual bill that will be passed later this month.

“Labor [has] to fess-up and put the actual bill out for genuine consultation,” Deputy CLP Leader Gerard Maley said.

“Changes to the anti-discrimination bill will have a massive impact on every Territorian.

“The new law would mean you could make a complaint on behalf of someone else – even if they don’t want a complaint made. You could also make a complaint simply by claiming something offended you.”

Mr Maley said Labor has already shown itself to be too sensitive, having banned words like “incompetent” from being used in Parliament, and said he fears the bar has been set too low for actual offence to occur and that the new bill would “destroy people’s freedom to speak freely”.

“It’s a sneaky way of making people too scared to exercise free speech,” he said.

Among the changes from the public draft bill to the actual bill is one of the most controversial amendments involving Section 37(a) that had provided religious institutions the right not to employ gay or lesbian teachers. The draft bill suggested that while the part allowing discrimination based on sexuality would be struck, religious institutions would still have the right to reject someone on the grounds of “religious belief or activity”.

However, religious groups say that is not specifically stated in the new proposed bill.

“Faith is formational for our organisation. We are faith-based schools,” said Phoebe van Bentum, chief executive of NT Christian Schools.

“Having staff that authentically share the same faith that NT Christian Schools is built on is vital. We have a strong and capable team with a shared belief in the lordship of Christ. Our teachers and staff bring diverse denominational backgrounds, cultural traditions and life experiences yet are unified by their shared Christian faith.

“The proposed legislation would directly impact our ability to provide authentic high-quality Christian education, and weaken religious education in the Territory more broadly. We do not want to see that happen.”

The Australian Association of Christian Schools echoed those comments and said the Fyles Government should amend the bill again to “demonstrate its commitment to diversity and religious tolerance”.

“If this Bill passes, the Northern Territory will be the only Australian jurisdiction without legal protection for religious schools in employment matters.

“This puts the Northern Territory Government at odds with their federal Labor colleagues who committed to maintaining the right of religious schools to preference people of the same faith in the selection of staff as part of a federal religious discrimination bill.”

Attorney-General Chansey Paech’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr Paech has previously said the amendments to the anti-discrimination bill would “ensure our laws are both reflective of modern values and protective of our diverse community”.

“Our unique demographic means Territorians are vulnerable to inequities based on race, culture, gender and a range of other factors such as sexuality and age,” he said.

“Amendments to the Act will promote a rights-based approach and close the divide for our current and future generations.”

NT LGBTIQ group Rainbow Territory have supported the bill.

Mr Maley said the government should re-engage with the public and show all aspects of the proposed changes before rushing the bill through Parliament later this month.