The Government’s Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018 is about ensuring that same-sex married couples are treated equally in Tasmania in a range of areas of law, for consistency with Commonwealth law.
It is concerning that Labor and the Greens are now flagging they will try and introduce untested, potentially controversial reforms on the run today, without releasing any detail and without proper consultation.
This is an embarrassing about-face for Labor, given they have previously committed to consultation on changes to legislation in this respect.
Labor must immediately come clean and reveal:
- Will they be seeking to remove people’s sex from their birth certificate all together? Something that no Australian jurisdiction has done and a move that would impact on every Tasmanian.
- Will they try to criminalise parents and doctors of intersex children, potentially sentencing them to up to 21 years in prison?
- Have they spoken with the DPP, the Judiciary, or any other legal or medical stakeholder about their reforms and their consequential impact on all other laws and procedures in Tasmania?
- And why don’t Labor support a proper process, through the Tasmania Law Reform Institute (TLRI), that would see possible amendments properly considered and consulted with all Tasmanians?
Labor has not been open with Tasmanians about their plans for reform in this area. They represent a dramatic shift in how our State deals with important personal attributes (sex and gender) and Tasmanians deserve to be asked about them.
All Tasmanians have an interest in how their identity is defined and managed by the State.
The Government has laid out a considered, appropriate and sensitive way to examine possible areas of law reform regarding sex and gender in Tasmania by way of referral to the TLRI, and we believe it is the best way to approach this significant area of law reform.
