After two weeks of being in hiding on their push to take gender off birth certificates, Labor has finally broken their silence – but only to Ella Haddad’s Facebook friends.
Ever since indicating their intention to move amendments in Parliament two weeks ago, Labor has refused to stand behind their push to take gender off birth certificates, avoiding all public comment and scrutiny on the matter.
They know that they’ve failed to consult the Tasmanian public and that their move is deeply unpopular within the community.
Yet at the same time Shadow Attorney-General, Ella Haddad is refusing to be open with the public, she is lobbying her Facebook friends to stack media polls on the issue. On the weekend, Ms Haddad posted the link on her private Facebook page to a Tasmania Talks poll asking ‘Should we remove gender from Tasmanian birth certificates?’ Ms Haddad urged her friends to "please vote yes at this link!"
Labor’s behaviour makes a mockery of their regular calls for consultation on legislation. They’ve indicated their intention to move amendments in Parliament earlier this month that have never been seen by the public, they’ve deliberately avoided putting their position on the public record, and now they’ve released their position to a group so exclusive that you have to be Facebook friends with the Shadow Attorney-General to know about it.
This is tricky and dishonest behaviour from Labor’s Shadow Attorney-General. It raises questions about her integrity and why she has gone to such lengths to keep Labor’s position from the public.
It's time for Labor to finally come clean once and for all. Is it still their policy to take gender off birth certificates?
