Labor stays silent on their attempt to change birth certificates for all Tasmanians
Labor and the Greens need to consult with Tasmanians on their proposed amendments to remove gender from birth certificates.
No other State or Territory in Australia has taken the step proposed of removing gender from birth certificates.
For Tasmania to do so, in the absence of any proper consideration of the reform, exposes the State to a range of potentially serious unintended consequences.
Tasmanians have not had the chance to have their say on a matter concerning their primary identity document. Labor have not consulted with the public on these changes they are trying to put into Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018, and most members of the public would be completely unaware of what they are trying to do.
Labor and the Greens should not be holding up or delaying a Bill to ensure same-sex married couples are treated equally in Tasmania in a range of areas of law, for consistency with Commonwealth law. If they want to pursue changes to birth certificates, it’s up to them to first consult with all Tasmanians.
The best way to examine the proposed reforms is through the Tasmania Law Reform Institute, which is what the Government is seeking to do. An investigation by the TLRI will give Tasmanians the opportunity to have their say on how their government manages issues of sex and gender, and the TLRI is best placed to properly consider the impact on our laws.
This is a much more appropriate process than Labor and the Greens trying to move amendments which have never been consulted with the public or assessed for unintended consequences to our laws.
