Labor and the Greens have shown enormous disrespect for the Tasmanian public by trying to sneak through changes to birth certificates without any public consultation.
Despite regularly saying that all legislation should be subject to lengthy public consultation, Labor and the Greens wanted to push through amendments they refused to even circulate until there was less than 15 minutes in the sitting week to go.
If Labor and the Greens propose to take gender off birth certificates, they need to be upfront with all Tasmanians and explain what they are suggesting and why. In their election policy, they promised to consult before attempting to make these changes*.
The Government has flagged all week that we would be bringing on the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018, which ensures that same-sex married couples are treated equally in Tasmania in a range of areas of law, for consistency with Commonwealth law. Both Labor and the Greens refused a briefing on the bill.
Labor’s farcical performance in Parliament this afternoon indicates they’re only interested in playing games, not passing good legislation in the interests of all Tasmanians.
Halfway through a debate on legislation to progress the development of Macquarie Point, Labor put out a media release claiming the Bill had been ‘rammed through’ the Parliament. Yet they then proceeded to filibuster and waste time on the Bill, despite knowing there was another important Bill still to be debated.
* https://www.puttingpeoplefirst.org.au/equality-for-all-tasmanians/
