Leonie Hiscutt,Liberal Member for Montgomery
The Tasmanian Government continues to oppose the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill and will vote against it in the Legislative Council, as we did in the House of Assembly.
We have strong concerns about the unintended legal consequences of the amendments introduced without public consultation by Labor and the Greens last year.
We said at the time that Labor and the Greens should have consulted with the public rather than rush their amendments through the Parliament last year. The drafting of more than 50 pages of amendments by independent Legislative Councillors proves that Labor and the Greens got it wrong.
It has always been the Government’s position that any reforms must be thoroughly considered by the independent Tasmania Law Reform Institute (TLRI) for full review.
The TLRI review was instigated by the Government last year and is due to be completed in September. This review must be allowed to take its course and legislation should not be rushed through the Parliament while that review is underway.
We continue to encourage all Legislative Councillors to vote against these Labor-Green changes.
