Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner push in conflict with European Court of Human Righ

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Tasmanian Director, Mark Brown, has challenged the position of the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner in clearly supporting same-sex marriage as a human right when only this year the European Court of Human Rights has said it is not.

The Commissioner, Robin Banks, will this week be holding public discussions at UTAS Launceston and Hobart campuses together with Rodney Croome, campaign co-ordinator of Australian Marriage Equality, to discuss the latest law reform in Tasmania and what’s next in the campaign for marriage equality. This assumes it is discriminatory not to have same-sex marriage on the statute books.

“Ms Banks has failed to recognise that marriage between a man and woman – the definition of which is enshrined in Australian law – is not inequality or discrimination,” Mr Brown said.

“Her public support for redefining marriage is inconsistent with the recent federal parliament’s support for marriage as defined in the Marriage Act, but even more relevant for the Commissioner, is the fact that the European Court of Human Rights has said same-sex marriage is not a human right,”[1] he said.

“Clearly this is not seen as a discrimination issue by everyone and the Commissioner should be balanced in her approach rather than charging ahead, to recommend further state-based law reforms when same-sex marriage was rejected only last month in Tasmania,” he said.

It must be remembered that 95% of the countries in the world have not recognised same-sex marriage.”

Part of the Vision of the OADC stated on its website is The Anti-Discrimination Commissioner’s work and practice is founded in principles of fairness, acceptance, recognition, co-operation, cultural diversity and awareness and continued service to the community.

Fairness does not lie in presenting only one view on a very important issue to many Tasmanians, particularly when wherever same-sex marriage has been legislated it has carried very real consequences for freedom of religion.
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Tasmanian Director, Mark Brown