Marriage equality advocates have welcomed the release of the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute report which says Tasmania does have the constitutional power to pass a same-sex marriage law and have called on the state Upper House to revisit the bill.
The report also says that the costs associated with a High Court challange would be minimal.
Convener of Tasmanians United for Marriage Equality, Andrew Badcock said,
“The Law Reform Institute report has addressed and should alliviate the concerns raised by some MLCs during the debate on last year’s Same-Sex Marriage Bill”
“It’s clear from the report that states can legislate for same-sex marriage and that any High Court challenge is not as risky or costly as opponents of marriage equality have claimed.”
“The majority of Tasmanians who support reform deserve to have the issue revisited in the Upper House, where members can consider the new information provided by the Institute.”
The Law Reform Institute’s report also found that a referendum will not resolve the issue of same-sex marriage and same-sex marriages will not lead to polygamy.
Summary of key findings of the TLRI report:
– Tasmania has the constitutional power to make marriage laws
– there is no certainty a High Court challenge would be lost
– the maximum cost if a challenge is lost is only $300,000 or 60 cents for every Tasmanian
– a referendum would not resolve the marriage equality issue
– same-sex marriage will not lead to polygamy
– legal arrangements associated with same-sex marriages can be preserved even if the a Same-Sex Marriage Act is struck down by the High Court
– the Bill should be amended to allow non-reisdents to dissolve their Tasmanian marriages
– it is the historical norm for relationships to be recognised first a state level and then later at a federal level
– many common law jurisdictions similar to Australia now allow same-sex marriages
A sheet of relevant quotes from the TLRI report is attached with this media release.
The report can be found here: http://bit.ly/GM8tBG
• Earlier on Tasmanian Times: New hope for marriage equality
