Tasmanian gay marriage bill resurrected

Tasmanian gay marriage bill resurrected

Tasmanian Upper House MP Ruth Forrest has moved to reintroduce a same-sex marriage bill into state Parliament.

Forrest introduced a motion to Parliament today that would allow the bill to return to the Upper House’s agenda, the first step towards another debate.

The Upper House must first vote to accept the bill before it can be debated.

Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesman Rodney Croome welcomed the move.

“With same-sex marriages imminent in Britain, France and New Zealand, but no change likely any time soon at a federal level, Tasmania has another opportunity to lead the nation on this important reform,” Croome said.

“Australian same-sex couples should be able to marry in their own country, rather than fly to Auckland or seek out a British consulate, and this bill gives them that opportunity.”

Tasmania’s Upper House voted down a bill to legalise gay marriage in a vote of 8 to 6 in September last year.

The bill had cleared the Lower House the month prior in a vote of 13 to 11 but was rejected by the predominantly independent Legislative Council.

A number of the MLCs who voted against the bill said they were doing not because they opposed gay marriage, but because they were not happy with the make up of the bill itself, expressing concern that the bill would face costly legal challenges in the High Court if enacted into state law.

Croome said he believes formal inquiries, such as the one currently being conducted by NSW Parliament, will clarify many of the constitutional concerns raised by Tasmanian Upper House members during last year’s debate.

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