PAUL HARRISS: Gender law changes should be postponed until they are examined by the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute
WITH the passage last week of changes to gender laws through the Legislative Council, Speaker Sue Hickey is now the only person with the power to intervene and stand up for proper parliamentary and legal process.
Laws of the state should be made based on a careful process of public consultation and considered legal advice, not just on feelings and the “vibe”.
I’ve got no doubt that Ms Hickey has had briefings and discussions with the trans community and their advocates about these changes.
But, if she hasn’t already, Ms Hickey should now seek a formal briefing from the Solicitor-General, who we know has expressed serious concerns about the risks of this legislation if it is passed into law.
She should also seek briefings from others who have expressed concern through the process, including the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (who is responsible for drafting and designing the Government’s legislation), the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, former Magistrate Don Jones, and Chris Gunson, Head of the Tasmanian Bar.
That’s usually a combination that would have those on the Left in a mad flap, raising concerns about proper process and a lack of support from experts in the field.
I respect trans-gender people and I firmly believe it is the role of parliament to ensure that vulnerable Tasmanians have the protections they need and deserve.
However, a bad law is a bad law, regardless of how admirable the intentions.
The laws were rammed through the House of Assembly with little consultation or consideration. Anyone who opposed the proposed laws was sneered at and derided. When the lawmakers of Tasmania knowingly pass laws that are fundamentally flawed they are not doing their job properly and they should be called out on it.
Unfortunately, it would appear to this point that the majority of Members of parliament have chosen to deliberately ignore what the Solicitor-General and other respected legal minds have said.
One of the Solicitor-General’s most incredible comments related to the fact that under the changes being considered it would have been illegal to perform an abortion on a person who identified as a man who was biologically female.
To try to address this, amendments were moved in the Upper House last week and the Bill now suggests a person of a gender other than female is capable of being pregnant. It is an immutable scientific fact that this cannot be so.
It goes further and permits a person other than a female to have an abortion — does that mean a man can have an abortion? But, hang on, men cannot be pregnant.
Surely when it gets to the point that for legislation to be amended to legalise abortions for men to ensure its workability, we need to pause for thought.
I fear that those in favour of these amendments are rushing them through because they are concerned that they may not pass at all if they don’t proceed at warp speed.
A number of Legislative Councillors have basically admitted as much when they refused to even have the proposed laws examined by a committee. It’s a rare day indeed when the Legislative Council passes up an opportunity to examine in great detail such an important issue.
If only Tasmania had an organisation staffed by legal experts who could examine this legislation, identify issues and propose a practical, pragmatic way forward to ensure these laws are the best they could be … wait up, we do!
It’s the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute and its sole reason for being is to help lawmakers avoid making a complete hash of something as important as these laws.
Even better, the Law Reform Institute is already investigating how to implement sensible laws that would actually provide proper protection and support for trans-gender Tasmanians, with a report due in September.
Ms Hickey likes to hold herself out as a considered member of parliament who respects her role as Speaker, the role of the parliament as lawmakers and, most importantly, the responsibility of doing things properly.
It is within her power to defer the House of Assembly’s consideration of the amended laws next week while the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute does its work, to ensure that the laws are as robust as they can be.
As a former lawmaker, I urge her to do so.
I understand the desire to act and assist transgender individuals.
But while it might be uncomfortable, these laws have been in place for years of responsible government in Tasmania. A deferral for a period of mere months while care is taken to get these laws right is surely not too much to ask.
Paul Harriss was an independent MLC for 18 years and a minister in the Hodgman Liberal government from 2014-2016.
Source: The Mercury
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