Marriage Equality Advocates have welcomed a Tasmanian Law Reform Institute report that strengthens the case for state based same-sex marriage and called on the federal government to “leave the states and territories alone”.

Australian Marriage Equality Deputy Director, Ivan Hinton, said:

“This report will give State and Territory Governments across the country the confidence that they can progress with same-sex marriage.”

“This report addresses issues raised by several members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council who had previously opposed the bill citing jurisdictional concerns”.

“Tasmania now has the opportunity to join the ACT in legislating to allow same-sex couples to marry by the end of the year.”

“The Tasmanian report further reinforces the findings of a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry that found states can legislate for same-sex marriage.”

Mr Hinton called on the federal government to respect State and Territory rights:

“We call on the Federal Government to respect the rights of the States and Territories to progress with a reform that is very important for the equality of many of their citizens.”

“The majority of Australians who support reform want to start a dialogue with the new federal government to progress reform at the federal level, and don’t want to see government time wasted on an unnecessary challenge to state and territory marriage laws.”

“The Tasmanian report will strengthen the arguments of the Tasmanian and ACT Attorney Generals when they discuss the matter with their State, Territory and Federal counterparts over the next two days.”

The report can be found here: http://bit.ly/GM8tBG

For more information contact Ivan Hinton on 0419124826 or Alex Greenwich on 0458042342

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Author:Ivan Hinton
Publication: Media Release
Date: 10 October 2013