Tasmanian state politics rarely get much notice in the outside world; which is more their pity than ours, because they’re missing out on a clown show that would be endlessly entertaining if you weren’t being directly impacted by it. I often describe Tasmania’s parliament as a cross between a special needs school and a small-town Rotary club.
The past decade or so has been a musical chairs of minority governments, which has delivered unprecedented power to the Greens and a motley crew of independents and party rats. After the last election, Labor and the Greens connived into electing freshman Liberal Sue Hickey straight to the Speaker’s chair, where she has performed about as well as you’d expect from a first-time politician who’s just ratted out on her party. But now, not only are Hickey and Labor not on speaking terms; after a tiff about “unladylike” behaviour, both sides have the daggers drawn for the speaker who used an egg-timer to shut down the house, and has demanded not only an apology but also a whopping pay rise.
Into all this backstabbing and cat-fighting enters an old political flame…Confused? You will be. (Cut the theme music from 70s comedy Soap.)
All BFD readers need to take home from all this idiotic kerfuffle is that this is how Tasmanians ended up being saddled with “world-first” transgender laws.
For now, at least.
A bid to amend or repeal Tasmania’s controversial transgender laws is “highly likely” following a shift in the balance of power in the state’s lower house.
The nation-first changes passed in April by Labor and the Greens, with support from Speaker Sue Hickey, allow sex-free birth certificates, gender change by affirmation, and extend hate speech protections to cover “gender expression”.
“Controversial” is putting it mildly. These laws were sprung on unsuspecting Tasmanians without their consent. The activists and politicians responsible lied and obfuscated about the Orwellian threats hidden in the legislation. Opinion polls showed that Tasmanians were overwhelmingly opposed.
Yet, still, Labor and the Greens connived with Hickey to ram the laws through.
But, the times, they are a-changin’.
However, the make-up of the House of Assembly changed significantly on Thursday, with former Labor MP Madeleine Ogilvie elected on a recount to replace a retiring Labor MP, declaring she would sit as an independent.
This means the socially conservative Catholic and former ALP Right faction MP, returning to the seat of Clark she lost at the 2018 state election, will have a balance-of-power role, along with Ms Hickey.
Ms Ogilvie is understood to have concerns about aspects of the transgender laws, as well as a history of disagreement with LGTBI activists over gay marriage. The Australian is aware Ms Ogilvie has already been approached by opponents of the transgender laws to enter into talks with the Liberal government on amending and ultimately repealing the legislation. Liberal Attorney-General Elise Archer indicated the government would welcome the chance to revisit the laws, which were passed by opposition parties and Ms Hickey against the wishes of the government.
theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/gender-law-repeal-bid-highly-likely-after-power-shift
As time has proved, Ogilvie was right to hold reservations about gay marriage. These transgender laws are just one direct consequence of the passing of gay marriage. A pushback from Scott Morrison’s “quiet Australians” against the tiny clique of noisy leftist activists is long overdue.
If nothing else, Tassie’s “very special” parliament just got even more special.