By Sarah Stephen
HOBART — The Tasmanian Greens-sponsored bill repealing sections of the Criminal Code relating to homosexual activity which the lower house passed two weeks ago will soon be debated by the Legislative Council. It is expected to be defeated.
Over the past year there has been a strong push by the anti-gay law reform members of the upper house, spearheaded by MLC George Brookes, for a referendum to be held on gay law reform. Earlier this month, the referendum bill was defeated 10 to nine when two former supporters crossed the floor after accepting the advice of solicitor general, Bill Bale, that Tasmania's anti-gay laws were no longer valid.
This vote didn't, however, decriminalise homosexual sex and some MLCs who voted against the referendum still believe the anti-gay law should stay on the statutes for its "educative significance".
On June 14, MLC George Shaw offered a "trade-off" solution. He proposed two new bills which would retain the existing law against sodomy while inserting a mechanism to protect the privacy of consenting adult males to engage in sexual conduct in private.
Shaw told the Mercury that "these bills say we can have our cake and eat it too". The contradictory nature of the proposed bills, however, mean that they are actually saying you can have your cake, but it's important for people to know that you can be charged for eating it.
Even though it is unlikely that the Greens-sponsored bill will be passed, Shaw's proposed legislation does represent a partial back down by the right in the face of increased domestic and international public pressure to change Tasmania's archaic laws.