A Tasmanian advocacy group has said the state government "dragging its feet on overdue LGBTIQ+ law reform".
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President of advocacy group Equality Tasmania Rodney Croome said problems facing the LGBTIQ+ community should have been fixed years ago, which include the banning of unnecessary surgeries on intersex children and expanding existing race hate legislation to protect other groups that face hate crime.
"Another example is the way the legal rights of bereaved some same-sex partners have not been recognised and respected. This was highlighted by the case of Ben Jago, who in 2015 was refused the opportunity to see his dead partner's body and initially refused entry to his funeral despite being his dead partner's legal next of kin," he said.
This was a result of same-sex de-facto partners not being recognised as next-of-kin in Tasmania's Relationships Act for over a decade.
"Ben's advocates have asked the government to step in and amend the Coroner's Act so the process of determining next-of-kin is clearer and so Ben receives an apology." Mr Croome said that the state government has done good things for the LGBTIQ+ community, but more needs to be done.
"It opposed that part of the federal government's Religious Discrimination Bill that would have overridden and weakened the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act," he said.
"But as important as this is, it is not a substitute for a law-reform agenda that builds on and cements Tasmania's shift towards greater equality and inclusion over the past quarter century."
Attorney-General Elise Archer said that the government is considering recommendations.
"As with any complex potential law reform topics, the government is continuing to seek advice while carefully considering the recommendations from the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute on Legal Recognition of Sex and Gender report," she said.
"I have met with Mr Jago and Mr Croome and have provided information on a number of changes made since 2016, and have also asked my department to consider options on whether any law reform may help to improve processes further".
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