ACL’s Tasmania Director Mark Brown said in the lead up to the 2010 election the ACL held an event on the 15th of February at the University of Tasmania for Labor’s then Premier David Bartlett and Opposition Leader Will Hodgman to address the Christian constituency.
“At that event both leaders committed their parties to uphold marriage as between a man and a woman and both parties acknowledge it was a federal issue and not a state issue,” he said.
“When Premier Lara Giddings succeeded David Bartlett she was committed to honouring the party’s election commitments as articulated by David Bartlett when he said at the event ‘The Commonwealth Act only permits marriage between a man and a woman and we would not be lobbying or moving to change that’,” he said.
“Opposition Leader Will Hodgman also gave a commitment that the Liberal Party would support the institution of marriage when he said “We believe fundamentally that the institution of marriage should be reserved for a union between a man and a woman. Clear, unequivocal stated position with no plans at all to dilute it or interfere with that it in anyway’,” he said.
Mr Brown said it was entirely appropriate for the Liberals to vote as a block to protect marriage because that is what they, along with Labor, pledged to do at the 2010 election.
“It is important that politicians are held to account for their election commitments. There needs to be a return to integrity in politics,” he said.
“The Greens obviously have no regard for the integrity because they continually urge the major parties to break faith with the electorate,” Mr Brown said.
“It is a shame that Tasmanian Labor is being led by its power-sharing agreement with the Greens to break its election promise.”
