Voters in Launceston have asked Senate candidates what they will do about the changes made after a landmark bill passed the state's parliament, allowing gender to be an optional component on birth certificates. The reforms were passed last week and remove the requirement for transgender people to have surgery in order to have their gender recognised. Liberal Senator Eric Abetz says the legislation is a 'great disservice to the nation', arguing that it denies 'scientific facts in the cause of political correctness'. One Nation candidate Matthew Stevens says the legislation is 'a clear example' of the influence the Greens and the Left have on the state's government, insisting the bill wouldn't have passed if his Party had a voice in the debate.
