OBA critiques Employment Amendment Act 2026
Statement by Shadow Minister for Legal Affairs, Scott Pearman:
“This PLP Bill is a slap in the face to single fathers seeking to adopt or assume legal guardianship for a child in need,” says Shadow Minister for Legal Affairs, Scott Pearman after the Employment Amendment Act 2026 was passed in the House of Assembly earlier this week.
“It is a courageous step to adopt a child. Yet rather than supporting single fathers, the PLP chooses to discriminate against them – treating single fathers like second-class citizens.
“To compound the problem, Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, refused to adopt an OBA solution to fix the problem. When the OBA invited the Minister to press pause on the PLP Bill – for necessary amendments to be made – the PLP decided to ignore us. Instead, Minister Hayward simply pressed on with his defective legislation.”
Mr Pearman points out that in the past the Government has had to backpedal when it refused to accept the opinion of the Opposition: “Remember, this is the same PLP Government that passed a law to have health care workers arrested, only to be forced to return to Parliament weeks later to amend their defective legislation. Yet again, this Government refuses to listen.”
“We cannot ignore that three of its MPs abstained from voting. It sends a very loud message to the electorate.”
