Speaking to BuzzFeed News ahead of a bumper week in LGBTI law reform for South Australia, Weatherill said the tragic case of Marco and David Bulmer-Rizzi showed the devastating impact of discriminatory laws.

As revealed by BuzzFeed News in January, English man Marco Bulmer-Rizzi was met with a series of distressing hurdles after his husband, David, died during their honeymoon in South Australia.

Bulmer-Rizzi was told his late husband's death certificate would read "never married" and that had to have next-of-kin decisions approved by his father-in-law, as the Bulmer-Rizzis' marriage was not recognised in South Australia.

Later, he received an email from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection informing him that his dead husband had overstayed his visa.

"I think the power of the Bulmer-Rizzi case is that it demonstrated that things that might be discarded as symbolic – the recognition of a relationship – can actually translate into real harm and real pain and suffering," Weatherill told BuzzFeed News.



"You saw that really powerfully demonstrated in this case, where a man and his husband were tragically torn apart through his death ... [Marco Bulmer-Rizzi] was dismissed and marginalised and treated with disrespect, at a time he should have been treated with sensitivity.

"That caused him an enormous amount of pain and made a difficult time even worse."