On August 2nd, it was announced that a Family Law (Same Sex Adoption) Bill would be motioned in Parliament this spring. This bill would mean that same sex adoptions of overseas children would not be recognized in Australia.
Gay activists have been swift to condemn the bill. Veteran gay activist Rodney Croome criticized the bill saying, ‘Clearly the government believes a child in a Chinese orphanage or on the streets of Bangkok is better off where they are then in the care of an Australian same sex couple. And that sends out the worst possible message about parenting by those couples. The people who suffer from that are children in Australia who are currently being cared for by same sex couples, because the government’s move stigmatizes their families and says their families are dysfunctional.’
Pride WA Patron Kelly Pilgrim-Byrne, who along with her partner Sam has long championed the rights of same sex parents, echoed his sentiments. ‘It is not the proper role of the law to re-inforce stigma and prejudice. The Government’s overseas adoption ban sends out the clear message that it is not in the best interests of children to be parented by same sex couples. All Australian children deserve the same rights, opportunities and social support regardless of their parent’s relationship. This proposed legislation violates that principle.’
Many view the proposal as an election ploy to garner votes from the Christian right. Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said that it was critical for communities to mount a campaign and show their opposition to such a bill. She said a strong campaign would ‘put pressure on the Government to understand that this is a controversial issue. We need to ensure the Opposition is going to oppose it.’
‘I would call on the Labor Party to continue their opposition to this. Gay and lesbian Australians deserve to know whether Labor will do that or not. Labor opposed this in 2004 and they need to do it again. Of course, Labor opposition isn’t enough. We need Liberal Senators to cross the floor,’ Rodney Croome said.
