Hooray! Qld to allow same sex couples, singles to adopt
This was an historic moment. For the first time in history, this discrimination will be removed- and will enable the assessment of who is to be an adoptive parent for a child to be decided purely on the best interests of the child, and without discrimination based on the sexuality of the intended parents, or whether the intended parents are single as opposed to a couple, and stops the cruel choice for couples of either undergoing IVF OR adoption, but not both.
I and others were critical when the Adoption Act 2009 was enacted- because it was discriminatory. It is pleasing to see this change.
To get this Bill through required real courage on the part of the Palaszczuk government. The two independents voted in favour, as did the casting vote of Speaker Peter Wellington. His voted was needed was because the two Katter Party members voted against, as did, sadly, the whole of the LNP.
And what was the rationale of the LNP? Quite simply- there aren’t enough children to be adopted. They are right. There aren’t. But that is no reason to discriminate. The assessment for every child should be based on the best interests of that child, consistent with our international obligations under the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. To do otherwise is unfair, discriminatory, unequal – and wrong. As my 2C teacher Mrs Bray taught me all those years ago: “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
The Bill commences when it receives the Royal assent, which should be in the next few days.
The Government’s position is also in line with Australia’s position to the world under the Turnbull government. Last year Australian went to the UN in Geneva, and after being roundly chastised by 100 odd other countries about its discriminatory practices with LGBTI people, said that it would stop allowing exemptions to the Sex Discrimination Act for State legislation. Those exemptions came to an end on 31 July.
What is also important from these changes is that for the first time in legislation that I have seen, there is a definition of infertility- and it is non-discriminatory. This definition is consistent with a non-discriminatory definition of infertility proposed by the World Health Organization. The message is clear- that those undergoing infertility treatment can include singles and LGBTI people. Here is the definition:
