Page 3635 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 8 December 1992
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MR CONNOLLY: In the print media. Has she spoken on adoption, Madam Speaker? Not one word. So, this is the most pressing issue. Sorry, community, you have to be delayed. How important is this issue? She has not said dicky-boo. Madam Speaker, Ms Szuty has managed to get herself reported in the print media 128 times - she is doing quite well - but, again, not a word about adoption. Madam Speaker, these are the members who are making the big political exercise tonight. Mr Humphries was talking all about politics. He was not talking about adoption law. He was not talking about adoption issues. He was talking about politics. He was saying, "We have to show that we are not a rubber stamp". How much have they thought about adoption law in the last nine months since this was tabled? They have not had a word to say.
Mr Moore, as I said, at least has made the effort to come through and quote lots of clauses and raise lots of problems. Even Mr Kaine interjected, "Look how flawed this is", when listening to all the clauses that Mr Moore quoted. Most of the clauses he quoted are identical, word for word, comma for comma, apostrophe for apostrophe, to the clauses as they stood in March. Clauses 26 and 34, he says, are fundamentally flawed. There is no change. Clauses 46 and 47 are fundamentally flawed. There is no change. Clause 65 is fundamentally flawed, he says. There is no change. Clause 89 is appallingly flawed, with the penalty provision. There is no change. Clause 94(1) is this sneaking in of the surrogacy provisions; the sneaky Government introducing something by stealth. There is no change. Madam Speaker, this was simply, from Mr Moore, an attempt to justify the delay. He ran through clause and subclause and pointed out these issues that he says are fundamentally important and show flaws in the Bill. Madam Speaker, not even an apostrophe was changed in those clauses. This law has been in the public domain since March. Mr Moore has had plenty of opportunity to discuss it or to raise issues with me or my officers. As members know, we take a very open approach to legislation. On the Prostitution Bill, we sat down round a table in my office and debated issues. I would be delighted to do that with this Bill.
The one clause where there has been a bit of change is clause 56, which relates to foreign adoptions. I have said to all members on a piece of paper that I circulated this afternoon, and I say again, that if that is what is concerning you let us send that off to the Social Policy Committee. I think you are fundamentally wrong on that, as does the Adoptive Families Association; so I am happy to debate that issue at any forum any time. But let us do what the community groups are urging. Let us leave that issue aside and I will give you an undertaking that I will not commence that clause until the Social Policy Committee reports, whenever it reports. Mr Moore said, "I will guarantee that it is by February", and the Liberal Party members fell about laughing, saying, "How can Mr Moore guarantee when something will happen?". That is quite correct, Liberal Party.
I am prepared to give an undertaking on behalf of the Government that we will not commence that clause if you will put the Bill through, because there are a lot of people who are desperate, Madam Speaker, to get access to that adoption information. When the ACT first moved in this direction, well before self-government, six years ago, as the Canberra Times editorial said, ironically the ACT was then seen to be in the forefront of reform in this area. We are now at the position that we will be the last in Australia. Only the ACT and the Northern Territory were lagging, and the Northern Territory will probably catch up with us. We were in a position where we could have had this through over the next couple of weeks. We have been through one of the most extensive processes of debate and consultation on any piece of legislation going back six years.
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