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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (4 December) . . Page.. 4633 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

I have just heard speeches from the Greens and the Labor Party in which they have indicated a number of problems that they have, but they have made no effort whatsoever to solve them. No view was expressed on having a round table conference or on any amendments; just, "It is too hard. We cannot handle this". I have to say that I do not think that is good enough, because people's lives will be affected by the incapacity of members of this Assembly to handle this difficult issue. We handle difficult issues all the time in this Assembly, and we should. That is our job. We have an absolute obligation to the people of Canberra to take the time to handle difficult issues, and there has been plenty of time with this Bill.

I introduced this Bill in August last year, just after the birth of Jessica, a child who was born for a couple who are the genetic parents of that child, but the birth mother was the man's sister. The couple who are called Mum and Dad by the child and who are the genetic parents of that child - the parents with whom that child has lived since birth - cannot, this Assembly is saying, adopt their own genetic child. That is what you are saying.

Mr Wood: They can.

MRS CARNELL: I am sorry; no. That is what you are saying.

Mr Wood: They have to adopt the child.

MRS CARNELL: No; I am sorry. The problem, Mr Wood - the problem that you have not looked at - is that you cannot have directed adoption, except for people who are closely related.

Mr Wood: Are they not closely related?

MRS CARNELL: I fully accept that in this particular case, but in the other cases it is not so. In the other cases you are saying to the genetic parents that they cannot adopt their own child; that is exactly what you are doing.

Mr Wood: We do not have any of those cases.

MRS CARNELL: But there are pregnancies right now. By not actually addressing your concerns, by just getting up here over a year later and opposing the Bill that has been on the table since August last year and has been through the Community Law Reform Committee and all the rest, without ever trying to sort it out, you have created a situation where babies that cannot be adopted by their genetic parents are going to be born. That is a shocking situation. What will happen with those children, I assume, is that the birth mothers will hand the children over to their genetic parents and the children will have no legal status. Great work, Assembly! Fantastic work! If this is the way you felt, why did you let it go to the Community Law Reform Committee? Why did you let it stay on the table for so long? Why did you not come up with amendments that could have sorted it out? I have to say that I think it is gross incompetence that is affecting the lives of people. There was not one indication that there was going to be a fundamental problem with this legislation. There was no effort for a round table conference. There were no amendments. There was nothing.

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