Page 4736 - Week 15 - Thursday, 16 December 1993
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medicine from medical organisations which participate in facilitating surrogacy arrangements. We have made provisions for these resolutions in the proposed legislation but must note that the proposed approach is not the only way this may be achieved. As with other proposals in the paper, a different approach to the method of making assistance to surrogacy agreements professional misconduct for some health carers may be favoured. We are interested in the community's approach as to which way we should go.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the proposed law is considered necessary because currently in the ACT surrogacy contracts are prohibited by implication only. Agreements which do not give reward or profit are not an offence, but where a party to a surrogacy agreement refuses to honour the agreement courts would in all likelihood not recognise the contract and would follow instead the principle of the child's best interest. Adoption legislation prohibits arranged adoptions. Legislation in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia expresses State disapproval of surrogacy agreements and is in line with our proposal.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to release this discussion paper for community comment. This legislation is the result of careful consideration of the laws in other Australian jurisdictions and the particular needs of this community. The community's views are important not only to ensure that the proposal reflects the interests of as many sections of the community as possible but also to ensure wider acceptance of the approach eventually adopted by this Assembly. The aim is to design legislation that is appropriate and effective for this jurisdiction. Mr Deputy Speaker, the Government has set aside a period of three months to allow for comment on the proposal, and I look forward to receiving comments from the community on this very important and, we think, pressing change and bringing the legislation before the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Carnell) adjourned.
COMMUNITY LAW REFORM COMMITTEE
Report on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.21): Mr Deputy Speaker, for the information of members, I present the Community Law Reform Committee report No. 7 entitled Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
Mr Deputy Speaker, all members of the community should abhor violence against children. Unfortunately, history has shown that we cannot rely on criminal or other traditional sanctions alone to reduce the instances of child abuse. Increasingly, the ACT and other jurisdictions have come to rely on careful intervention in the child's family to partially meet this problem. Sometimes welfare workers can resolve the problem within the family unit by providing support, even preventive services, to the child and family. Sometimes the child must be protected in other ways.
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