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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 01 Hansard (Tuesday, 10 February 2004) . . Page.. 91 ..

looked after. Their rights are meant to be the paramount consideration in what occurs—not the rights, desires or wishes of adults. The vast majority of people in this city do not want to see same-sex adoption. The vast majority of people in this city have shown that they are very tolerant indeed—witness the responses you got to your own survey—but they draw the line at gay adoption and for very good reasons.

No matter how good, decent, nice or competent same-sex people are, when it comes to adoption similarly nice, decent, component able male/female people and persons in a relationship have, simply by the very nature of being males and females, a better ability in our society to look after the best interests of the child. Reams of evidence have been accumulated on that. I thank the members of the community who oppose this legislation, groups like the Australian Christian Lobby, who have given me much material. I thank the members of the gay and lesbian community, who have also given me reams of material to read. That has been very important in looking at this issue. But at the end of the day, we have to have regard to the best interests of the child, and quite clearly that means a mother and a father when it comes to adoption.

MR PRATT (5.45): Today we have heard many different opinions about a controversial, yet necessary, debate and we will hear a lot more yet. We have heard both negative and positive opinions from members of the Assembly, while my office has been flooded with emails and letters from the Canberra community on the Parentage Bill 2003.

The Liberal opposition do not believe that this bill should be passed here today. We do not believe that passing this bill would be the best thing that this Assembly could do for the children, and the broader community, of Canberra. Children have a right to be brought up by both a mother and a father. It takes both a mother and a father to conceive a child; it takes both to bring up a child properly. We have heard child welfare experts state that children need both male and female nurturing and role models in their lives to satisfy their emotional, mental and physical needs and to support the development of values and personal discipline, particularly amongst boys who have an educational difficulty these days in developing that drive to go forward and be successful and responsible citizens.

How then, Mr Deputy Speaker, can the Labor government be proud to be proposing this legislation, to be passed here today? The ACT government is elected to do the most appropriate thing for the Canberra community. As I stated before, my office has been flooded with emails and letters that oppose this proposed legislation. I can guarantee that my colleagues in the Liberal Party, and the rest of the members here, have also received such opposition from the community. How then can the Labor government claim that they represent the best interests of the Canberra community?

This legislation would allow the automatic veto currently set for gay couples who apply to adopt to be removed and allow them to be judged just like any heterosexual couple. This is not appropriate. The Labor government has no right to indirectly place a child, through the adoption process, in a situation where they are not exposed to both male and female care and role models.

Let me turn to the fundamentals of our responsibilities as a society with respect to our children and our youth—our most important asset. I refer to this dynamic in order to

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