Page 4306 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 13 October 2009
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The decreasing number of overseas children identified as being in need of adoption by an Australian family has had a significant impact on how many of these children are joining a family in Canberra. In many cases, other countries allocate a specific number of children each year to be adopted by Australian families. This number is then divided proportionately between the states and territories based on population size.
During the last two financial years, 2007-08 and 2008-09, 11 children joined their adoptive families here in the ACT, coming from eight different countries. In 2007-08, children were adopted from Colombia, India, Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand. This changed during 2008-09, when children were adopted from China, the Philippines and Ethiopia.
In closing, I would like to emphasise the importance of the new division 4 of the Adoption Amendment Bill 2009. Certainly, at the present time, the number of children and families affected by this aspect of the provisions is small. However, these reforms will help adoptive parents or prospective parents hoping to adopt from another country. It is yet another example of practical help for children and families in the ACT. These parents are enthusiastic about intercountry adoption and are confident that they have made the right decision to pursue this. They demonstrate extraordinary persistence, great love and pride in their children.
I do not wish to gloss over the usual challenges that these children and their parents will face, nor the unique challenges experienced by transcultural families. But Canberra is enriched by these families.
To summarise, as I said, I support this legislation, and in particular the provisions it makes for children living overseas and in need of adoption. The ACT has a reputation for being progressive and supportive of Canberrans seeking to adopt children from overseas. This bill clearly sets out the obligations upon the ACT government to ensure that the rights of all children from overseas joining a new family in Canberra are properly protected. The new division 4 which has been added to the bill describes the additional legal requirements for families seeking to adopt a child from overseas, and the bill explains the role clearly assigned to governments.
I commend this legislation, which enhances and strengthens the ACT government’s policy in support of intercountry adoption for some of the most vulnerable children in need of a family.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Planning and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (11.01), in reply: I thank members for their contribution to the debate this morning and for their support in large part for the legislation, although acknowledging there are different levels of support for it across the chamber. Earlier in the year I delivered a ministerial statement on the Children and Young People portfolio. I outlined a year of action and a year of planning for the future. I explained Labor’s approach to this portfolio—practical help for all families; practical help for all children; practical help on everything from child friendly cities to sustainable jobs, from dropping kids off at childcare to helping dads play; pressing ahead with early
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