Parenting changes ignored

Gay parenting reforms have been stalled after the country’s Attorneys-General chose not to act on the Victorian Law Reform Commission recommendations.
Nationally consistent surrogacy laws were quietly dropped from the agenda of the Standing Committee for Attorneys-General last month after the Commission’s report was noted.
A spokeswoman for the NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, could not confirm if the matter would be reconsidered.
The NSW Ministers for Health and Community Services have also not responded to the Commission’s report – which is applicable to every state. Nor have they responded to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report, which recommended changes to parenting laws in every state and territory but WA and the ACT.
NSW surrogacy and IVF laws are considered among the most liberal in the country, but fall short of the other recommendations such as adoption and recognition of families.
The Government has held up reforms waiting on an Adoption Act review, the second since Labor has been in office.
“It’s currently with the department. It’ll take as long as it needs to take,” a spokeswoman for Community Services Minister Kevin Greene said.
Yet the Government does have strong supporters for reforms for same-sex families and those couples who want children.
“Same-sex couples should have the same rights as any other couple to joint-adoption,” Minister for Women Verity Firth told the SSO earlier this year.
And upper house member Penny Sharpe is herself a mother in a same-sex relationship.
The Greens have used parliament to push the NSW Government into a timetable for the parenting reforms but without success.
While Victoria’s laws are currently considered behind most other states in all areas of same-sex parenting, the Government has agreed to issue a response to the Commission’s report by the end of the year.
Felicity Marlowe from the Rainbow Families Council said she was confident reforms would happen in Victoria, but could see how difficult it was to convince governments in any state.
“We’ve got to get past the federal election,” Marlowe said. “These are such wedge issues and [state governments] are being so careful not to commit to anything.”
As long as governments delay, prospective parents find a way around the laws.
“At the moment couples are having what we call reproductive tourism where they go to other states where no one is going to ask if they’re in a same-sex relationship or single,” she said.
Currently only Tasmania, WA and the ACT allow known adoption, by which the relationship between a child and both same-sex parents can be recognised.
See www.rainbowfamilies.org.au.