LGBTI rights advocates welcome passage of adoption equality bill in Victoria’s lower house

LGBTI rights advocates welcome passage of adoption equality bill in Victoria’s lower house

LGBTI rights advocates have welcomed the passage of the the Adoption Amendment Bill in Victorian Parliament’s lower house last night after a lengthy debate that a saw a number of MPs express their thoughts on adoption equality.

The bill passed with 54 MPs voting in favour of the amendments and 26 voting against them, with seven additional abstentions.

Within the Coalition, zero MPs from the Liberal Party voted in support of the reform while six of the eight National MPs voted in favour.

Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL) co-convenor Sean Mulcahy said he was pleased with the majority of MPs who voted in favour of it.

“We are delighted that the Adoption Amendment Bill has passed the Legislative Assembly by an overwhelming margin and with support from a diverse range of MPs, including many from regional Victoria,” he told the Star Observer.

“The MPs who supported this bill came from all sides of politics except, unfortunately, the Liberal Party.

“Disappointingly, not one Liberal MP voted for this reform in the Legislative Assembly, not even Opposition Leader Matthew Guy who had told the media he supports adoption equality.”

The Adoption Amendment (Adoption by Same-Sex Couples) Bill 2015 was tabled earlier this month to allow same-sex parents in Victoria to jointly adopt children.

It also proposed amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 to remove religious exemptions that allow adoption providers to discriminate on religious grounds.

During the debate in parliament, Euroa state Nationals MP Steph Ryan expressed that while she was in support of adoption equality, the Coalition also supported religious exemptions in the Equal Opportunity Act and did not support that being amended.

“It is the view of the Coalition that religious views be respected,” she said.

Prahran state Greens MP Sam Hibbins said when it came to support services, no-one should be discriminated.

“There should be no wrong door when it comes to any service offered in Victoria,” he said.

However, the majority of faith-based adoption providers are in support of adoption equality.

Mulcahy said the amendments would have a huge impact on rainbow families around Victoria.

“This reform will benefit hundreds of Victorian children and will remove the last piece of legislation that discriminates against same-sex or gender diverse couples and their families,” he told the Star Observer.

“We believe that the taxpayer dollars should not fund discrimination in public services and that religious freedom does not extend to allowing discrimination in public services.

“We are pleased that the majority of faith-based adoption providers and people of Catholic faith support adoption equality.”

The bill still needs to pass the Legislative Council, or upper house, before it becomes law. It is expected to be debated again as early as November 10, when the upper house sits next.

At the moment, NSW, Tasmania, WA and the ACT are the only jurisdictions where adoption rights for same-sex couples has been fully legislated.

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4 responses to “LGBTI rights advocates welcome passage of adoption equality bill in Victoria’s lower house”

  1. The adoption bill has passed the lower house that is a start, but it is just the beginning and must pass the upper house yet! The adoption bill has not passed the upper house as of yet! Currently the bill sits as the first reading in the upper house awaiting a vote sometime in the next few months! There are 21 votes as a majority that are needed in the 40 member upper house for any bill to pass. Labor, Greens and the Sex Party have a total of 20 votes – so that means we are 1 short that is needed. The Liberal and National Parties as a Coalition, Shooters and Fishers Party, Democratic Labor Party and Jobs 1st Party have not commented on the adoption bill as of yet. I have been ringing up several politicians from these parties and have not received a single response as of yet! I hope the bill passes into law by the end of the year. Six out of the eight National party members voted YES to the adoption bill in the lower house, maybe the one needed vote will come from 1 out of 2 Nationals party members in the upper house perhaps?

  2. Surprise, surprise the LNP fascists are against adoption equality and voted NO on this bill! Not even one Liberal member actually voted YES, just like they did with assisted reproductive technology bill that allowed IVF access for all women, back in 2008!

    That is why I ALWAYS vote for the Labor Party EVERYTIME!

    The federal Labor Party will allow marriage equality in Australia, as a “binding” vote – sometime between 2019 and 2022!

  3. Typical Liberal party!
    This is why I vote Labor!
    The Liberal party was also remember keeping archaic laws against IVF access for lesbians and single women back in 2008 (South Australia is the only place in Australia to still do this today). All Liberal MPs voted against it – but just scraped through the upper house with just 2 votes – and became law! The Liberal party was the ones who also repealed big sections of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010, because it did not have any sort of religious exemptions for jobs. Then they decided to re-instate the religious exemptions for jobs in 2011.
    In 2015 today, the Victorian Labor party are proposing to introduce a bill by the end of the year, that the legislation be repealed and replaced with a brand-new Equal Opportunity Act 2016 be in-inserted without any religious exemptions in regards to jobs.

  4. The Age has previously reported the Liberal Party had received donations from the Exclusive Brethren. It is a concern that Liberal Party then seek religious businesses that receive government money, have the ability to discriminate. I was part of the Forgotton Generation, and every child where I grew up would have given anything to have a safe home no matter what the sexuality of the parents was. It is child abuse for any MP to allow children to be without a loving home simply because they personally dislike GLBTI Australians, or want them discriminated against.