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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-18 Daily Xml
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ADOPTION

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:23): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Families and Communities a question regarding media restrictions being placed on parties to adoptions, and prospective parties to adoptions, in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Currently, sections 31 and 32 of the South Australian Adoption Act prevent birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptive children from being able to identify themselves in the media as such. While some forms of restriction may be necessary to protect the identity of parties while adoption proceedings are in progress, the current wording of the provisions also prevent parties to adoptions from speaking publicly about their adoption experience, or even publishing their memoirs, for example, well and truly after the fact some 20 or 30 years later.

I recently met with a group of adoption rights advocates in South Australia in the lead-up to this week's national Adoption Awareness Week, and they indicated to me that this law, in particular, angers and upsets them and is preventing them from telling their stories and using their networks to associate with each other. One representative who spoke to me indicated that she was told by a senior officer at Families SA that, despite the law, no-one has ever been prosecuted under it and that parties to an adoption would be unlikely to be prosecuted for speaking to the media.

Nevertheless, the constituent remarked to me that the fact that the law remains on our books does nothing to alleviate the fear of penalty or feelings of being offended, upset and angry that remain within the South Australian adoption community.

New South Wales, in its 2008 redrafting of section 180 of its law, had the ban revoked in cases where there was consent by all parties, and section 121 of the Victorian Adoption Act has also had the complete ban revoked. My question is: will the minister consider consulting with adoption groups in South Australia with a view to introducing similar laws to those that have been introduced interstate?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (15:25): I am happy to take that on notice and will refer it to the relevant minister in another place and bring back a response.

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