January 2010 

Friday, 8th January 2010

Yesterday, the Minister for Community Services Linda Burney announced that the NSW Government would not change the law to allow same sex couples to adopt children because of a lack of community support.

Rev the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC, Parliamentary Leader of Family First, announced: “Family First is delighted with this response. We congratulate all the people who sent in submissions, and in particular, the thousands of people who have signed the petitions. The committee was divided on the issue, but the minority report took into account the best interests of the child and the future family into which they would be adopted.”

Dr Moyes continued, “Most of the people promoting same sex adoption speak about the right of gay and lesbian couples to have a child to satisfy their own instinct for parenting. Our point is totally different. The concern of Family First is for the right of a child to have the role modelling and contributions that are given throughout a child’s life by a mother and a father.”

They cannot see the proper role modelling of the father when there are only two women in the household. Two men cannot give a child the benefits a mother is able to give nor are they able to provide the correct contribution to a child’s gender development that a mother and father gives. No matter how he dresses and how competent in the kitchen he may be or what he calls himself, Mrs Doubtfire can never be the same as the children’s own mother.”

After a lengthy committee inquiry which recommended adoption be legal for gay couples, Linda Burney said the law would not be changed. The committee members could not reach a consensus in favour of a law change. The NSW Government is not satisfied there is broad enough community support to justify new state legislation at this stage.

“The controversial issue has divided the wider community. We’ve received thousands of signed petitions. The community had deeply held views and were concerned that amendments to adoption laws would take away the fundamental human right of adopted children to be raised by a mother and a father”, Dr Moyes said.

Dr Moyes concluded, “Children need both a mother and a father to help them develop their own gender identity, their own sense of being like other families, and their own understanding of how marriages work. The child’s whole of life welfare must come before the personal satisfactions of two adults.” END.