ALECOMM

"Forced Adoptions"

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Category: Uncategorised

Created: Thursday, 20 September 2012 23:30

Written by Alecomm2

 Page: 14092

Mr JOHN ROBERTSON (Blacktown—Leader of the Opposition) [3.33 p.m.]: I move:

That this House:

(1) notes the Government's intention to make a formal apology to the mothers and children forcibly separated as a result of State Government adoption policies in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s; and

(2) supports the Government acknowledging, as part of the apology, that these policies have caused lasting suffering for so many.

This is a sensitive issue that has impacted thousands of lives. It is an issue that has reached a point where it is considered appropriate that an apology be made. The Government is moving in the right direction. It is working with the families, mothers and children who have been directly affected by this policy. That is appropriate. I place on record that the Opposition is prepared to work with and give its unwavering support to the Government's proposed apology. It is important this matter rise above politics. With any issue as sensitive as this, there is a danger and a temptation for people to play politics. In circumstances such as this it is inappropriate and offensive for anybody at any stage to seek to politicise the matter.

During the fifties, sixties and seventies the policy was implemented by a series of governments removing thousands of children from their mothers. When the apology is given it will be a unique and emotional moment. It will be a watershed in the history of this State. It will be a time of healing for victims of forced adoptions and their families. It will be a significant moment for those who attend the Parliament and for people across New South Wales. The separation of mothers from their children during this period was common practice. As the Premier has said, it occurred not just in State hospitals but in faith-based hospitals and, in some cases, in the most appalling of circumstances: mothers being drugged, tied down or tricked into signing adoption papers for their newly born babies.

The overwhelming majority of mothers had no idea where those children went and had no idea of the circumstances in which those babies found themselves. Mothers would have instinctively wanted to know that their children were in safe, secure and loving environments. For many years that was an unknown for those mothers. For some of those mothers it is still an unknown. For all of those mothers and children it is a tragedy. Although they were different times, that does not excuse or condone the circumstances of those forced adoptions.

Looking back from 2012 we know that what was going on then was wrong and misguided, which makes an apology very important. Whilst the practice was underpinned by social morals that were considered appropriate at the time, looking back now society would say it was cruel, and the implementation of the policy was inhumane to say the least. At a vulnerable time in their lives these mothers deserved better. Many of them were disowned by their families and they deserved support from the Government—not to be treated as they were. Other than by listening to the stories told by the mothers and children, I do not think anyone in the Chamber can begin to imagine the emotional heartache carried to this day by the affected mothers. The policies that were implemented destroyed the sacred bond between a mother and child. That is an emotional circumstance that no-one would ever like to find themselves in.

As a father of three children I cannot imagine what it would be like to have my children forcibly taken from me moments after their birth. My kids are important to me, and I am sure this is the case for any parent. The words that probably capture it best were the words I heard this morning from Christine Cole when she said that this will go a long way to helping in the healing process. I want everybody in New South Wales to know that the Government will have the unswerving support of the Opposition when it apologises for those forced adoptions.

Ms PRU GOWARD (Goulburn—Minister for Family and Community Services, and Minister for Women) [3.38 p.m.]: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for the support of the Opposition on this important matter. I would make one comment about the Opposition leader's observation that these were different times with different social values, and that is that nothing excuses illegal action. The Government at the time might have thought it was doing the right thing but there is no excuse for people forcibly extracting consents, forging signatures or not getting consent.

We must bear that in mind and it is why this apology is so significant. This is not just a reflection on a period of history that was not in keeping with contemporary social practice; it was an episode in history that was unlawful and demonstrated a flagrant disregard by the State for the rights of its citizens and for its own laws. As has already been observed in the Chamber, the need for an apology has arisen from a number of inquiries—an earlier inquiry of this Parliament and the Senate community affairs committee report on the inquiry into the Commonwealth contribution to former forced adoption policies and practices. As has often been observed, the report highlights the devastating impact of past adoption practices on many young women, their families and the children who were adopted. It highlights also the terrible things that were done in the name of supposedly "doing the right thing".

The New South Wales Government will offer an apology to the victims of this barbaric and unlawful practice and it is my sincere hope that it will go some way towards recognising and easing their pain. It is not intended to take, and will not take, anything from those adoptive parents who have loved and cared for these children, from the children who grew up in loving families and from the birth parents who willingly gave up their children for adoption. We need to be very clear that this apology is about addressing a shocking period of unlawful and overbearing immorality.

There have been a range of improvements in New South Wales for people affected by past adoption practices as a result of our Parliament's extensive inquiry conducted from 1998 to 2000. These improvements include enhanced funding for the Post Adoption Resource Centre to provide counselling, information and support services. People who have been adopted can apply to access background information about their birth families from adoption records held by the agency that organised the adoption, the hospital where they were born, the New South Wales Supreme Court, the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and/or the Department of Community Services. In light of the recommendations of the recent Senate inquiry, the work of the Adoption Information Unit of the Department of Community Services will be reviewed, including the fees that it charges. The Government—and I am pleased to have the support of both sides of Parliament—is committed to helping people affected by past adoption practices. This apology does not and will not affect the right of those so affected to seek legal reparation. That has never been the intention of the apology, and indeed that right was always available. I shall say a few words about the apology itself. As the Leader of the House observed, the apology is planned for September. There will be extensive consultation with both the Opposition and the groups and mothers affected on the wording of the apology. We need to ensure that people have time to make arrangements to be present in Sydney, if they wish, for the apology. Most importantly, we want this to be a time of great dignity and decorum in the Chamber and on the part of every speaker. We want every speaker to be adequately prepared to speak about what is a very sorry chapter in the history of good government in New South Wales, and indeed Australia.

Question—That the motion be agreed to—put and resolved in the affirmative.

Motion agreed to.

The DEPUTY-SPEAKER (Mr Thomas George): Order! It being before 4.00 p.m. the House will now proceed with Government business.