Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I find myself in distinguished company, but unlike those who have spoken before me I have no background in this area. The members who have spoken of their experiences, whether of adoption or of fostering, certainly have my deep respect. I literally have no concept of the circumstances and the challenges that they have faced in their lives but it appears that they have gone on to do very well and I would like to think that the challenges they have faced in the past have made them better men. I am sure that is the case.

The issue of adoption is something that I have had quite a deal of interest in. As I said, I have no background in it but I know someone who is working in the sector as a psychologist and I have slowly begun to formulate some views on the circumstances and the backgrounds that face those who wish to adopt in this country now.

As has been said before, these are different times. There was a stigma involved for some in certain circumstances in the past—unmarried mothers or mothers who faced pressure to give up their children for a number of reasons, but basically because they were alone; they did not have husbands. We have moved on from those days. It is seen as much more acceptable for mothers to raise children even if they do not have a partner. But I have a great regard for those who have adopted in the past and those who are seeking to adopt now.

In this time, when we have an increasing amount of infertility problems in this country, it seems that there is a progression of facing one’s infertility issues and then maybe thinking about another step: adoption. Adoption these days is a very different matter. In the past, I understand, for those who adopted it was basically lock, stock and barrel—‘You have a new child’—and what was in the past was completely in the past. Obviously things have moved on, and that is excellent. These days, as I know from the experiences of my friend in Western Australia, we have a situation where the adoption of Australian-born children is very rare; we are talking more about overseas adoptions. There is now an obligation for the parents doing the adoption that they embrace and work with the culture of the child whom they are adopting. In many ways, I get the feeling that adoption, sadly for those people who are looking for this sort of option, is no substitute for the ability to have one’s own child.

Those who wish to adopt are doing a great thing—to hopefully provide a child with a better life and more opportunities. That is great, and it is to be commended, but they need to realise that there are a lot of responsibilities now and that it is not like it might have been 20 or 30 years ago. Most of that is obviously for the best, but they should be very clear about it possibly not being everything they were looking for.

The other thing that I would say is that—although in Western Australia you can now sign up for adoptions when you are up to 45 years old—because there is such a shortage of children who can be adopted from overseas, they are now saying that there is almost no chance of it being successful unless you start at the age of 38 or earlier. I will finish quickly by saying that I have a great regard for those who have been adopted and those people doing the adopting. This country has greatly advanced and is more advanced than it was. (Time expired)

See this speech in context