Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to commend the Prime Minister on this very important and significant bill, the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Intercountry Adoption) Bill. This legislation clearly demonstrates this government is committed to adoption reform to enable more people to find families. As the Prime Minister and many adoption advocates have highlighted, adoption reform is not simple. This is not a silver bullet but it is a step in the right direction. For too long adoption has been in the too-hard basket. It has been too hard to adopt and as a result adoption has been a policy no-go zone. As the Prime Minister said when introducing the legislation to the House:

It should not be that way—because adoption is all about giving children a better life.

For many adoption is about completing a family. I am so extremely pleased to welcome this legislation. The purpose of this bill is to facilitate the grant of Australian citizenship to children adopted by Australian citizens under a bilateral adoption arrangement between Australia and countries that are not party to the Hague convention on intercountry adoption.

The government wants to make it clearer to adopt when it is in the best interests of the child. We do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past but we do want to remove the red tape and reduce the delays, which do not benefit anyone. It is a red tape that impacts on children who legitimately need a safe and loving home and parents who love them, and on Australians who dream of providing a home with the joyful laugh of children.

I would like to highlight some of the challenges Australia and the world at large currently face with intercountry adoption. These were outlined quite succinctly in the Report of the interdepartmental committee on the intercountry adoption by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, released in April this year. This report has driven these changes we debate today. The report notes that the median processing time from approval of an applicant in Australia to placement of a child has increased from 37 months—about three years—in 2007-08 to 61 months—about five years—in 2012-13. In reducing red tape, it is the hope of the Prime Minister and the government that we can reduce this time, giving more certainty to people engaged in this process. From speaking with many people throughout my life who are considering adoption or have experienced it firsthand, one thing that is clear is that adoption takes an emotional toll on the individual and relationships.

In preparing this report, correspondents writing to the Prime Minister about their personal experience of intercountry adoption say they have experienced anxiety about whether, as prospective adoptive parents, they will qualify to adopt a child from overseas; whether a child will be available from a particular country or countries; if the child has special needs, whether the nature of the child's special needs affect the child's prospects of obtaining a visa to enter Australia; whether enough help is available for the parents to adopt a child with profound special needs; and how long the process might take. It is important that we attempt to overcome some of these challenges.

As the Prime Minister said: 'This will not be a simple process, but this bill attempts to address some of these challenges. In my opinion, any measure to reduce the 10-year waiting period is a good step.' One submission to the report wrote:

… Over twelve months ago, I made an enquiry regarding intercountry adoption. FACS would not even accepts an expression of interest for 12 months … Finally 3 months ago, they accepted it and said that I would be eligible to adopt but that I would need to wait for a pre-adoption seminar to run before I could lodge a formal application … still no news. According to FACS officers they haven’t had enough people interested in adoption to make it worthwhile running a seminar … In the meantime I have become ineligible for the Colombia program … and it is likely that we will time-out of eligibility for the India program …

It is heartbreaking that government bureaucracy and red tape could stand in the way of completing a family. This is the personal experience of local pastors Ric and Naomi Burrell from Orchard Hills, who explained to me the experience of the process of adopting a child from overseas. In their words: 'The kids just need a better deal.' According to them, every day is agonising, from the day you are advised you have been approved to adopt a child until the process is finalised and you can begin to bring your child home. It is just agonising. Ric and Naomi applaud the Prime Minister for the measures he is taking to simplify the process, saying: 'Every step we take that reduces the time taken for us to process these adoptions here in Australia is to be welcomed.' They explained how, even once the paperwork was finalised, internationally they still needed to obtain a passport in their new baby's country of origin, an exit visa and a visa to bring their child home to Australia—and on an international passport, instead of a new Australian passport.

When we heard that these amendments will allow for Australian citizenship and Australian passports to be obtained before leaving the child's birth country, they expressed how much of a relief this will be to families who adopt children into their care in a range of circumstances. As previous speakers have detailed, under the amendments to be made in this bill children will be granted citizenship as soon as adoption is finalised. They will then be able to travel to Australia on an Australian passport with their new families, as Australian citizens. I too am extremely pleased that these measures we discuss today will address the concerns and challenges experienced by pastors Ric and Naomi Burrell, and the challenges faced by families across Australia who are seeking to adopt.

To conclude, I would like to quote the Prime Minister, who summed up the intent of this bill in his address to the House:

… I hope that this bill and my government’s other reforms to intercountry adoption will provide significant new hope for parents without children and significant new hope for children without parents.

The government appreciates that this will not be a simple process, but we are determined to provide relief and reduce waiting times for families who need to adopt from overseas. It is a noble effort. It was only about a week-and-a-half ago that I was at a barbeque with Ric and Naomi Burrell, and they were talking about some of their friends who are still going through the process. Some of these children had to wait an extra three months; some of these people had to wait an extra 18 months. You are talking about knowing that, at three months of age, this baby is going to be yours, but you cannot take this baby home until they are two years old. These are some of the most formative years of a young infant's life and I think that, in many ways, to deny the family and the child that crucial time to bond with their parents is possibly one of the cruellest things you can do to families. One of the most humane parts of this bill will allow babies to go home sooner so families can be united and which will provide a family unit to give these little babies a new chance in life. This is such a noble bill and I commend this bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.