Provest against gay adoption bill

TWEED Nationals MP Geoff Provest is expected to vote against a bill to allow same-sex couples to adopt in NSW.

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TWEED Nationals MP Geoff Provest is expected to vote against a bill to allow same-sex couples to adopt in NSW.

Mr Provest, who is currently unavailable for comment, told national radio his conscience vote on the issue would be “no.”

NSW Nationals leader Andrew Stoner has spoken against the bill that has the support of the premier and several ALP ministers.

Independent Clover Moore introduced the historic bill to parliament with amendments yesterday.

Ms Moore said the bill, which is continuing to be debated in NSW Parliament today, was about recognising the estimated 1300 children either being reared by same-sex foster couples or the child of a partner.

“It’s about giving legal recognition to the vital relationship that children have with their parents regardless of their parents’ sexuality,” Ms Moore said.

“The law needs to catch up with the social reality that some children are already parented by same-sex couples and that the law should provide legal protection for those children.”

The same-sex adoption bill was introduced to parliament by Ms Moore, after amendments had been made.

The amendments, which Ms Moore said she made “against her strong belief”, will give church adoption agencies the right to refuse services to gay and lesbian couples without breaching anti-discrimination laws.

The government and the opposition have agreed to allow their members a conscience vote on the legislation.

NSW Nationals leader Andrew Stoner argued against the bill, saying children needed to be raised in an environment where there was a father and a mother.

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, a self-proclaimed Catholic feminist, said she had considered the gospel, her observations of same-sex parents and her own experiences of parental love, both as a child and a mother, to arrive at her decision in favour of the bill.

NSW Community Services Minister Linda Burney said it made no sense that single gays were allowed to adopt a child while gay couples were not.

Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt also supported the bill, saying the best interests of children were served “if parenting capacity is the sole determinant of assessing whether people are suitable to adopt a child”.

Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell is expected to speak on the bill today.

Known adoptions, where a couple adopts a foster child, or a parent adopts the child of his or her partner, are by far the most common in NSW, she said.

Overseas adoptions will not be affected by the bill, as none of the countries Australia has agreements with allows same-sex adoptions, she added.