Queensland Parliament has agreed to an overhaul of its adoption laws which means same sex couples, single people and those undergoing fertility treatment will now be able to adopt a child.
The new laws will also improve access to information by an adoptee, birth parent or an adult relative.
The Speaker, Peter Wellington, needed to use his casting vote to support the expanded eligibility criteria.
Communities Minister Shannon Fentiman said she was proud to overturn discriminatory laws to make it legal for same sex couples to adopt children in Queensland.
“It is time for Queensland to join other Australian states and territories to remove this discrimination from our adoption laws,” he said.
“Every other state and territory, other than South Australia and the Northern Territory, now support same sex adoption.
“For too long Queensland’s LGBTI community has been barred from even considering meeting the needs of a child through adoption as an option.”
Ms Fentiman said positive relationships and a loving home provided the best outcomes for children.
“Meeting the best interests, needs and wellbeing of a child is not dependent on whether a child has parents who are of the same gender, opposite gender or even whether they are raised by a single parent,” she said.
The Liberal Opposition were opposing the Bill because they didn’t believe there was a need and that passing these laws could give the wrong idea that adoption is easy to do.
The Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace, herself an adoptive mother, she he could not think of a single reason to prevent LGBTIQ people, single people and people undergoing fertility treatments should not be able to adopt a child.
“This is about equality, this is about human rights. This is not about whether there are enough children to go around,” she said.
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