Posted by John, January 7th, 2010 - under Labor Left, Labor Party, Same-sex adoption.

Tags: Adoption, ALP

New South Wales Community Services Minister Linda Burney has rejected a proposal to allow same sex couples in the state to adopt children.

This is despite the fact that a majority of a parliamentary committee examining the issue recommended such a move go ahead in the best interests of children.

The Minister said that ‘the Government is not satisfied there is broad enough community support to justify new state legislation at this stage.’

What weasel words are ‘at this stage.’ It is politics on the never never.

This is a novel approach to Government. There is majority community backing for removing same sex discrimination from the statute books.

Poll after poll shows there is majority support for same sex marriage. Yet this New South Wales Labor Government won’t even allow same sex adoption.

Governments often have to make decisions that divide the community. That is why we vote for them.

Indeed, given the level of support for same sex couples, allowing adoption would probably be a vote winner for this walking dead Government.

But they won’t do it. What the Government is afraid of is that there is not enough support within the Parliamentary Labor Party for this move, not the community.

It looks like the Christian right is in charge of the Government. They will shelve any semblance of progressive measures for fear, not of upsetting the community, but of upsetting their own reactionaries.

The ACT and Western Australia already allow same sex adoption. The sun still comes up. The kids are loved; that is the most important thing.

By pandering to conservative forces in its own Party, the New South Wales Labor Government further fortifies the foundations of a massive conservative win at the next election in 2011.

Burney is from the Left of the Party. If the only result of being in power is to capitulate to the right, why bother with the Labor Party?

The national campaign for same sex marriage held successful rallies across Australia last year. There will be more rallies and demonstrations this year, hopefully drawing in more people.

Same sex adoption should be one of the demands. There can be no equality for same sex couples without the ability to adopt.