Mrs MARKUS (1:30 PM) —I am delighted to have seconded this motion on adoption today, moved by my friend the honourable member for Bass. The Boxing Day tsunami tragedy brought to the forefront of many Australians’ minds the plight of orphans from other countries. Seeing nightly images of terrified and screaming children seemed to shock the numbed sensibilities of many in our peaceful community. Predictably, these images aroused an enormous compassionate outpouring, with hundreds of Australians offering to adopt the so-called ‘tsunami orphans’.

It is sometimes inappropriate for children affected by war and natural disaster to leave their country and be adopted by couples overseas. There is a strong view put by the Adoptive Families Association and other organisations that, if possible, orphans should be placed with families within the country of origin. However, that is simply not possible in many cases. There are hundreds of thousands of displaced children around the world, many of whom have a small chance of survival, let alone of leading happy and healthy lives.

For example, the number of children left orphaned by HIV-AIDS alone is estimated at 13.4 million. UNICEF believes that at any given time there are millions of children around the world who are without primary caregivers and in institutions including hospitals, orphanages, psychiatric units and prisons. The number of intercountry adoptions finalised in New South Wales in 2003-04, however, was only 66. When we consider both the moral view that Australia is a country with much, sharing in a worldwide responsibility to care for those children who would otherwise struggle to survive, and the practical view that our birthrate is currently 1.7 children per couple—well below the self-sustaining rate of 2.1 children per couple—overseas adoption is clearly an option that needs to be embraced.

The Hague convention, which came into force in Australia in December 1998, provides an excellent set of overarching principles which the adoption legislation of the states and territories follows. The vast majority of those wanting to adopt do so out of a heartfelt desire to provide a new start in life for an orphaned child, but there are a tiny minority who would be inappropriate to adopt a child. The system of rigorous assessment in Australia is excellent and succeeds in ruling out inappropriate placements.

Hundreds of couples in Australia have expressed an interest in adopting a child from overseas. In New South Wales alone, approximately 10 phone calls a day are received from people asking for information about adoption programs. It is apparent though that these couples, who only want to provide a peaceful and loving home for an orphaned child, have to contend with a barrage of red tape, numerous inconsistencies and sometimes insufficient support during and after the process.

The costs of adopting a child from overseas are significant. It can cost up to $50,000 from a couple’s first expression of interest to actually bringing the child home to Australia. However, there is no consistency in what states charge the couple through the process. In New South Wales for example, the first application costs imposed by the Department of Community Services are $9,700, although this can be discounted for low-income households. In Victoria, however, a similar process through the Department of Human Services costs $6,250. This amount falls to $2,052 for an application made in Tasmania. Other states have their own individual pricing structures. When this is added to other sometimes unnecessarily restrictive practices, couples can be more disinclined to adopt from overseas. We should be doing all we can to encourage overseas adoption for the long-term benefit of both the child and childless couples in Australia.

There are also a number of other challenges that require a greater focus. For example, older children, three years of age and above, can often suffer substantial trauma and can struggle with learning and self-regulation. There needs to be a greater focus on post-adoption support provided by agencies in a genuine and ongoing way. There also needs to be further investigation into what assistance governments can and should provide to those who adopt children who are over six months old, particularly since the majority of adopted children are older than 26 weeks. It is time that we, as a community, seriously embraced and encouraged the concept of intercountry adoption. I both advocate and hope that this motion produces further community discussion, inquiry and debate for the good of the children and Australia.