Ban on homosexual foster parents

Ban on homosexual foster parents

By Bill Mason

BRISBANE — Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Ian Dearden has accused the state Coalition government of breaching the state's own anti-discrimination legislation by proposing to ban single men and homosexual couples from becoming foster parents.

Families, Youth and Community Care Minister Kev Lingard on November 26 announced the plan to overhaul the entire foster care program and review each of the 1330 people listed as approved carers. "This revamp, I guarantee, will not continue to allow two women who profess to be lesbians to be foster parents", he said.

Australian Association of Social Workers state president John Solas challenged Lingard to provide statistics or reports to support his decision, stating that judging people on the basis of their sexuality was not only discriminatory, but also irrelevant to the issue of providing quality care.

From GLW issue 257