BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE
HOBART — The Tasmanian Labor government announced plans in early November to allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children and to register their relationships (although not marriages) with the Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Currently, only one Australian state allows gay couples to adopt and no state allows legal recognition of gay relationships in the form of a registered contract.
The proposal to allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children has provoked the most controversy. It has been criticised by Catholic and Anglican bishops and there has been a mini flurry of letters — both for and against — to Tasmanian newspapers.
Liberal politicians have opposed the adoption changes. However, the Liberal party conference — to the embarrassment of the party hierarchy — expressed support for adoption when one of the partners is a biological parent of the child being adopted.
Gay activist Rodney Croome told Green Left Weekly, "If the government's law reform proposal goes through, Tasmania will have the best gay and lesbian human-rights laws in the world. We already have the best anti-discrimination laws and the proposed change to allow registration of significant relationships, which affects not only same-sex couples but a wide range of "significant personal relationships", is the shape of relationship law reform of the future."
Labor party figures are claiming that the state government has a "social reform agenda" which will be implemented in the current term of the government. Another item on this "agenda" that has been announced is the plan to ban smacking of children.
From Green Left Weekly, November 20, 2002.
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