The Age - "Howard slams ACT gay adoption law"

Prime Minister John Howard has spoken out against an ACT law which allows homosexual couples to adopt children.

Federal cabinet was reported to be considering overturning the law, which was passed last month by the ACT Legislative Assembly.

The federal parliament has the power to override territory laws and in 1997 overturned a Northern Territory law which legalised voluntary euthanasia.

Mr Howard said he did not support the ACT gay adoption law.

"I don't support gay adoption, no," Mr Howard told the John Laws radio program.

"I'm against gay adoption, just as I'm against gay marriage.

"I think there are certain benchmark institutions and arrangements in our society that you don't muck around with.

"Children ideally should be brought up by a mother and a father who are married. That's the ideal."

Mr Howard said he knew unmarried couples could be good and loving parents, but the best conditions for children were to be raised by married parents.

"I believe in the maximum conditions of stability for people who have children," he said.

"I think it is incredibly important that people have role models of both sexes."

Mr Howard has previously written to the ACT's Labor Chief Minister Jon Stanhope expressing concerns about gay adoption and the territory's bill of rights.

Mr Stanhope said he believed Mr Howard was bluffing and would not intervene to overturn ACT laws.

"I can't believe that the prime minister would seriously think it appropriate for the Commonwealth to intervene in the ACT's affairs to overturn some fairly basic human rights legislation," Mr Stanhope told ABC radio.

Federal Labor leader Mark Latham has said he will oppose any move to overturn the gay adoption law.

[Link: Original Article]

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The Age - "PM condemns ACT gay adoptions laws" by AAP

Prime Minister John Howard today condemned Australia's first laws which will allow gay couples to adopt children.

He said the new ACT laws were an example of political correctness, but said children should ideally be raised by a married mother and father.

The new laws in the ACT are part of a new ACT Bill of Rights.

But federal cabinet is expected to examine the laws and to decide whether or not the federal government should intervene and have them overturned.

Federal parliament has previously used its constitutional powers to overturn the Northern Territory laws on voluntary euthanasia.

Mr Howard said he had examined the ACT laws and said he opposed any bill of rights, as it could lead to limits on individual freedoms.

"I think the idea of the ACT having a bill of rights is ridiculous. If you're going to have things like that, they should be done on a nationwide basis," he told the John Laws radio program.

"This is political correctness inside the Labor Party parading itself for all the world to see."

He said he did not support gay adoptions.

"I don't support gay adoption, no," Mr Howard said.

"I'm against gay adoption, just as I'm against gay marriage.

"I think there are certain benchmark institutions and arrangements in our society that you don't muck around with.

"Children ideally should be brought up by a mother and a father who are married. That's the ideal."

Mr Howard said he knew unmarried couples could be good and loving parents, but the best conditions for children were to be raised by married parents.

"I believe in the maximum conditions of stability for people who have children," he said.

"I think it is incredibly important that people have role models of both sexes."

[Link: Original Article]

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The Age - "Gay 'husbands' to test their marriage in court " by Farah Farouque

In a legal first, two Melbourne gay men who married in Canada are planning to apply to the Australian courts to have their union recognised at home.

Jason McCheyne and Adrian Tuazon, both Australian citizens, flew to Canada last month and exchanged wedding rings and vows in a civil ceremony at Toronto's city hall.

Mr McCheyne, 33, and Mr Tuazon, 30, are now preparing to mount a court challenge, probably in the Family Court, to have their same-sex marriage validated in Australia.

The Brunswick couple, who identify themselves as Christians, say they are not "radical political activists".

Until they met met six years ago, neither had "come out" as a homosexual. But now they are determined to achieve formal recognition of their union and refer to each other as "my husband".

"We see marriage as a lifetime commitment - just like everyone else," Mr McCheyne told The Age. "We are a family now. We are very traditional in that sense."

The couple, who plan to have children, say they want be considered equal to their heterosexual married friends. "We wanted to marry both as a statement to ourselves and to the community," said Mr Tuazon.

Although gay couples now hold their own informal "commitment ceremonies", Australian law makes no provision for same-sex marriage.

Prime Minister John Howard is strongly opposed to the idea, and the ALP has also shelved an amendment to the party's platform that would have given gay unions equal legal status to married heterosexual couples.

Greens leader Senator Bob Brown, who is gay and supports same-sex marriage, wished the men well in their legal challenge.

Mr McCheyne and Mr Tuazon married in Toronto in the province of Ontario, where courts ratified same-sex marriages in June last year. As there are no residency requirements, gay couples from around the world are flocking to Canada to achieve their marital ambitions.

A Melbourne-based lesbian couple, Jacqui Tomlins and Sarah Nichols, believe they were the first Australians to take advantage of the laws when they married in August last year.

"Our wedding was held at a lakeside cottage just north of Toronto, the service performed by a Unitarian minister," Ms Tomlins said.

"We had vows, betrothal, signing, exchange of rings, food and Australian wine, speeches, dancing, two brides on the wedding cake, and registered with David Jones bridal service."

The validity of overseas gay marriages has not yet been tested in the Australian courts.

Family law expert Professor Regina Graycar, of Sydney University, said: "I wouldn't be so confident that a court would recognise such marriages, but I wouldn't rule it out."

Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convenor David McCarthy acknowledged that it was a "grey area", but the group supported the move to have overseas marriages recognised. "It's a battle that has to be had," he said.

Bill Muehlenberg, of the Australian Family Association, said validating gay unions would "radically revolutionise" marriage. "If we gave in on this one, we might as well give the whole game away," he said.

Mr McCheyne and Mr Tuazon, with their matching white gold bands, naturally beg to differ.

[Link: Original Article]

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VAFT News - "How the issue of lesbian and gay parenting is addressed in family reports" by Eve Tauber

This article reports on research which examined whether children of gay and lesbian parents are disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to the children of heterosexual parents. Previous research has indicated that lesbian and gay parents often go to great lengths to be parents, and portrays a picture of families thriving, even in the midst of discrimination. The main findings of the present research indicate that there is no evidence linking homosexuality with abuse or poor outcomes for children.

[Source: VAFT News (Victorian Association of Family Therapists) v.26 no.1 Feb 2004: 5-6]

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The Age - "Gay couple 'parents', court finds" by Fergus Shiel

The Family Court has granted a gay Melbourne couple parental responsibility for a baby boy born to a surrogate mother in the United States.

It is believed to be the first time that two gay men in Australia have been granted parenting orders for a child born into their relationship.

Justice Sally Brown ruled that it was in the best interests of one-year-old Mark to be looked after by the two men, identified only as Mr X and Mr Y.

"I am satisfied it is in Mark's best interests for significant decisions relating to his welfare... to be made by both of the people who treat him as their son, and that he can only benefit from their informed involvement in all aspects of his life," she said.

Justice Brown said she believed that Mr X, who donated the sperm, was a parent in the ordinary meaning of the word. She did not make a legal finding on the fact, though, as the case was uncontested. Her comments contrast with an earlier court ruling that a sperm donor was not a parent under the terms of the Family Law Act.

The men's lawyer, Judy Small, said Justice Brown had "put the cat among the pigeons" on the vexed issue of the legal rights of sperm donors. "It raises again the whole question of whether a donor is a parent," she said, adding that her clients were delighted by the ruling.

Mark's surrogate mother, Ms S, carried an embryo created from an anonymously donated egg and Mr X's sperm as part of a surrogate agreement reached in California.

Neither Ms S nor her husband wished to have any parental relationship with the boy, who has been in the care of Mr X, 38, and Mr Y, 41, since his birth on May 31, 2002.

Mr X and Mr Y had sought orders from the court that they have joint responsibility for the long-term care, welfare and development of Mark and that he live with them.

Justice Brown said the couple operated within a circle of extended family and friends,and daily demonstrated their commitment to and understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood.


[Link: Original Article]

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Australian Journal of Social Issues - "From here to maternity: a review of the research on lesbian and gay families" by Jenni Millbank

This article presents a review of current British and American literature on the children of lesbians and gay men, and connects this literature with the small amount of information available on lesbian and gay families in Australia. The article outlines available demographic information about lesbian and gay family forms; provides an overview of the results of sociological and psychological research into the development and well being of children raised in lesbian and gay families; and reviews the implications of the research reviewed for both current and future legal and policy regulation of lesbian and gay families.

[Source: Australian Journal of Social Issues v.38 no.4 Nov 2003: 541-600]

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The Age - "Fathers and son" by Annmaree Bellman

A new film follows two Melbourne men's quest to become gaydads . By Annmaree Bellman.

AFTER three years of IVF, a Melbourne couple are counting the days to the arrival of their first child: decorating the nursery, buying up big at Babyco. They're ready for the dash to the hospital - in Iowa.

Tony Wood and Lee Matthews are gay. Prohibitive Australian legislation about same-sex parenting has led them into an expensive overseas surrogacy deal. They're flying to America not just to meet their baby, but its birth mother. Filmed at claustrophobically close quarters, their pursuit of parenthood makes for one heck of a road movie.

The story's complexities intrigued director Emma Crimmings when she learned of their plan three years ago. Tony worked at the same law firm as her partner and had even appeared in one of her earlier films, but he and Lee refused an initial request to document this experience. "It was too confronting," says Crimmings, who studied documentary-making in the University of Melbourne's VCA program. "It wasn't until they got pregnant that we talked about it seriously, about what would be involved and whether they would be willing to take that leap."

The leap was considerable. Crimmings was a friend but the film is no glowing tribute to surrogacy, nor a glib treatise on gay parenting. The couple's desire to be parents collides constantly with the bald realities of buying a baby. Empathy with their predicament and connection with these humorous, committed, anxious dads-to-be takes flight, for instance, with the news that the Iowan mother-of-two having their baby might not breastfeed. Negotiations loom. "We have always wanted to be able to access our surrogate's colostrum," says Tony. It exemplifies the unflinching nature of a film that simultaneously delights and discomforts.

"When they first saw the film, there were lots of things in it that were deeply confronting," says Crimmings. "There's not a lot of people who could deal with having that mirror thrown at them, particularly in such an intimate context. We negotiated some things but overall they permitted me to make the film I wanted." They participated not least because it highlighted the situation of gay couples wanting children in what Crimmings describes as "1950s Howard Australia".

"They have an agenda - they're political about this issue and the only way change is going to be invoked is through awareness and, as Tony said, it's like the best-quality home video; a legacy for (their son) Alexander."

Crimmings began shooting in July 2002, her job as curator of projects at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image shoehorning the film into weekends until it came time to board the plane last December. It is a starkly intimate film, Crimmings trapping faces in close-up, capturing quips, spats, frustration. The emotional tension accelerates when we meet Junoa, the surrogate mother whose outward serenity belies evident conflict. Her participation, which adds immeasurable power to the film, almost didn't happen. "I had a chat to the guys and said `Look, I think it will benefit the story and provide all of the aspects of this journey if she speaks. And it would soften it, frankly.' The guys were understandably protective of her but after the birth Junoa gave us all a bit of a gift and agreed to be part of the project. I think she was actually thankful for the ability to externalise it."

Junoa's inner turmoil is largely unspoken, voiced instead by a midwife whose perspective, alongside that of the head of the LA surrogacy agency who brokered the deal, is one of the film's strengths. Their views, and the responses of other players along the way, answer the questions both the situation and audience demand. "This has got nothing to do with my politics or anyone else's,' says Crimmings. "It's about revealing the story. As a viewer you search your own morals and ethics about what's happening and you need all the information to do that. There is a commercial reality to this and an emotional reality (for Junoa). You don't have to judge, but you have to ask questions."

Condensing 50 hours of footage into 50 minutes became a feat of sensitivity. The result is a finely shaded portrayal with unexpected twists. Tony and Lee didn't envisage Junoa playing a role in Alexander's life after the birth but, as their relationship evolved, all three had to adapt to human rather than contractual imperatives. Junoa plans to visit the new family later this year. "There's the complexity," concludes Crimmings. "They entered into a commercial arrangement but it carries the comet tail of emotion. I think that even surprised the guys. They have a marvellous relationship with Junoa now, a real friendship, and she will play an important role, even if a distant one, in Alexander's life."

Two Men and a Baby screens on Tuesday at 7.30pm on SBS.

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