Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about baby abandonment. At present, baby abandonment is treated as a criminal offence Australia-wide. This basically means that, no matter which state or territory you are in, child abandonment is considered criminal and the offender is able to be prosecuted. In my opinion, this is an unacceptable response and a consequence of an action that is more often than not committed out of fear and desperation. The reasons why parents abandon their babies may never be fully understood. However, I feel it is safe to say the majority of them are scared. They may suffer from a mental illness or be incapable emotionally. There may be various other reasons why they do not feel that they can take on the responsibility of a newborn baby. These new mothers may be frightened, as I have just said, or suffering depression. We are talking about vulnerable individuals that need our help. They should not be left feeling alone, without options, and treated like criminals.

Whatever the reason for baby abandonment, nobody wins. A child is left without its parents and a mother or father who needs help can potentially be sentenced to time in prison. It has been suggested to me in the past that a parent who abandons their baby would probably never 'actually be prosecuted in reality' and I have had to then ask them the question: why then do we still have these laws? So when I talk about the implementation of baby safe havens, I am not just talking about having a safe physical place for parents to leave an unwanted baby; I am also talking about an important change to legislation that will make leaving a baby at a safe haven not punishable by law. A change in legislation is something that needs to occur in every state and territory around Australia.

Last month, in my home state of Tasmania, we were faced with the tragedy of an abandoned infant. As tragic as the loss of this little girl is, I do not believe her passing will be in vain. If ever we needed any more certainty that baby safe havens are a necessity in Australia, here it is. This baby girl, found exposed to the elements and no longer breathing, is the reason we must act now! We cannot ignore what has happened to this baby, and I will not allow her memory to be forgotten. As I just mentioned, on Tuesday, 18 October 2011, the sad news was made public that a deceased baby had been discovered in a Hobart park. This little baby girl, given the name 'Baby Willow', has had a huge impact on the local community, where I know there have been many tributes and prayers for her. She has been dubbed Baby Willow by the local community members where she was found. There have been suggestions that the park where she was discovered be re-named Willow Park or Willow Remembrance Park. I feel this is a lovely gesture from the general public and it really shows the dramatic effect that the abandonment of this baby girl has had on our community. And I note from a media report today that the local council is asking members of the community who would support the renaming of this park to write to them to indicate their support. I would encourage as many as possible of those people who believe that we need to have Baby Willow remembered to write to their local council. There is not just one victim in this situation. There is, of course, the baby, who usually dies—of the 10 babies that are abandoned and found each year in this country, the majority are found deceased—but there is also the mother, the father, the grandparents and the aunts and uncles. It has become evident to me in the past few weeks that the local community are also suffering greatly. They are grieving for a baby they never knew, and their hearts are going out to a mother they have never met. I am determined to ensure that every step is taken to prevent any further suffering of this nature. I do not want to hear of another abandoned baby in Australia, and I truly believe, along with others, that baby safe havens are a concept that can assist in ensuring that this kind of tragedy does not happen again.

I put my full support behind the Victorian government in its endeavours to further discuss the need for baby safe haven legislation in Australia. I am aware that Minister Mary Wooldridge, the member for Doncaster in Victoria, has an interest, as I do, in baby safe havens, and I believe it is important that we do not lose momentum on this important issue. I encourage anyone passionate about saving the lives of babies to lobby the Victorian government and ensure that we are successful in having the legislation changed. It is also positive that the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services will be providing input into the Victorian review focusing on identification of the current options and legislative processes in response to abandoned babies across jurisdictions as well as internationally. With so much support from both the government and the general public, I feel sure we will soon be successful in establishing baby safe havens in Australia. Baby safe havens provide an important element of the solution to child abandonment elsewhere, and they will do so here in Australia, and that is why I will do everything I can to keep raising this important issue in the public arena.

I have recently had the pleasure of collaborating with an amazing Tasmanian lady who is as passionate about saving the lives of these vulnerable babies as I am. Her name is Rachel Thistleton, and I take this opportunity to say a sincere thankyou to her. She is doing a remarkable job, and I feel privileged to be working with her towards a common goal of baby safe havens in Australia. We now have even greater support than ever before to make baby safe havens a reality in this country. Emails and letters of support are arriving in huge numbers. Rachel and I recently relaunched a new petition to collect signatures of support, and the response from the public could not have been better. I have already presented petitions in the past to state and federal governments on this important issue.

There has been increasing support not only from the general public but also from a number of high-profile individuals who have come on board to assist us in promoting the importance of this great cause. I acknowledge here tonight that Lisa Gormley, who is a young Tasmanian actress and a rising star in Home and Away, has lent her support to this great initiative. I publicly acknowledge her contribution thus far, and I know she is going to be a valuable person to have on board as we go forward. I acknowledge a Tasmanian doctor, Dr Frank Nicklason, who also came out in support of the baby safe haven concept last week, by saying:

The campaign for creation of a nationwide network of safe havens for babies who cannot be looked after by their mothers is evidence based, intelligent and practical, and would very likely save lives.

I do not believe that our message can be conveyed with much more clarity. Dr Nicklason gets straight to the heart of the matter, which is about saving lives. Rachel Thistleton said:

At the end of the day that's all it comes down to. Yes; we need consistent laws across the country. Yes; an age limit has to be set. Yes; it will take work, government funding, research and education. Yes; it is achievable.

When it comes to protecting our children, no number of choices or alternatives is too many. There should be no length that we will not consider going to in order to protect our newborns. Our current systems are failing some of them; therefore we must step up and act.

The sorts of places where abandoned babies have been found in the past are quite honestly saddening. It is distressing to think that a baby could be left in a shoebox, in a garbage bin or in a park. These sorts of places expose an already fragile new baby to the harsh elements, with no guarantee of being found soon or by someone who can offer them safety and proper care. It is resorting to places such as these that ultimately leads to the child being found dead rather than alive. Do we really want to be the kind of society that denies the problem, focuses solely on assistance services and treats scared and fragile mothers as criminals?

I want to be clear in stating that I know the current support services in place are excellent and that the individuals that work within these organisations do an outstanding job. However, the fact that we still have mothers and fathers abandoning their babies in Australia leads me to believe that we must endeavour to do more, do it differently and offer more avenues of support. Some people would question that implementing legislation such as this might increase the number of relinquished children. However, there is no evidence to support the claim that baby safe havens result in any more abandonments. In fact, this has not been the case in other countries where baby safe havens are already established. In my opinion the establishment of baby safe havens in Australia is a no-brainer. It is simple and it is inexpensive. (Extension of time granted)It comes down purely and simply to saving the lives of innocent babies, to providing another option to vulnerable and frightened parents and to ensuring that we are a society that values life and shows support and love for our fellow human beings. Now is the time to take the action. I know I share a common goal with many others, and I will do all I can to ensure that there is not one more infant that loses their life, not one more mother or father that loses a child and not one more community that has to deal with the grief that comes with the death of a newborn under these circumstances. This is a common goal of many, and I urge all in the chamber to put their support behind this important issue. I thank you for your indulgence.

Senate adjourned at 19 : 51