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

I rise tonight in the Senate to speak on the heart-wrenching issue of child abandonment and the need for baby safe havens in Australia. The funeral service for an abandoned baby boy held in Shepparton at the beginning of June this year reiterates the need to protect and save the lives of abandoned babies instead of allowing them to be left to endure harm or even death, as was the circumstances in this terrible story. The abandoned baby known as Angel Baby was left at a bus shelter in Shepparton in July 2008. Angel Baby was finally laid to rest on 3 June this year at the completion of a coronial inquest, nearly two years after he was found abandoned and dead. Sadly, the baby’s mother was never identified and is yet to come forward. One cannot begin to imagine how this mother must be feeling after leaving her newborn baby in the knowledge that he may not be found and might ultimately die. This is a sad story but we cannot assume that the mother felt that she had no other option but to leave her baby, as she did, in the knowledge that it might ultimately die.

Monsignor Peter Jeffrey, the Shepparton police chaplain, who conducted the funeral service for Angel Baby, said that there had been extraordinary community support at this sad event and said:

There has been amazing support in two main areas from the community, the respect for the life of the infant and also concern for the mother.

It was of some comfort to see that there were people who cared for Angel Baby and his situation, and who wanted to provide him with a beautiful funeral service. Bereavement assistance and Monsignor Jeffrey, as well as many helpers and volunteers in Shepparton, organised and conducted the funeral service for this poor baby who did not get the chance to grow up and experience all the things that a young boy should. There are also people in my home state of Tasmania who followed the story of Angel Baby and were concerned throughout for the outcome. It is comforting to see that so many people do care about abandoned babies who are never given an opportunity to live a long and happy life. Angel Baby did not get the opportunity to play with cars and trucks, to play chases at school or to go to his friend’s birthday parties. He did not get to get his license, have his first girlfriend, get married or have children of his own.

I have previously spoken to the Senate about the need for baby safe havens that would allow for children to be given a chance at life, a chance to grow up and experience what life has to offer. Something needs to be done to allow unwanted babies the same chances as those who are born into a welcoming and loving family. A baby safe haven would allow for a safe place for unwanted babies to be left, without the mother having to fear prosecution. Sadly, Angel Baby did not have the opportunity to be raised by people who loved him. Instead, he was left to endure the harsh elements at a bus shelter that ultimately led to his death. It needs to be acknowledged that something can be done about this—baby’s lives can be saved.

There is growing support for the implementation of baby safe havens. Recently, the Australian Medical Association voiced their support for their implementation. AMA’s president, Dr Andrew Pesce said:

Government needs to consider Baby Safe Haven laws as a part of a support plan to assist struggling mothers. It’s obviously very important that we as a community do everything we can to assist mothers and obviously their babies who are in such a degree of distress that they’re thinking of abandoning their baby.

Pru Goward MP, the member for Goulburn in the New South Wales state parliament, has also voiced her support for baby safe havens. In April this year, she said that the New South Wales opposition would support the introduction of baby safe havens in Australia and also said that the New South Wales coalition would support the introduction of baby safe haven laws similar to those in the US that allow women to give up their babies safely and anonymously rather than abandon them. I hope she sticks to her word. I hope that is an election commitment that will be kept.

The Independent member for the electorate of Dubbo, Dawn Fardell MP, has also voiced her support for baby safe havens in the New South Wales parliament in a speech in March of this year. Ms Fardell has been vocal in her support for baby safe havens. I am grateful for her assistance in raising awareness and support for this important issue.

I have recently written to all state Premiers and attorneys-general yet again. While some states already have what they believe is adequate legislation to support babies, some states have indicated support to maybe consider this proposal. I continue to gather signatures for my baby safe haven petitions that have I presented previously both to the Senate and to the Tasmanian House of Assembly. To date, over 380 signatures have been presented to the Tasmanian House of Assembly and over 430 to the Senate. A Facebook group Support ‘Safe Havens’ for Abandoned Babies has over 4,800 members. This shows the magnitude of the support for abandoned babies and the need to protect them. Also, last year the Tasmanian state conference of the Catholic Women’s League passed a resolution supporting my proposal. I put on the public record my thanks to that organisation for their caring work. It is clear that there is an increasing amount of public support on this matter. There is a growing consensus that community members support this idea and there is a need for continued debate to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved.

A number of countries around the world have adopted measures to protect unwanted babies from harm and death. In May this year, Canada adopted a newborn drop-off facility for mothers to leave their babies anonymously and safely. The door to this facility is set in a private alcove, with an alarm sounding inside the hospital 30 seconds after the baby is left inside the alcove and the mother has left. Doctors are then able to assess the health of the baby, treating it in the same way as any other baby in the hospital. The mother remains anonymous throughout the entire process. Police in Canada have supported the implementation of the facility and do not seek out or investigate the mothers who use the facility. This is a positive step to save the lives of babies in Canada.

Europe has had facilities in place for a number of years to provide a safe place to leave unwanted newborns. Government and religious organisations in Asia and European countries are reintroducing safe newborn baby drop-off facilities, recognising the importance of the issue of baby abandonment and the need to save lives.

The United States enacted legislation in the early 2000s to provide for the legal abandonment of newborn babies. This was done to discourage mothers from abandoning or harming unwanted babies, with the main incentives being anonymity and immunity from prosecution. A range of facilities are used, including hospitals, police stations, fire stations and churches. Also, in four states, an emergency call can be made to request the pick-up of a child.

The concept of baby safe havens has been a huge success in South Africa. The non-profit organisation Door of Hope has set up a program at the mission church in Johannesburg offering unwanted babies a chance at life. I now quote from the Door of Hope website:

In August 1999 we installed a “hole in the wall” or “baby bin” in the wall of the Mission Church, where babies can be placed 24 hours a day. A sensor alerts the people in the house whenever a newcomer has arrived. We will come to fetch the baby and will thereafter begin caring for him/her.

However, not all babies come through the “door of hope”. Sometimes the police bring them or a desperate mother will hand over her baby personally, or hospitals phone us to pick up little ones, whose mothers have disappeared after the delivery, leaving their babies behind.

Reports indicate that Germany has implemented approximately 80 baby hatches, recently celebrating their 10th anniversary. These hatches are highly successful. I quote:

Thirty-eight babies have been left in the organisation’s two baby hatches since 2000. Of these, 14 mothers have returned to reclaim their children, and the number of abandoned or killed babies has dropped in the city …

The need for baby safe havens or similar facilities is recognised around the world and it is time that Australia followed this lead.

Most of the time, stories about abandoned babies do not have a happy ending. But we can make a difference. We can make it possible for unwanted babies to have a happy life, full of love and care rather than being left abandoned. Australia now needs to follow the lead of countries such as Canada to implement baby safe havens to save the lives of abandoned babies and to give these babies a chance. Even if a baby safe haven saved just one baby’s life it would make it all worth while. I encourage the community to talk about this issue and have the debate, and I call on all governments to start implementing such a process.