Thursday, 19 June 2025

South-Eastern Metropolitan Region

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:51): (1660) My constituency question is for the Attorney-General. My constituent is a proud mother and grandmother from Dandenong. She was 18 when her first child was born, in 1967. Before she could hold her newborn, the baby was taken and put up for adoption without her consent. For decades my constituent has been fighting for justice, alongside an estimated 250,000 Australians impacted by forced separation and closed adoption. At its height, from the 1950s through to the early 1980s, these mothers endured abhorrent treatment. Recommendation 24 of the inquiry into responses to historical forced adoptions in Victoria called for changes to the Wrongs Act 1958 to give these mothers greater access to justice. Despite the Victorian government committing to exploring reform, nothing has actually changed. My constituent asks: when will the Attorney-General implement recommendation 24?