28 October 2025
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of historical forced adoption practices.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: The National Archives of Australia estimates that around 150,000 adoptions took place in Australia between 1951 and 1975, a significant number of which were forced adoptions. Just last week, the Tasmanian state government announced that they were establishing a redress scheme to provide a trauma-informed avenue for redress payments for mothers who were subject to historic forced adoption practices. Tasmania will now become the second jurisdiction to adopt a redress scheme, following Victoria in 2024.
My question to the Attorney-General therefore is: will the Malinauskas government commit to establishing a historical forced adoption redress scheme for the South Australian mothers who were subject to forced adoption practices so that they can finally have justice?