e-Petitions Conditions of Use

The petitions process is governed by the Temporary Orders adopted by the Legislative Council of Western Australia. These Temporary Orders enable the Parliament of Western Australia to accept electronic petitioning (“e-Petitions”).

By electing to join an e-Petition, you acknowledge that you meet the conditions detailed below.

1. You meet the eligibility requirement specified for the e-Petition. This means that you fall into one of the three broad groups of petitioners:
   
   1. West Australian residents;
   2. West Australian citizens; or
   3. West Australian electors in a nominated electorate.
      The eligibility requirement for each e-Petition is identified on the web site.
2. You have not already joined the e-Petition.

• The name, address and email address details provided are your true details.
  Otherwise, you are entering the name, address and email address details of someone else because they are physically incapable of entering their details and:

By electing to join an e-Petition, you acknowledge that your name, address and email address will be published on the physical tabled paper of the e-Petition retained by the Legislative Council. This personal information will not be viewable in any form on the web site, however, the hard copy of the tabled paper of the e-Petition containing this information may be obtained from the Clerk of the Legislative Council.

Your name, address and email address details will not be added to a mailing list by the Legislative Council. All electronic personal data relating to the posting and joining of an e-petition will be disposed of within six months of the e-petition being printed and presented to the Legislative Council. Further information on the collection and storage of personal information is available in our Privacy Statement

IMPORTANT: Failing to comply with these Conditions of Use may amount to a contempt of Parliament. Actions that are considered to be in contempt of Parliament include:

• presenting a forged or falsified document to the House or a committee;
• submitting a petition containing false, scandalous or groundless allegations; or
• inducing a person to sign a petition by fraud and misleading the House.

You could be fined for committing a contempt of Parliament, or even imprisoned if you fail to pay such a fine.

Sign Request to Parliament to hold an inquiry into past adoptive polices and practices

To the President and Members of the Legislative Council:

We call upon the Legislative Council of Western Australia to conduct a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the systematic and systemic removal of newborns from their mothers’ care via past adoptive policies and practices (1939 - onwards).
In 2010, the West Australia parliament was the first jurisdiction in the world to apologise for the illegal removal of newborns from their unwed mothers. However, we are now one of the last states left in Australia to conduct an inquiry. WA Survivors have waited decades for the government to accept their moral obligation, to publicly reveal the truths of this painful past.
During the era of closed adoption, society treated teenagers and young women as a moral panic, punishing those who found themselves unmarried and pregnant. An estimated 63,000, West Australian mothers, fathers, sons or daughters have been permanently separated by adoption (DCD. ROADS, 2006). Adoption rates remained high in WA even after PM Whitlam created the single parent benefit in 1973. Survivors of past adoptions are not just numbers; they are West Australian people who were wrongfully burdened with a life of secrecy, shame, guilt and disenfranchised grief. For many adopted people, their lives are lived through the lens of pre-verbal/neonatal trauma (mother-loss), displacement and family estrangement. Hundreds of WA survivors have a lifelong VETO of no contact/no information held over them, against their will.
An inquiry would give survivors the opportunity to share their lived experiences protected by parliamentary privilege. An inquiry will shed much needed light on those who have yet to openly disclose and take full responsibility for their role in the states past adoptive practices. Importantly, legislation reforms are required for adopted people, so they can access the same human -rights as non-displaced people.

And your petitioners as in duty bound, will ever pray.