MiuMiu
Somethin' special....
For those who wanted it:
Facts
F. was a 22 year old member of the Aboriginal Community in a New South Wales country town. He was also the father of a baby born to M. M was 17 and unmarried and her family were white residents of the town. M's family had been opposed to her relationship with F because of his race and they wanted nothing to do with the child. M. placed him for adoption.
F hadn't shown much interest in the baby during the pregancy, nor had he offered M. any support. After seeing the child however, he felt that he could be a responsible parent. When they heard about the adoption F's parents were extremely upset. They felt that their grandchild should be with his relatives and they applied for custody with their son.
F's parents were a well-respected couple, who had ling experience with children. They weren't wealthy but their home was big enough to accommodate one more.
Issue
Would the child be better off with his father and grandparents or should he be adopted?
Arguments
F. and his parents argued that they could provide the child with a loving, supportive family background and a number of social workers who appeared in Court agreed. They thought that, in particular, he should be with an Aboriginal family because they would be able to help him through incidents of racial prejudice more effectively than a white couple.
They also argued that Aboriginal children adopted by white people are likely to run away and reject their adoptive families when they are teenagers trying to establish their identities as Aboriginal people.
For the mother, it was argued that the baby would be better off with adoptive parents who would take him away from the racial tension in the town where he was born. M's lawyers also raised the difficult question of how the child would feel knowing that he had a white family in the town who had rejected him. Furthermore, they argued it was unjust to M. to have the child living in the same town.
Decision
The judge thought that the child's part-Aboriginal heritage was not, in itself, a reason for placing him in an Aboriginal family (though he accepted that the situation might be quite different if both parents were Aboriginal or if the child had been living in an Aboriginal community). He also agreed that it was unjust to the mother to have the child living in the same community.
Nevertheless, he said, the Court must regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. In this case, he believed that the child would be best able to develop his personality and come to terms with his mixed heritage if he was brought up with the love and care of his father, grandparents and relatives. He awarded custody to F.
Facts
F. was a 22 year old member of the Aboriginal Community in a New South Wales country town. He was also the father of a baby born to M. M was 17 and unmarried and her family were white residents of the town. M's family had been opposed to her relationship with F because of his race and they wanted nothing to do with the child. M. placed him for adoption.
F hadn't shown much interest in the baby during the pregancy, nor had he offered M. any support. After seeing the child however, he felt that he could be a responsible parent. When they heard about the adoption F's parents were extremely upset. They felt that their grandchild should be with his relatives and they applied for custody with their son.
F's parents were a well-respected couple, who had ling experience with children. They weren't wealthy but their home was big enough to accommodate one more.
Issue
Would the child be better off with his father and grandparents or should he be adopted?
Arguments
F. and his parents argued that they could provide the child with a loving, supportive family background and a number of social workers who appeared in Court agreed. They thought that, in particular, he should be with an Aboriginal family because they would be able to help him through incidents of racial prejudice more effectively than a white couple.
They also argued that Aboriginal children adopted by white people are likely to run away and reject their adoptive families when they are teenagers trying to establish their identities as Aboriginal people.
For the mother, it was argued that the baby would be better off with adoptive parents who would take him away from the racial tension in the town where he was born. M's lawyers also raised the difficult question of how the child would feel knowing that he had a white family in the town who had rejected him. Furthermore, they argued it was unjust to M. to have the child living in the same town.
Decision
The judge thought that the child's part-Aboriginal heritage was not, in itself, a reason for placing him in an Aboriginal family (though he accepted that the situation might be quite different if both parents were Aboriginal or if the child had been living in an Aboriginal community). He also agreed that it was unjust to the mother to have the child living in the same community.
Nevertheless, he said, the Court must regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. In this case, he believed that the child would be best able to develop his personality and come to terms with his mixed heritage if he was brought up with the love and care of his father, grandparents and relatives. He awarded custody to F.