Chair of Past Forced Adoptions Working Group appointed
Justice Bell believes that current state and territory laws do not adequately protect the security of tenure for public housing tenants, who can be evicted without reason or cause.
Former Family Court Judge and Adjunct Professor at Monash University, the Honourable Nahum Mushin, has been appointed as the chair of the Australian Government’s Past Forced Adoptions Implementation Working Group.
Professor Mushin has been appointed to chair the working group charged with helping deliver on the Australian Government’s commitments to provide better support for Australians impacted by past forced adoption practices.
The establishment of the Working Group follows Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s National Apology for Forced Adoptions in March this year.
“The Prime Minister’s Apology made a number of commitments to concrete measures which are an essential part of the public apology. These included mental health funding, the assistance for people to search births, deaths and marriages records, the establishment of a permanent exhibition through the national archives, and like matters,” Professor Mushin said.
“They give tangible support to the victims of forced adoption practices and are a significant step in the healing process.
“The formation of the Past Forced Adoptions Implementation Working Group is the next step towards giving affect to these measures.”
Professor Mushin previously chaired the Forced Adoptions Apology Reference Group.
As part of the national apology, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s response to the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry Report into Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices.
As jointly announced by Minister for Community Services, Julie Collins, and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC, Government initiatives will total $11.5 million over the next four years and will include:
- $5m for improved access to specialist support services (counselling).
- $5m for training and guidelines for mental health professionals.
- $1.5m for the National Archives to deliver a Forced Adoption Experiences history Project to record the experiences of those affected by forced adoption and increase awareness and understanding.
Working cooperatively with state and territory governments to resolve issues relating to integrated birth certificates, investigation of harmonisation and access to jurisdictional Birth, Death and marriage registers.
Professor Mushin was the first Monash law graduate to be appointed as a Judge.
Prior to his appointment as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Monash, he was a Judge of the Family Court of Australia for 21 years and a Presidential Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for six years.
As a consultant to the ALRC and the VLRC, he contributed to law reform in areas of matrimonial property, evidence and family violence. Throughout his career he has been engaged as a legal educator in areas of family law, ethics, advocacy and cultural diversity and led the judicial development programs to the Indonesian Religious Courts.
Professor Mushin has authored and presented numerous papers at leading national and international and conferences.