Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/299616
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 APRIL 2014 News 5 liamentary debate on civil unions and adoption by gay couples. Although the bill passed and has now become law, the Opposition drew widespread criti- cism after it chose to abstain, citing res- ervations on the adoption issue. Busuttil said that any partisan rea- soning was carried out by the govern- ment. The Opposition, he said, adopted an "open and democratic approach during the debate". "It is completely the other way around," he said. "We were ready to dis- cuss with government but they chose to ignore our concerns." Busuttil was speaking during a visit to the Attard and Co foodstuffs firm as part of the European Parliament elec- tions campaign. Referring to the slogan chosen by the Nationalist Party for its EP campaign, 'Malta Ahjar', Busuttil said that the company's "diverse and extraordinary success" served as a great example of the making Malta better. "Our country is great precisely be- cause of people like you," he told the company's staff, who had assembled in the boardroom. He said that the role of the politicians was to ensure that the commerce in- dustry had a "good enough climate" to grow and help such entities exhaust all possible opportunities. "The moment the politicians interfere is when I get worried," he said. "It is not our job to tell you what to do but rather to allow you to do what you want to do." Busuttil described family-oriented businesses, such as that of Attard and Co, as "the backbone of the economy" and highlighted Malta's accession to the European Union as a move which allowed such companies to form busi- ness networks all over the world. Citing a recent trade agreement be- tween the EU and South Korea as an example, Busuttil said that companies such as Attard and Co will now be able to trade "in as easy a manner as trading with France and Germany". Gonzi defends PN abstention on civil unions to plays abortion card should not go into the matter of who has the right to adopt, because sometimes even a married husband and wife are not the best solution for an adopted child, which is why sometimes their applications are turned down. So experts must de- cide what is in the best interest of the child, without any prejudice… and from what I understand, the PN's and Labour's position on this matter are the same." So what has changed? In an opinion penned for The Times yesterday, Gonzi now says he is being quoted "in a manner that is unacceptable to me and to the values I have championed all my life." He said that when the PN in gov- ernment drafted a civil partner- ships and cohabitation bill, this did not include adoption rights. "Heterosexual couples do not have a right to adopt. It is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best possible adop- tive parents. It is indeed very sad that this government has subjected the child's best interests to those of someone else," Gonzi said. "It is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best pos- sible adoptive parents. It is indeed very sad that this government has subjected the child's best interests to those of someone else. This has always been my stance and I resent the fact that some people want to spin this in a manner that suits their myopic political agendas." Gonzi said that the new civil unions law "discards" the child's best interests and "contradicts" the adoption law's provision to a child's right to be adopted by the best parent or parents possible. He has also defended the PN's abstention as "a valid answer to the disservice done to the adoptive process and vulnerable children". Gonzi did not fail to play the abortion card, a familiar politi- cal device during elections. "The f loodgates are wide open… Yes- terday the government was forced to clarify a statement made earlier by Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli which could have been inter- preted as an indication that abor- tion was a possibility under this Labour government. The state- ment denied this. But I am not convinced. We have heard similar denials before which have since proven to be unfounded." Gay lobby's outrage: Gonzi 'anything but defender of children's best interests' CLAIMS by former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi that gay couples might not be ideal parents for adopted children, were decried by the Malta Gay Rights Move- ment as a "firmly entrenched belief that only heterosex- ual couples can safeguard the children's best interests." The LGBTI lobby reacted to a statement by Gonzi yesterday, who broke his silence to come out in defence of Opposition leader Simon Busuttil's and the PN's ab- stention on a civil unions bill that accorded the right to same-sex couples in a union, to adopt children. "Heterosexual couples do not have a right to adopt. It is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best possible adoptive parents. It is indeed very sad that this government has subjected the child's best interests to those of someone else," Gonzi said. Taking umbrage, the MGRM said the Civil Union Act did not introduce the right for adoption into Maltese law. "It simply established the principle of equality, at par with marriage, and the right for same-sex couples to be considered as potential adoptive persons should this be judged to be in the child's best interest by the adoption board set up to administer such matters," MGRM said. This distinction was repeatedly made by a number of government MPs and LGBTI activists. "The problem is not the Civil Union Act and the rights and obligations that it grants to same-sex cou- ples but the firmly entrenched belief that the best inter- est of the child can only be met by heterosexual family models, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding," the MGRM said. Accusing Gonzi of "knowingly distorting the truth", the lobby said it had always known Gonzi as being a man of integrity. "[Gonzi] has every right to express his disagreement but his wilful misinterpretation of the law. MGRM may have not always seen eye to eye with Dr Gonzi but the movement always believed he was a man of integrity. It is hard to maintain this belief when Dr Gonzi know- ingly chooses to distort the truth." In his opinion, Gonzi argued that the Bill was origi- nally drafted by the PN government. "It was a difficult piece of legislation but we were pre- pared to legislate because we always felt that the time was ripe for a couple living together to have a legal framework that establishes duties and responsibility emanating from a stable relationship," the former PN leader said, referring to the cohabitation act which was later changed to Civil Partnership and Cohabitation Act. However, the current Civil Union Act bears no resem- blance whatsoever to the cohabitation bill drawn up by the PN in 2012. "What the PN was willing to legislate for was minimal rights and recognition, most of which same-sex couples could already access through a notarial deed. Despite being cognisant of the position of the LGBT movement the PN government chose to put forward a bill which the LGBT community itself did not endorse," MGRM said. The LGBTI community argued that the disservice be- ing perpetrated was not to the adoptive process, but to LGBT persons and their families. "Dr Gonzi and his ilk are compromising the truth, making of them liars and cheats and anything but de- fenders of the best interests of children," it said. MGRM also said research findings were being ig- nored: an astounding 22% of women in Malta experi- ence sexual and physical violence by their male part- ners; this figure goes up to 37% when psychological violence is also taken into account. Many children, the offspring of such relationships, are also witnesses to this abuse. At the same time, child protection services, children in out of home care and family therapy services are dealing with an ever- increasing caseload. "Heterosexuality in and of itself does not make one a loving and respectful partner or a suitable parent. Nei- ther does homosexuality. Sexual orientation is simply irrelevant." 'Government not categorically against abortion' – Busuttil Gabi Calleja: "It is hard to carry on believing that Gonzi is a man of integrity when he willingly chooses to distort the truth" Joseph Muscat: "I categorically deny that this government will introduce abortion"