Australia announces new adoption programs with Poland, Latvia

Australian families will be able to adopt children from Poland and Latvia under new arrangements.

MP Christian Porter and Deborra-Lee Furness and adoptee families for National Adoption Awareness Week (@cporterwa)

MP Christian Porter and Deborra-Lee Furness and adoptee families for National Adoption Awareness Week (@cporterwa) Source: Twitter

A federal government delegation will also travel to Bulgaria this week to discuss the possibility of a similar arrangement.

Work is also continuing with Vietnam, the government said on Monday.

The government said it is working to improve existing inter-country adoption agreements with Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and some South American countries.

Adoption figures fell to a record low in the 2013-14 financial year with 317 domestic and intercountry adoptions taking place, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott last year announced the creation of the Intercountry Adoption Support Service to tackle the problem, which he said would operate as "one stop shop" for parents looking to adopt.
Child advocate and actress Deborra-lee Furness said the pace of reform has been too slow. 

"It wasn't talked about for decades and our first year out with national adoption awareness week we said let's talk about adoption, take away the shame and stigma of the past," she told the ABC after the launch of Adoption Awareness Week. 

"We did do it badly in the past and now we need to do it well, need to do it ethically and expediently because the kids are the ones paying the price."

She said the UK has shown that well-implemented reform boosts adoption numbers.

"We need to look at our counterparts in Sweden, in the States, all over the world and see how it's done.

"This is not just Australia even though we are the lowest in adoption and intercountry adoption, it needs to be a priority I think on all our leaders' agenders.

"Vulnerable children has to be up there. Internationally millions of children are not being looked after. So we do need to not only keep talking about it, we have been talking too long, we need to have action because these kids can't wait that long."

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Source: AAP, SBS News

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Australia announces new adoption programs with Poland, Latvia | SBS News