Lives crushed as adoption program halted
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Lives crushed as adoption program halted
By Barbara Miller for PM
Posted 1 hour 2 minutes ago
Updated 42 minutes ago
Audio: Families devastated by suspension of Ethiopia adoption programme (PM)
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Australian couples who have been waiting for years to adopt a child from Ethiopia say they are devastated by the Government's decision to suspend the program.
The Federal Attorney-General has put the adoption program on hold because of concerns over a request from Ethiopia that Australia enter into a formal aid agreement as part of the arrangement.
Adoption agencies and prospective parents say they and hundreds of children have been left in limbo for no good reason and they are calling for the suspension to be lifted.
In the past 10 years more than 450 Ethiopian children have been adopted to Australia and many more families are interested in adopting an Ethiopian child.
But stringent screening measures and quotas mean they typically face waits of five years or more between expressing interest and being allocated a child.
The Government says it suspended the program following a request from Ethiopia that Australia enter into a formal agreement to provide community development assistance as part of the deal.
The Government is concerned that would breach the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption which guards against improper financial gain from adoption.
Gaylene Cooper, president of the Australian-African Children's Aid Support Association that supports families going through the adoption process, does not understand why such an assistance package cannot be formalised.
"I understand that they have the concerns and I understand what they are. However, you know with regards to sponsorship, I don't really associate that in that way," she said.
"The question that we have asked of the Attorney-General's Department is how do other countries get around this?
"Australia seems to be the only country that seems to have an issue with this."
Ms Cooper says she is not confident the program will be restarted.
"And that is why we're fighting so hard," she said.
'Crushing' news
Teacher Alex Grieve and her husband Rod have been going through the adoption program for six years.
About 16 months ago their application was finally sent to Ethiopia to be matched with a child.
But then came the news that the Australian Government had suspended the adoption program.
"We were expecting around a two-year wait in Ethiopia but you never know, we were thinking about the 18-month mark that we were expecting to get a call," she said.
"Unfortunately, we got to 16 months and got the call that the program was suspended, which wasn't the news that we were after at all."
Ms Grieve says she is devastated by the news.
"It's been pretty crushing, pretty hard. This is our only option to become parents," she said.
"We've invested six years of our life into this program. We've embraced Ethiopia, we've embraced the culture, our family and friends have become involved in the program with us.
"This is a lifetime commitment. This isn't a decision that was just made and so we're pretty crushed."
'Like someone has died'
Bronwyn McNamara, a chiropractor from the Sunshine Coast who first expressed interest in adopting a child five years ago, is also devastated by the decision.
"My husband says it's just gutted him. It's like someone has actually died," she said.
"Last year, his father died at this same time of year and my husband says he's feeling the same types of levels of grief trying to deal with this decision that's been made.
"I want them to lift the suspension, let those children over there in that orphanage now be allocated to the families that they're meant to be allocated to in Australia and let the process run and then put in place any systems that they need to to keep meeting the Hague Convention."
Ms McNamara says her life has been on hold while she waits to hear if she has been matched with a child.
"Every decision we make every day about anything, whether it be buying a new car or refinancing something, our business choices, everything has been on hold for five years effectively because every decision you have to make is one where you think, well, today we don't have children but tomorrow we could be in Ethiopia picking our children up."
The Attorney-General's Department is currently carrying out a review into the Ethiopian adoption program.
A spokesman for the department said an announcement about the future of the program was expected to be made next year.