the right can see the coming disaster.

[lakeland27]

this mornings desperate spamfest is a good indicator of the panic in the Right wing camp. far from being the abbott utopia they imagined , the signs are all there of a short stay for the current PM with the place falling apart around him..

 the only positive for abbott so far is his ability to grovel to hugh and debra lee in the vain hope that the power of celebrity may boost his rapidly sinking popularity. good luck with that, fiddling while rome burns .

[**meep**]

Haven't we discussed this before?  I thought we were able to determine that adopting a child from overseas was affordable for average couples taking into consideration the financial assistance that is available.

[freakiness]

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@**meep** wrote:

@freakiness wrote:

It beats me why any of us bother responding to the hatefest threads.  Just have a laugh instead

I agree.....some of the Abbott memes are funny but mostly, why bother indeed...........

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There's a fairly big difference between a few funny memes and the hate filled threads in which groups of posters are attacked for not agreeing with the OP.

[cherry*135]

Yes we did, meep. I am pretty sure that we discovered it was not that affordable for the average couple. Time off work, cost of plane tickets and accommodation to travel to the country where the child is (some countries require the prospective parent(s) to stay in their country for a few weeks or more while the adoption process is being undertaken), cost of the legal work required, official adoption costs in the country where the child is.

Some countries no longer want their orphaned children being adopted by overseas parents anymore, for cultural reasons.

Also unscrupulous child traffickers are involved in securing children for adoption for big $$.

Adoption Australia website:

• It has taken us nearly 3 years to adopt our 3 yr old son from overseas, and it has cost us well over $30,000. Surely all children should be treated as equals, and as a new family we should be granted the same equity as other Australian families .

[freakiness]

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@**meep** wrote:

Haven't we discussed this before?  I thought we were able to determine that adopting a child from overseas was affordable for average couples taking into consideration the financial assistance that is available.

---

Is it?

What sort of financial assistance is given to people wanting to adopt overseas?

I had no idea there was any, apart from the baby bonus.

[donnashuggy]

The adoption thing is a good idea, it is a pity Julia Gillard didn't do the same thing with the Carbon Tax and sell it.

Labor will win the next election if they cut the refugee intake and become racist, that is an easy policy to sell.

[cherry*135]

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@freakiness wrote:

---

@**meep** wrote:

Haven't we discussed this before?  I thought we were able to determine that adopting a child from overseas was affordable for average couples taking into consideration the financial assistance that is available.

---

Is it?

What sort of financial assistance is given to people wanting to adopt overseas?

I had no idea there was any, apart from the baby bonus.

---

---

@freakiness wrote:

---

@**meep** wrote:

Haven't we discussed this before?  I thought we were able to determine that adopting a child from overseas was affordable for average couples taking into consideration the financial assistance that is available.

---

Is it?

What sort of financial assistance is given to people wanting to adopt overseas?

I had no idea there was any, apart from the baby bonus.

---

I thought we looked into that (the Govt financial assistance avail). It was very limited and had strict conditions?

[freakiness]

It must have been while I was on one of my vacations. I missed it.

[cherry*135]

Considering the high population (7.2m)  in NSW, this isn't many intercountry adoptions:

In 2012, 41 children from overseas were allocated to NSW Intercountry adoptive families.

As countries are increasing their ability to place their children with families within their own
country, there is a notable shift in the backgrounds of children requiring overseas permanent
families

Costs of Adoption: (NSW Gov)

Intercountry Adoption: Departmental fees of $9,700 (first adoption) and $6,900
(second and subsequent application)

Additional fees for Intercountry adoption include any NSW and overseas legal fees (including
notarisation, legalisation and authentication of documents), immigration sponsorship application
fees, travel expenses, translation fees and charges imposed by the overseas country/agency.

Hardship Policy - (NSW Gov fee relief only- doesn't apply to costs of travel, accom, legal, timeoff work, overeas countries official costs etc)

Under the two-stage hardship policy, applicants will currently be eligible to receive 50 percent fee 

relief if their household income is less than $39,100. Applicants with a household income of less
than $46,400 would be eligible for 25 percent fee relief.

[polksaladallie]

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Check her out on TV.  Lots of face pulling while playing with her I phone.

[cherry*135]

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@polksaladallie wrote:

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Check her out on TV.  Lots of face pulling while playing with her I phone.

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Who are you referring to?