Hugh Jackman’s wife fighting for changes to Australian adoption laws

Hugh Jackman’s actress wife Deborra-Lee Furness is challenging politicians in her native Australia to relax adoption laws so more prospective parents can take in orphans. Furness, who has two adopted children with the Les Miserables star, claims Australia’s adoption rules need some attention, and actually forced her and her husband to rethink their family plans.
The celebrity couple abandoned their plans to start a family Down Under and instead they moved to America and began the process there.
She is backing new legislation reform aimed at relaxing adoption laws in New South Wales, and she is encouraging the nation’s leaders to consider backing the policy so more parents can find their “forever family”.
She says, “I understand how the system is broken here. There are children who need families and we need a system that works. What I see is everyone’s passing the buck. I don’t see anyone championing this issue.”
Furness, who is back home for the country’s National Adoption Awareness Week, is hoping to meet with Attorney-General George Brandis to outline her thoughts about Australia’s adoption process, and she hopes to take her concerns to the very top.
She adds, “If we get the new Prime Minister (Tony Abbott) on board with this, hopefully he can shake a stick and get everyone on board.
“We need a commitment to harmonise the adoption laws. There are families that want to parent these children (and) these children need parents.
“Can you imagine what it might be like if you didn’t have your mum or dad… and you were just completely on your own and you were five years old?”