Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the Government introducing the Adoption Amendment Bill under urgency

New Zealanders will no longer be able to look to adopt children from overseas and bring them home from this week. 

The Government's Adoption Amendment Bill's been introduced under urgency, and will suspend recognition of unsafe international adoptions to prevent harm. 

It also restricts the Family Court from granting adoptions where the adoptive parent or child are overseas.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper unpacks the bill - and reveals why the changes are the way to go.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very interesting stuff's come out of a separate poll altogether
about what we're protecting is going to happen in the
next twenty five years. I'll run you through that shortly
right now, fourteen away from five Barry so per seeing
your political correspondence.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
With us, A Barry, good afternoon. Have it right? So
the adoption laws, what do you make of this?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Well, I must have had my head buried in the
sand or something. I didn't realize there was so much
abuse going on with kids being brought to this country.
There was a woman I was reading about, Chris Takamata,
who's a social worker, and last May she spoke about
the harrowing cases that she's encountered. Between twenty nineteen and

(00:38):
twenty twenty four, she helped ten salmon On teenagers who
had managed to escape homes and slavery. She said, two
boys and eight girls. And she said when they arrived,
they generally told they're going to have a better life
over here, and then they put into slavery. And what
they do is they get up at five or six

(00:59):
in them they start cleaning. They do breakfast, do the wash,
and go to school, come home, do cleaning again, dinner,
and other chores, and that goes on day after day
after day. So AXE Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee, who's
the sponsor of today's bill, says they can't wait to

(01:20):
stop this, which is why they're putting controls on the
Family Court.

Speaker 4 (01:25):
Right now, the court can make adoption orders for applicants
and children anywhere in the world. We're going to limit
that power so the court generally only makes adoption orders
where both the child and adoptive parents live in New Zealand.
Mister Speaker, we are progressing this bill under urgency because
we cannot in good conscience stand by while children are

(01:49):
at risk. We do need to act now. I acknowledge
that this change won't be easy news for some families,
but keeping children safe is our top priority.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
You'd have to agree with that, and I heard the
interview you had earlier. She was absolutely right totally.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
What did you make of that poll out today?

Speaker 3 (02:08):
It was interesting. I know the aspect that interested you
was blame, the blame, the blame game. But I'll tell
you what interests me is because that could well be
at the poll shows a hung parliament sixty apiece, but
if the Maldi party retained the six seats it currently holds,
there would be an overhang of one seat, so that

(02:30):
there'd be one hundred and twenty one seat in Parliament,
sixty one to the center left, sexty to the center right,
and it means that the Maori Party itself would be
probably that well not probably, would be the most powerful
junior party in the House because they would either determine
whether Labor could govern or not, so that gives him

(02:53):
a very powerful position. Indeed, well, I know you're going
to be talking to Chris Hopkins after five, but today
he casts out on that after the comments of Tarkutera
Ferris about minor ethnicity's campaigning for Labor and Maori seats.

Speaker 5 (03:09):
I've made it very clear that I don't see any
place in New Zealand politics for that kind of sentiment.
We should be focused on bringing people together that rens
recognizing the huge contribution that all of our communities make
to ADADO. If Tarkuta Ferris's comments reflect the broader views
of the Maori Party, that would make it very difficult
for Labor to work with them. Before the next election,

(03:31):
we will set out very clearly which parties we can
and can't.

Speaker 3 (03:33):
Work with See that is a big problem I think
for Labor this poll. And that's an acknowledgment obviously by
Chris Hopkins there.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
I mean, let's be honest. Right as the numbers are,
it's not going to happen.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
But it's interesting the number of overhangs you get. And
I didn't realize we've had so many. I mean this
current Parliament's one hundred and twenty three members. Yeah, look
at an overhang of three. It's the biggest overhang that
we've had since MMP started at nineteen ninety six.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
That is fascinating. So what has my name been?

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Well, the Reserve Banker Fuffel, with the resignations of the Governor,
Adrian Or and then the board chair and Neil Quigley
at got nearing in parliament today again Nikola willis being
in the firing line. Labour's finance spokes woman Barbara Edmonds
used a comment from you Heather to make a point

(04:25):
here she is.

Speaker 4 (04:25):
Does she agree with Heather Duplicy Allen that says, quote,
it just looks like a giant cover up, doesn't it.
Unquote mister speaker.

Speaker 6 (04:36):
No, although I have made clear that I'm very disappointed
with the way the Reserve Bank has handled this matter.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Is the Minister concerned about her government's management of the
public service given the number of high profile senior resignations
that have occurred since she took.

Speaker 6 (04:49):
Office, Mister Speaker, it simply observes that in some cases
resignations would be better for the reputation of organizations than
people not resigning, staying on, defying their leadership and say
very racist.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Thanks, Yeah, I think that's somewhat backpard On, why to
tea somehow?

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Hey, how good is it that Babs listens to the show?

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Though, well, there you go, yeah she does. Lord pointed
out to it.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
No, very stop ruining it, Stop ruining the moment you're.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
In, Hansards and now forever in a day follow me.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
And Babs connected fe but thank you Barry Barry so
for senior political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
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