Mon 21 Dec 2015 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
In a groundbreaking adoption case, an Auckland judge has granted all same-sex couples, whether de facto or married, eligibility to be granted joint adoption orders. Judge IA McHardy has ruled that failure to grant joint adoption to a same-sex de facto couple would be in breach of the Bill of Rights Act, granting all couples, same-sex or heterosexual, the right to apply for joint adoption. Stewart Dalley, lawyer for Ryken and Associates, successfully argued the case for same-sex de facto couples to be able to be granted joint adoption orders on 30 October, securing the right for he and his partner to jointly adopt their two children and in doing so, the right for all same-sex couples in New Zealand. The couple received the written orders on 18 December. Dalley says: “Ryken and Associates are proud to have helped to achieve this significant change to New Zealand's adoption laws. “It is also a personal triumph for myself because the first joint adoption order was granted to my partner and I, in respect of our two children.” Same-sex married couples were granted the right to adopt in August 2013, with the passing of the Marriage Amendment Act however the current adoption act has prevented, until now, the same right to be afforded to same-sex de facto couples. The Adoption Act 1955 states that “two spouses” can jointly adopt a child as a couple. The word “spouses”, as defined by the High Court, includes legally married couples and heterosexual de facto couples who are in a stable and committed relationship. Previous to this groundbreaking case, if a de facto same-sex couple were wishing to adopt only one partner would be able to do this as an individual, the other partner would then have had to apply to become a guardian of the child but could not be an adoptive parent. In 2000, the law commission released a report stating that they wished to see a “general principle that persons are not disqualified from eligibility to adopt on account of their relationship status - that is whether they are single, married, in a same-sex, or de facto relationship.” The independent, publicly funded advisory body stated that “In principle we believe the issue of same-sex marriage adopters should be determined by the interests of the child.” Although legislation remains the same, the groundbreaking ruling comes into effect immediately.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 21st December 2015 - 9:45am