Wed 19 Aug 2009 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
New Zealand's highest-ranking Family Court judge wants the law changed so same-sex and de-facto couples can adopt children. Acting principal Family Court judge Paul von Dadelszen says the Civil Union Act and changes to property legislation in 2004/05 put same-sex couples on the same footing as married couples. The judge says the 1955 Adoption Act was left out of those legislation changes, and at the moment the only people allowed to adopt a child are married, heterosexual couples. Von Dadelszen says this position is outdated and unjustly discriminatory. Von Dadelszen's call is at odds with the views of one of his predecessors, Judge Mick Brown, who was one of the co-signatories to the infamous John Sax-penned secret letter to MPs during the 2004 Civil Unions campaign, which falsely claimed same-sex parents were more likely than straights to abuse and kill their children. The Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, John Dew, is one of the first religious leaders out of the traps to condemn von Dadelszen's call, saying same-sex couples do not have an automatic right to have children. Last week, in stating its refusal to offer relationship support to same-sex parents, the Catholic Church told GayNZ.com it believes "a mother's love and a father's love are different and complement each other. We would always support the right of the child to experience both." [Signatories to the 2004 'Sax' letter were then-Auckland mayor Dick Hubbard who later apologised for co-signing the letter, author Alan "piss off, queers" Duff, Ian
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 19th August 2009 - 7:20pm