Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised to update New Zealand's adoption laws after media personality Toni Street put a post on social media talking about the difficulty she was having adopting her biological son.
Street's biological son Lachlan was born eight weeks ago by her surrogate, Sophie Braggins, but Street and her husband are yet to be able to officially adopt their own son.
View this post on InstagramGreat news from our Prime Minister @jacindaardern re: Adoption Laws!! Love her speedy reply too 👊
Street's Instagram post said she had signed a change.org petition calling for the laws to be updated.
She told Mike Hosking the process of adopting her son has been needlessly complicated.
"The entire process is very, very slow...The process to even get the child in the first place was ridiculous. Oranga Tamariki has had to come to our house twice to check that we are fit parents, they still have to do this again at some point."Â
Street said her and her husband are the 'perfect case' but they are still struggling.
"We are trying to adopt our biological son, it's not like we have used another person's egg or sperm. It is the most straightforward case you could image [but] eight weeks on we are still waiting to get our date with the Family Court."Â
She said Oranga Tamariki doesn't need to be involved in the surrogacy process at all.
"Put those resources somewhere else, don't make us go through the family court, there has to be a simpler way."Â
"In terms of all the counselling and consenting process, that has to be simplified, make it step by step, don't drag it out for 18 month to two year. [We] need a complete overhaul."
LISTEN ABOVE AS TONI STREET SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING
Â
Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you