Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has announced that the government is acting swiftly to suspend recognition of unsafe international adoptions, following reports that individuals with prior convictions for violence or sexual abuse were adopting children from overseas.
The Adoption Amendment Bill was introduced to the House to promptly and temporarily halt New Zealand’s recognition of unsafe international adoptions for citizenship and immigration purposes.
“There is evidence that our international adoption laws do not provide sufficient safeguards for children and young people. Adoptions that take place in overseas courts do not always access or require an adoptive parent’s criminal or child protection record,” McKee said.
“We know, for example, about instances in which people with known care and protection histories, or previous convictions for violence or sexual abuse, have been able to adopt overseas. They have then been able to bring those children and young people back to New Zealand, where they have been neglected, abused, or exploited.”
“For example, Joseph Auga Matamata, who was sentenced to 11 years in 2020, had previous convictions for violence when he adopted three boys from overseas. He withdrew one boy, aged 12, from school, covering his tracks by saying that he had returned to his home country.”
McKee said for a year, the boy was confined and forced to work as a domestic servant.
He was forced to work in the fields and frequently denied essential medical treatment. The other two boys managed to escape by climbing over a tall perimeter fence during the middle of the night.
“This case is the tip of the iceberg,” McKee noted.
“It is completely unacceptable for our international adoption laws to be used in this way. This abuse is preventable, and this government is acting decisively to prevent future harm to children adopted overseas into unsafe situations.”
The law change will immediately and temporarily halt New Zealand’s recognition of international adoptions under section 17 of the Adoption Act 1955 by citizens and residents for citizenship and immigration purposes. It will also limit the Family Court’s ability to grant adoptions when either the adoptive parent or child is overseas under section 3 of the Act.
“The Government is progressing this change under urgency, as any delay is unacceptably prolonging the risk to children and young people. The temporary suspension will provide the time to develop and pass a law that ensures international adoptions are safe for the children and young people involved.”
The temporary suspension will end on the earlier of two dates: either a date determined by the Governor-General through an Order in Council or 1 July 2027.