Toni Street becomes her son’s legal mum
Taranaki-born broadcaster Toni Street has become the legal parent to her baby son.
The Hits co-host, who grew up in Bell Block, conceived her son Lachlan via surrogate, her best friend Sophie Braggins.
Lachlan, Street’s third child with husband Matt France, was born in August.
Street suffers from ChurgStrauss syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that inflames blood vessels, which meant she couldn’t carry the baby herself.
Laws in New Zealand are such that biological parents in surrogacy situations need to formally adopt their child for it to be legally theirs.
This week Street posted a photo of herself holding baby Lachlan, next to Family Court judge Timothy Druce, and her husband, on Instagram.
‘‘Super special day for our family... Lachlan Stephen France has had his morning in court and is now legally our son!
‘‘Big thank you to Judge Druce & our lawyer Zandra Wackenier for being so warm & making the process less daunting.. but most of all thank you @sophiebraggins& @michaelbraggins for this precious gift," she wrote.
In October, Street revived calls to change New Zealand’s ‘‘outdated’’ adoption rules.
Her Instagram post about signing a change.org petition to update the Adoption Act caught Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s eye and garnered a promise that ‘‘fixing’’ the Adoption Act was on the cards.
"It is incredibly hard for loving parents to adopt in this country and our vulnerable children deserve better,’’ Street wrote.
‘‘I’ve also experienced first hand how outdated the process is for surrogacy... we are still waiting to legally adopt our biological son.
‘‘It is a long, slow, complicated process that doesn’t need to be,’’ she wrote.
Street, who attended New Plymouth Girls’ High School, has said her son is named after her late brother. Baby Lachlan has two older sisters, Juliette and Mackenzie.