Tearful MP addresses adoption
New Labour MP Paul Eagle says he wants to make adoption easier and more open for New Zealanders, and will look to push a private members bill.
During his emotional maiden speech Eagle, the MP for Rongotai, spoke about meeting his mother for the first time in 20 years.
Eagle addressed his speech to his two-year-old son, who is also adopted, saying he wanted his words to stand the test of time.
‘‘Like your mother, my birth mother wanted to give me a better life than what she herself could,’’ Eagle said.
It was 20 years before Eagle saw his birth parents again.
‘‘My birth mother told me of her sadness, and how she missed me, and wondered about how I was doing.
‘‘At shopping malls, she would look at each little Ma¯ ori boy and wonder if it was me.’’
Eagle said when he adopted his son, he understood more than ever how hard it was for their mothers to make the decision to let go of a child. ‘‘It’s one of the most selfless actions any person could do.’’
After the speech, Eagle said he wanted to seek to promote a private members bill to change adoption law, and make adoption more open.
‘‘Parents shouldn’t be able to veto their identity from their children,’’ he said. ‘‘This is one of the taboo things in society that we need top open the light on.’’
Thousands of adopted people were without contact with their birth parents, he said.
Currently, birth parents could choose to hide their identity from their children.
‘‘In the Ma¯ ori world, the way that you’re identified is always where you’re from,’’ he said. ‘‘To not know must be a really scary thing.’’
The untold story was there were thousands of parents who wanted to adopt, but couldn’t, Eagle said.
‘‘The law is such that so few kids get put up for adoption.’’
With thousands of children living in poverty in New Zealand, and thousands who wanted to adopt, Eagle said the numbers were not matching up.