CoveragePost
May 19, 2025
By Gill Bonnett, RNZ immigration reporter This story discusses graphic details of slavery, sexual abuse and violence Pacific children as young as six are being adopted overseas and being made to work as house slaves, suffering threats, beatings and rape. Kris Teikamata — a social worker at a community agency — spoke about the harrowing ... <a title="Pacific children as young as 6 adopted, made to work as house slaves" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2025/05/19/pacific-children-as-young-as-6-adopted-made-to-work-as-house-slaves/" aria-label="Read more about Pacific children as young as 6 adopted, made to work as house slaves">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 23, 2019
Column: Barbara Sumner – If adoption secrecy were a game show, they’d call it, ‘how much do you really want this?’ Because I am adopted, I have no birth story. However, the state holds a large number of files on me. Legal documents, doctors notes, feeding recipes and home visit comments. Through these documents, I ... <a title="Column: Barbara Sumner – The Adoption Game Show" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/23/barbara-sumner-column-the-adoption-game-show/" aria-label="Read more about Column: Barbara Sumner – The Adoption Game Show">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 14, 2019
Column: Barbara Sumner – 1960 was a big year for my adopting parents. First came the infertility diagnosis. Then a new baby arrived with little warning and no fanfare. Followed within days by a new refrigerator. I was one of over 103,000 New Zealand babies forcibly removed from my single mother. Her dying mother sent ... <a title="The baby or the fridge" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/02/14/the-baby-or-the-fridge/" aria-label="Read more about The baby or the fridge">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 17, 2019
Column: Barbara Sumner – As a child, my family saw the musical Oliver. For days after, my adopting mother hummed and sang the theme tune: Consider yourself one of us Consider yourself at home Consider yourself one of the family ….etc etc The song is a bit of an earworm. I’d forgotten it and the ... <a title="Consider youself one of us" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/01/17/consider-youself-one-of-us/" aria-label="Read more about Consider youself one of us">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
November 23, 2018
Column: Barbara Sumner – There have always been inconsistencies in my birth story. The dates, the people involved, the actual circumstances. All missing, suspect or manufactured. As an adopted person I have no legal right to know anything other than the story my adopting parents chose to tell. So I decided to challenge that. I ... <a title="Strange fruit" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2018/11/23/strange-fruit/" aria-label="Read more about Strange fruit">Read more</a>
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November 16, 2018
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October 31, 2018
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October 23, 2018
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October 15, 2018
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October 9, 2018
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October 7, 2018
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October 6, 2018
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