| We had quite a discussion at the select committee about the issue of whangai, and how those people fit in. |
| Is that definition limited strictly to whangai who are descended by blood from their original family? |
| The Native Health Act of 1909 meant that Maori women could no longer breast feed, nor use whangai systems to adopt children. |
| For one participant being a whangai was seen to provide both benefits and tensions. |
| In respect of whangai, without a legal adoption there is still room for the tikanga of a particular tribe to apply. |
| So the issue of whangai and adopted children, so far as the Adoption Act of 1955 and also the Human Rights Act are concerned, is a real issue. |
