The Spin

Helen and her helpers have the spin machine at full blast and if one listened to them, you would think Don Brash had squads of WINZ workers ready to descend on sole mums as they give birth and steal the children away for forcible adoption.

But what did Dr Brash actually say:

Ultimately, reducing the number of those on the DPB must be about finding ways of strengthening families, about educating people about the responsibilities of parenthood, about taking a tougher line on the financial responsibilities of non-custodial parents (while improving access for those non-custodial parents), and about acknowledging adoption as an acceptable option, particularly for teenage girls

As he said in interviews, young women were often presented with only two options, abortion or the DPB, and adoption never even canvassed as a possibility.

This is about as mild a suggestion as one can make – that it should not be “unacceptable” to be considered.