Director-General of Social Welfare v L - [1989] 2 NZLR 314

Infants and children — Adoption — Dispensing with parent's consent — Exercise of residual discretion once one of statutory grounds was established — Court found that one of the statutory grounds for dispensing with the consent of natural parent to adoption of child had been established — Whether, in deciding whether to dispense with consent, the welfare and interests of the child were the first and paramount consideration — Whether any weight should be given to the interests of the parent — Adoption Act 1955, ss 3, 8, 11 and 16.