At the heart of the issue surrounding Oranga Tamariki and their disproportionate uplifting of Māori children from their families is the desire for solutions to be found within iwi, hapū and whānau. Recognising that the Māori family structure looks different from the Western one would be a great place to start. In English we have … Read more
The Hague Convention on child abduction was drafted to deal with fathers abducting their children across borders after losing custody, but it’s applied mainly to mothers fleeing domestic violence, writes Gina Masterton. Fiona (not her real name) came to Australia from New Zealand as a 19-year-old backpacker. Here, she met a man, got married and had … Read more
The family whose two children were taken by Oranga Tamariki has finally been reunited. Joris de Bres documents the family court’s ruling to return their daughter. Little Emma, the girl with the broken bones, turned two this week. The next day the Family Court discharged the custody order which had been in place since she … Read more
The UN committee on women’s rights listened to our voices, and we cannot ignore their recommendations, writes Jackie Blue is the Equal Employment Opportunities and Women’s Rights Commissioner Every four years New Zealand women get a chance to voice their concerns about women’s rights to a United Nations committee of 23 independent experts, who then provide … Read more
Nearly half of all children born last year were born to parents not married or in a civil union – and splitting up when you have property and children can be very complex. The Law Commission’s Stephen Day explains what the Property (Relationships) Act looks like now, and what it could look like with your input. … Read more
Eamonn Marra infiltrates the ‘Men’s Summit’ in Wellington, and finds a group of damaged men. They seem like sympathetic characters. Then the presentations start… Update, May 30 2017: Hans Laven, the clinical psychologist who appears in this story, has contacted The Spinoff contesting the account of his speech. Please scroll to the foot of the article … Read more
A report published today highlights what it says are systematic failures in the Family Court. Jess McAllen speaks to Deborah Mackenzie of The Backbone Collective, the organisation which commissioned the report. Women dealing with the Family Court have helped create an independent watchdog report highlighting the system’s failure to keep them and their children safe. … Read more