FAMILIES APART REQUIRE EQUALITY (FARE)
PRESS RELEASE
Commissioner's Priorities Completely Wrong
"The Commissioner for Children, Hon. Roger McClay, has got his priorities completely wrong and they do not address the
most pressing needs of New Zealand children", says Darryl Ward, spokesperson for FARE. He was referring to the
Commissioner's media release of 7 November which outlined his views of children's issues needing to be resolved.
"Mr McClay correctly makes a stand about child abuse. Yet he fails to say that one of the most widespread forms of child
abuse to occur is the regular and deliberate denial of the right of children whose parents have separated to receive
love and care from both of their parents. In most cases this is with the full compliance of the Family Court. This makes
the Family Court without doubt the single worst child abuser in New Zealand today".
"It is well known that children who are allowed to retain contact with both of their parents are at the very least risk
of child abuse, and it seems that everybody knows this except for Mr McClay. Our adversarial Family Court system sees
20,00 children legally abducted from one of their parents every year, usually their father, whilst only 3,000 New
Zealand children lost their fathers during the entire Second World War."
"If Mr McClay were to address the real issues, like the terrible impact of parental alienation on children, instead of
getting bogged down in trendy issues such as trying to ban smacking, he might actually achieve some positive outcomes
for children", concluded Ward.
ENDS
Inquires - Darryl Ward 025 230 1667