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Submissions summary. Independent panel examining the 2014 family justice reforms [2019] NZFamJustRef 1 (1 January 2019)

Last Updated: 25 May 2020

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ISBN 978-0-478-32474-7
Published by the Ministry of Justice
January 2019 © Crown Copyright


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CONTENTS

CONSULTATION ON THE 2014 FAMILY JUSTICE REFORMS

This document is a summary of submissions provided to the Independent Panel Rewriting the 2014 family justice reforms (the Panel). It’s separated into three parts:

• Part 1 outlines some common themes from submissions
• Part 2 sets out the feedback from submitters on specific family justice processes and the changes made in 2014
• Part 3 summarises submissions from key demographic groups, for example, Māori and grandparent submitters.

BACKGROUND TO THE PANEL’S WORK

The Panel was appointed by the Minister of Justice in August 2018 to consider the changes that were made to the family justice system in 2014. The Panel was asked to examine the:

CONSULTATION PROCESS

CONSULTATION PAPER: HAVE YOUR SAY

The Panel’s consultation paper Have Your Say was released online on 5 September 2018. The paper was made available in English, Te Reo Māori and Easy Read (a way of presenting information that’s easier to understand for people with a learning disability or with English as a second language).

The Panel’s consultation process was designed to be safe, inclusive and flexible to ensure people could submit in a way that was best for them. This reflected the nature of the subject matter which can include sensitive information about a person’s children, family or relationship breakdown.

Two online consultation forms were available for people to give feedback. The Have Your Say form allowed people to electronically give their answers to the questions in the consultation paper. Korero Mai (Tell Us Your Story) had no questions but simply allowed people to share their experience with the Panel.

People weren’t asked to provide their name or other personal information for either form; they could make an anonymous submission. They could send their submission by post or email, including in video or audio formats. The online submission process closed on 9 November 2018.

CONSULTATION MEETINGS

The Panel travelled across New Zealand in September and October 2018 to get feedback from a broad range of people. This included mothers, fathers, grandparents and whānau who had used the family justice system. The Panel also met with family justice professionals such as lawyers, mediators, counsellors and whānau support workers.

The Panel travelled to 14 locations — Kaitaia, Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill — and met with several hundred people across more than 100 meetings.

Due to the nature of the subject matter and to ensure people’s safety, the Panel didn’t hold public hui; instead, they met with individuals or small groups. This ensured they felt safe and comfortable sharing their often deeply personal experiences of the family justice system.

PROFILE OF SUBMISSIONS

The Panel received 510 submissions. Most were received by email or through the two online submission forms. The Panel also held meetings with individuals and small groups. Each meeting was counted as one submission.

The consultation paper asked whether the submission was from an individual or an organisation. Some people didn’t answer this question but the content of the submissions generally made it clear whether it was from an individual or organisation. Most submissions were from individuals (more than 340) and around over 90 were from groups or organisations. Individuals were asked to indicate whether they were a parent, grandparent or other whānau member. If they were professionals, they were asked to indicate their role in the family justice system. Groups and organisations were categorised according to their main activity or interest area. The table below sets out the type of submitter where identifiable.

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