MEDIA STATEMENT
TUESDAY JUNE 12 2012

FAMILY COURT FEES CONCERNS ANTI-VIOLENCE NETWORK

Anti-violence workers fear domestic violence victims will fail to seek help as a result of new fees to be charged for parenting orders and matrimonial property hearings by the Family Court from July 1 2012.

Brian Gardner from the National Network of Stopping Violence, Te Kupenga, says members of the network have been ringing him to express concerns at the changes.

The National Manager of Strategic Relationships and Advocacy, Mr Gardiner says children and their mothers are at risk if anything acts as a disincentive to domestic violence being addressed quickly and safely.

“For a number of years, the message from the Government’s highly successful family violence prevention campaign, ‘Are You OK’ has been ‘It’s okay to ask for help,’” says Mr Gardiner.

“The effects of these charges effectively say to people it’s okay to ask for help but it will cost you. We would like to see any matters to do with domestic violence incur no cost to the victims of the violence.

“Already, applicants for protection orders can face significant costs in applying for an order – the new charges potentially add hundreds of dollars to something that, for many, is already unaffordable.”

Mr Gardiner says people do not take the step to go to court to address matters such as domestic violence lightly.

“It can be an intimidating and frightening experience that most of us would never want to deal with. The fact that so many women are prepared to confront the fear of going to the Family Court for the wellbeing of their children and themselves just shows how frightened they already are.

“Our plea to the Minister for Courts, Chester Burrows, is not to make it harder for people to access safety through the Family Court – the best way to address the cost of domestic violence is to stop the violence.

“Domestic violence in New Zealand already costs our country billions of dollars. A timely, accessible and safe court process enables both victims of violence and those who use violence to get on with their lives. It makes good economic as well as social sense.”

Te Kupenga is a network of 42 independent community-based groups – from Whangarei to Invercargill – working to end violence and abuse in families. For more information, go to the website www.nnsvs.org.nz.

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