Guy Nathan: Child and Family Protection Bill — In Committee 
Guy Nathan: Child and Family Protection Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:667;Page:14751] 
Hon NATHAN GUY (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: I think it is worthwhile to make a few introductory remarks about the very important Child and Family Protection Bill. It builds on the Government’s existing policies and legislation dealing with serious issues in relation to domestic violence and it ensures that courts can act to protect children and families from all kinds of violence and abuse. It also addresses the risk of children being wrongfully removed from New Zealand. 
I will take a little time to move through the important aspects of this bill. In particular Part 1 amends the Domestic Violence Act 1995 to provide for greater protection of the child victims of domestic violence and to improve court processes. The Justice and Electoral Committee recommended amending clause 6 to provide that a protection order would automatically continue for the benefit of children of applicants’ families irrespective of their ages while they continue to live with the applicants. This amendment removes the onus on young people still living with applicants to apply to the court for continued cover.  
Clause 7 enacts the repealed section 54 of the Care of Children Act into the Domestic Violence Act which enables the court to make interim care or contact orders to protect the welfare and best interests of the child when a protection order has been made. Clause 8 enables a registrar to amend the direction to the respondent to attend a Stopping Violence Service programme by specifying a later date or different place. This amendment will help for example in cases where a direction to attend a programme is served on a respondent too late for the respondent to attend on a specified date. The bill also extends from 5 days to 10 days the period of time in which a respondent has to object to attending a programme. Clauses 10 and 12 clarify the transition between temporary and final protection orders by ensuring there is no opportunity for a lapse between the temporary order and the final order.  
The select committee recommended that the provision is amended to allow explicitly a lawyer appointed to act for the child under the Care of Children Act and any person whom the Family Court judge permits to attend the review of contact arrangements. That amendment relates specifically to clause 13. To address any uncertainty about whether a judge needs specifically to discharge a temporary order when making a final order clauses 14 and 15 clarify that the temporary order is automatically discharged. Finally on Part 1 clause 16 enables a lawyer who is appointed to act for a child in guardianship or parenting order proceedings under the Care of Children Act to be present at the hearing of proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act involving that child.  
Part 2 amends the Care of Children Act 2004. It provides for enhanced consistency between the Domestic Violence Act and the Care of Children Act with regard to psychological abuse and reduces the risk of children being wrongfully removed from New Zealand. The amendments introduce the concept of psychological abuse into the application of parenting orders but only where a protection order has been made against a respondent on the grounds of psychological abuse. The select committee recommended widening the definition of “protection order” to include those made by sentencing judges in the criminal courts on behalf of victims as enabled by the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Act.  
Part 3 specifically amends the Adoption Act 1955. It creates a new offence under the Adoption Act 1955 of improperly inducing consent for the adoption of a child which is to be punishable by up to 7 years’ imprisonment. New Zealand has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child but is among a minority of countries that have not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. The proposed new offence contained in Part 3 is the last legislative change necessary to enable New Zealand to ratify the optional protocol.  
Clause 32 also provides that the offence is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years and that there will be wide extraterritorial jurisdiction for the new offence. This means that even if the offence occurred wholly outside New Zealand New Zealand may still bring proceedings if the victim or the person to be charged is a New Zealand citizen or resident or if the person to be charged has been found in New Zealand and has not been extradited. The select committee recommended amending the proposed new offence so that it applies not only to individual people but also to agencies and bodies corporate that are involved in inducing consent to an adoption.