MENZ Issues: news and discussion about New Zealand men, fathers, family law, divorce, courts, protests, gender politics, and male health.

National Radio the Panel today

Gary makes some intersting points in relation to Child Support and speaks of men he knows who could not afford to pay child support who have left the country.

Regards

Scrap

Interesting…

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4637481a11.html

“It’s not just about the money”: non-resident father’s perspectives on paying [109 KB PDF]

Key words: child support, fatherhood, non-residential fathers, meaning of money

Abstract

We examine fathers perceptions of paying child support using in-depth interviews with 26 separated or divorced non-residential fathers in Australia.While the majority of fathers agree that continued financial support of their children is important, child support is a difficult component of their lives. Difficulties arise not only because of the financial costs, but changes in the father-provider role after separation. The payment of child support is viewed as a continuation of the provider role, but fathers have little or no control over how much money is contributed and how that money is spent. Consequently, most fathers question the amounts they have been assessed to pay and how the money is being spent on their children. These responses suggest that policy reforms aimed at changing non-residential fathers child support behaviours need to be sensitive to non-material aspects of the payments not just capacity to pay.

On the surface this looks great but consider the underlying ideology of the researchers as seen in the language and methodology. (more…)

Strong storm warnings of a strong storm scared off fair weather friends, but the protection-order burning ceremony was still a splendid affair in Hamilton on Saturday.  (Copies of) protection orders were burnt, words of great wisdom spoken and those Hamilton shoppers who braved the weather were shaken out of their complacency to be thoroughly edified and entertained.  The injustice, male enslavement and child abuse perpetrated by our Family Court and feminist laws are starting to be recognized by the man and woman in the street.

As a bonus, Queen Liz II graced us with her presence and was told, in the most obsequiously groveling way, that she was no longer needed as our head of state.  The flag of the queen’s governor-general was burned in a spirit of deep subordination.  Her royal majesty attempted to have our bowed heads severed from their bodies but she was uncrowned and defrocked before the order could be effected, revealing a stunning, sleek evening dress no doubt intended for the evening’s state banquet.  (Winston Peters had to be invited to the banquet because the Left Dishonourable Ms Clark couldn’t find any kindergartens needing formal opening in Eastern Europe to keep Winston from offending important foreign dignitaries.  Winston hoped to ask Queen Liz for $100,000 which his lawyer would then conveniently forget to tell him about.) 

The event was so much fun that the Republic of New Zealand Party will do it all again in Auckland and Tauranga soon.  Details will follow, so polish up those (copies of) protection orders and keep those match-lighting fingers fit and ready. 

I’m the producer of a documentary currently being made about the Child Support Act (CSA). Hand in hand with that are the troubles with the Family Court (FC), which have driven a lot of families apart.

The documentary is called “The CSA Files” and you can visit www.the-csa-files.webs.com for more information. This email serves as a formal written interview and your response or lack there of will be incorporated into the documentary

Information and statistics are in no short supply thanks to the power of the Internet. Even those that are computer illiterate have no problems finding this information. The people are learning and it’s time for the government to answer some questions… (more…)

When the government sees fit to surgically remove the father from the family culture do they realize they are in fact turning a nuclear family into a nuclear weapon?  A study done in Massey University in 1996 found the following horrific facts:

Fatherless Kids are:

5 times more likely to commit suicide

32 times more likely to run away

20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders

14 times more likely to commit rape

9 times more likely to drop out of high school

10 more likely to abuse chemical substances

9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution

20 times more likely to end up in prison

There is much more data out there to support this conclusion which is now more than just a theory.  These are just the main bullet points.  Not only do we suffer as Fathers with little to no access to our sons and daughters, which in itself is a heart breaker but the kids face even greater difficulties.

Remember, legislation encourages Mothers to do it alone… but look what happens when they do.  This does not mean men are better then women or fathers are better then mothers, it means they are more powerful and effective when working together.  Something that seems to be overlooked when the FC works “in the best interest of the children.”

As reported in a Press article on Monday: New daddies get a helping hand, a special edition of the Father & Child magazine will be given to new fathers in Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin [and Auckland - JohnP] hospitals as part of a birth pack for parents.

Christchurch father Donald Pettit told the Press:

“This magazine would make dads feel included. It’s important to feel this is an important time for fathers, as so much of the focus seems to be the other members of the family.”

This morning on the TV1 Breakfast show, Father and Child Trust co-ordinator Harald Breiding-Buss did a great job of promoting the magazine, and getting out a positive message about fathering. (more…)

Dear Readers,

“blamemenforall” has given the scantest of detail to provide you on behalf of the Republic of New Zealand Party an invitation and excursion to the Waikato to register protest regarding Protection Orders and incineration of same.

I, being aligned, also being a previous Secretary of the Party am totally supportive of its initiatives and with consultation with the Political Leader Kerry Bevin am able to provide the following statement.

A protest of fathers and supporters backed by recognition from the Republic of New Zealand Party will occur in Hamilton scheduled for Saturday 26th July 2008. (more…)

Last weekend’s Sunday Star Times reported that Victoria University Institute of Policy Studies senior researcher Dr Paul Callister has asked the Human Rights Commission if women-only scholarships breach human rights laws: Women-only scholarships under spotlight

“Historically, women-only scholarships were justified, but now they aren’t disadvantaged in education. My view is these scholarships are discriminatory now because we’re past the point of needing special treatment for getting women into universities and degrees,” Callister told the Sunday Star-Times.

Instead, he believed women-only scholarships should be made gender- neutral so anyone in need could apply. “Gender is no longer the clear marker of disadvantage that it once was.”

On Monday, Analiese Jackson, National Women’s Rights Officer of the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) claimed that women-only scholarships are still justified. She asks:

“How do you determine that equality has been achieved?”

I heard that the NZ Republicans are carrying out a demonstration next Saturday 26 July where they will publicly burn copies of protection orders to highlight the injustice inherent in our Domestic Violence Legislation.

This legislation causes men to lose normal rights, and children to lose contact with their fathers, on the basis of uncorroborated, unproven allegations of “violence” defined so broadly as to cover almost any behaviour commonly shown in situations of conflict. The current orders automatically prevent fathers from having contact with their children, regardless of any realistic risk those fathers might present to the children. The fathers are treated as guilty until they can convince the Family Court that they are innocent, in many cases impossible because for many judges it only takes a woman to claim she is “frightened” for protection orders to be maintained. (more…)