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

Last Wednesday I received a message on my voice mail from TVNZ looking for someone from a men’s group to comment on a recent speech about Legal Aid in the Family Court by Justice Minister Simon Power. Unfortunately, I didn’t get back to them in time to make any suggestions about who to talk to.

Power’s speech, to Otago University Legal Issues Centre on 25th August, was titled Challenging Tradition.

Some of the issues raised by the Minister include:

• the length of time some Family Court cases drag on without satisfactory resolution
• the need for incentives to divert cases away from the court
• the possible use of duty solicitors for giving speedy legal advice
• greater use of cost orders to deter vexatious litigants
• greater restrictions on who can access legal aid
• Bringing lawyer-for-the-child under the umbrella of legal aid

Here is the section of Simon Power’s speech of most interest to MENZ readers:
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Plotting ex-wife gets 7-14 years in jail

Kristin Ruggiero will spend 7 to 14 years in state prison for what police say was part of a years-long ploy to use the criminal justice system against her ex-husband, who was thrown in jail and nearly lost his career during a bitter divorce.

Judge Kenneth McHugh said Ruggiero’s attempt to set up her ex-husband and use the legal system as a weapon was unlike any other case he has seen.

Sometimes an article is perfect the way it is, and sometimes an article is soooo good it needs to be copied and pasted in it’s entirety. This is one such article. (with permission).

The decline of the male economy — and of fatherhood — arises less from the empowerment of women than from the government’s usurpation of the family.

By Stephen Baskerville

In “The End of Men,” the cover story of the July/August Atlantic, Hanna Rosin describes “how women are taking control of everything.” Suggesting that “the economics of the new era are better suited to women,” Rosin believes the fair sex are winning the struggle for the survival of the fittest. In what is apparently cause for celebration, she writes, “three-quarters of the 8 million jobs lost were lost by men” in the ongoing Great Recession. “The worst-hit industries were overwhelmingly male and deeply identified with macho: construction, manufacturing, high finance.” She contends that the economic crisis “merely revealed—and accelerated—a profound economic shift that has been going on for at least 30 years.”

The Atlantic used the same issue to ask, “Are Fathers Necessary?” Pamela Paul cites a widely publicized study purporting to prove that fathers are harmful in rearing children and that lesbians do it better. The study is politics camouflaged as social science—its authors acknowledge that the parenting virtues they extol are defined “in part in the service of an egalitarian ideology.” Their message echoes Rosin’s: within the home, as in the national economy, men are unreliable at best and pathological at worst. The Atlantic assures us that the decline of men is the product of impersonal forces against which we are powerless to respond, even if we wished to—which apparently we do not.
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I am looking for research participants for a small study. I am a distance student at the Univeristy of Otago, currently living in West Auckland. I have completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Social & Community Work (graduated 2007) and this year am completing my Master of Social & Community Work (MSCW). As part of my studies I am required to complete research in the form of a dissertation. The question (social issue) I have chosen to address is “Exploring the experiences of fathers in the Family Court in New Zealand.” I am seeking research participants for a small qualitative study of fathers who have:

used the Family Court to pursue parenting (custody) or contact (access)
have been separated from the mother of their child / children for at least six months
a final parenting order in place
attained at least 18 years of age
a desire to accurately record the experiences of fathers in the Family Court

If you meet these criteria I would be pleased to hear from you. Participation is completely voluntary. All that is required is approximately one hour of your time for an in depth personal interview. There is no payment involved and the study is solely academic.

This research has been approved by the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee. I can provide more information on this if requested.

If you would like more information, or are interested in participating please email me at socialworkermark@gmail.com. I would be pleased to send you an Information Sheet and Consent Form, along with any other information I can provide.

Many thanks, Mark.

Please note this is just what a quick search brought up reported in the news today. There is nothing special about today.

Mother jailed for ‘cruel, horrible’ abuse
A Brisbane mother has been jailed for the “cruel, disgraceful and horrible” abuse of her baby son.

The 34-year-old woman, who cannot be named, was this morning sentenced to 16 months’ jail after she pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and six counts of assaulting her son.

Brisbane District Court was told the mother digitally penetrated the boy a number of times during a 14-month period between 2005 and 2006, causing bleeding, for which she would later take him to a hospital.

She continued the acts while her son was in a hospital bed.
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A MAN set himself on fire outside of Brisbane’s Supreme Court complex after an unfavourable family court decision, according to witnesses at the scene.

It sounds like he sat down for a while and thought about it quietly. Then he set himself alight.
90 percent of his body was burned. He was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries.

It seems all but confirmed that this guy got shafted by the family court and decided there was no real future for himself.
I should be optimistic that the truth of this will come out. I mean in a civilised society the reasons would be identified and changes to the system made.

If feminism is about equality then why don’t feminists ever talk about retirement issues?

For example males in NZ used to have a life expectancy 7 years less than women until very recently. The gap is now down to 4 or 5 years. Even so this is significantly less. In addition males in retirement tend to have a lower quality of life for several reasons.

All of this matters because the population is ageing.

What I propose is that males and females should get government pensions and the option to retire 20 years before the average life expectancy of their sex.
For example it has just been announced that a girl born today has a life expectancy of 81.9 years, and a newborn boy 77.9 years. I propose that males should start receiving a pension at 57.9 years and females at 61.9 years.

And don’t even get me started on woman alone and widows only benefits.

I am sure all the feminists out there will embrace this idea and promote it strongly – being how they are all about equality and all.

Hi folks
I have created a private group for those who are involved as McKenzie Friends or self litigants in the family court that may be of interest to some.
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Over the past few months there have been fathers protesting outside Family Courts, CYFS offices (child, youth and family) on both North and South islands, Prime Minister John Key’s home and MP Paula Bennett’s office.

It’s a group led by a father going through a terrible ordeal to save his daughter’s life in a CYFS case with the support of his sister who cares very dearly not just for her niece but that CYFS policies are anti fathers. They’ve gained the support from both radical and moderate father’s advocates and activists as well as extended their own support to include other fathers (and mothers) going through similar ordeals in custody battles.
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This woman turned a man’s life upside down with her false rape complaint. A truely hideoous crime in our society.

Predictably the news paper report critises the victim for being unwilling to face his tormentor. At no point are we even told that the criminal was even charged with anything let alone sentanced.

Then there is this case currently before the courts. What’s the bet she gets slaped with a wet bus ticket?
What sort of justice system is this?

Like all serious crimes it is an international problem. It is just much more common in western feminised countries where there are little if any consequences.

Where are all the feminists who claim feminism is about equality? Predictably slient.
Feminism is not about equality.

Falsely accused men have their lives ruined even after they are proven not guilty. Take Clint Rickards for example.

I digress.

This woman not only made a false complaint but also fabricated evidence to try to make it stick.

Flase rape claims are an increasing trend and they almost destroy men’s lives. They are also another good reason to join the marriage strike.

We need a special crime of making a knowingly false rape complaint. This is a serious crime. Until we get it – we must treat rape allegations with very serious sceptisim. According to one feminists own data, only 2% of rape complaints are proven. Clearly then the vast majority are false allegations. In fact rape statistics have become so politically twisted you can’t believe hardly any of them. We do know that at least 40% are false. That is far too high for a crime that ruins men’s lives. There must be a consequences for the accused. Talk about power and control!

For more information start with these pages:

http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/

http://www.falserape.net/

There is a host of other reasources and discussion out there.