ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader and Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today urged Chief Family Court Judge Peter Boshier to continue his push for more openness in the Family Court.

“The Care of Children Bill currently before Parliament is a step in the right direction towards greater openness, but it does not go far enough. As Judge Boshier is aware: if we want to stop child abuse, then the true stories that the court hears on a daily basis of what happens in violent households must be exposed.”

“Only when we have a Family Court that is open to public scrutiny will the hard facts be known, and the problems recognised by the wider public.”