NZ Herald 14/5/05 Police are seeking nearly $5000 from a woman they claim wasted their time over a false rape complaint. The case highlights a dilemma for police, who do not want to discourage women from reporting sexual abuse. But they say that when an accusation is blatantly untrue, they will lay a charge of […]

There is a little old lady in Auckland with whom Helen Clark would not be very pleased. If she knew who she was, that is. Back in the 1970s, when the little old lady was much younger, she used to go to feminist meetings. Not because she was a feminist, but because she and her […]

How can we help children and young people increase their participation in society so they and everyone else might benefit from their input into decision-making processes? This is one of the key issues to be discussed at a major conference running from July 7 to 9 at the University of Otago. Children and Young People […]

Girls have out-performed boys in every school subject and low male achievement is spurring concern. Secondary school NCEA results were released yesterday by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. The profiles show a growing gap between girls’ and boys’ achievement, and suggest children might be better off in single-sex schools. Girls-only schools dominate all NCEA levels. […]

As part of a comprehensive overhaul of the [Australian] family law regime, scores of new services for men will be funded in a $74 million prevention package. Mensline Australia will get a big funding boost to support more fathers and to help them become more involved with their children before and after separation. Up to […]

On April 22, 2005, Harvard University’s Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative (MBB) held a defining debate on the public discussion that began on January 16th with the public comments by Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard, on sex differences between men and women and how they may relate to the careers of women in science. The Science of Gender […]

TVNZ has an extensive report with video on the Stephen Jelicich case: A long and public tug of love entered another phase last week when a family court judge ruled that nine-month-old Caitlin Jelicich could return to Wales with her mother. Within hours the pair were on a flight out of Auckland before Caitlin’s father […]

TV One News Summit tackles men’s issues (includes streaming video). The state of “New Zealand manhood” was the topic of the first ever Men’s Issues Summit at Auckland on Friday. Bleak predictions of the future of the New Zealand male were being made at the summit, which was held at the Waitakere City Council Chambers. […]

Firstly, welcome to any new readers who heard about MENZ Issues for the first time at the Summit yesterday. I look forward to any contributions you might be inspired to make. I have to confess that my note-keeping tailed off somewhat after the first few sessions, however if all goes according to plan there will […]

Today’s summit at the Waitakere City Council chambers got off to a late start, which as it turned out was lucky because opening speaker John Tamihere was also slightly delayed. We were informed that his son had needed a bit of fatherly input into the matter of him staying at school for longer than it […]

A father prepared to go to any lengths necessary to regain contact with his children (including enlisting the services of NZ’s Wizard), recently made a one-man Hikoi to Wellington to try and draw attention to his grievances. The latest development in the long campaign by Ben Easton has seen him jailed in Auckland for breaching […]

Dr Muriel Newman MP (ACT party) This Week Newman Online looks at the issue of prostrate screening for men and asks why the Government hasn’t implemented a screening programme for prostate cancer when it kills almost as many men as breast cancer. A few weeks ago, John Tamihere confirmed in his infamous “Investigate Magazine” interview […]

A Wellington man has won a landmark Court of Appeal case to prove he is the father of a child he has not seen for five years. It took a $50,000 legal battle for the man to have the girl’s DNA tested, after the child’s mother – who denied the man was the father – […]

In his recent speech ‘Social and economic goals of labour market policy ‘, the Hon Steve Maharey says: “Economic costs of social problems In New Zealand, half of all female homicides are the result of domestic violence. Ten children are killed every year in acts of domestic violence. The non-financial cost of family violence is […]

Press Release: Hon Ruth Dyson A $12 million investment in services for children who witness family violence is a key part of the government’s commitment to eliminating violence within families, says Child Youth and Family Minister Ruth Dyson. Speaking at the National Foster Care conference in Wellington, Ruth Dyson said the new service would ensure […]

Press release by Hon Marian Hobbs: Parenthood report tackles complex issues A Law Commission report tackles complex questions about laws on parenthood, the Minister responsible for the Law Commission, Marian Hobbs, said today after the tabling of the report in Parliament. The report, New Issues in Legal Parenthood, is a comprehensive review of the laws […]

Law Commission recommendations on paternity testing unacceptable to parents and children

Press Release: New Zealand National Party Judith Collins MP – National Party Families Spokeswoman Rich irony in PM’s family friendly photo op National MP Judith Collins regrets that she will be unable to attend the launch tomorrow of a Families Commission survey because she’s “too busy being a parent”. “I am pleased that the Families […]

Prime Minister Helen Clark says she is concerned about Labour MP John Tamihere’s latest criticism of his cabinet colleagues, and thinks the MP has been under stress. Mr Tamihere’s extraordinary comments have been published in Investigate magazine after a conversation with its editor Ian Wishart. Tamihere told Investigate magazine: “Heather Simpson – Helen’s assistant – […]

You are invited and challenged to attend to the first ever gathering in NZ to address Men’s Issues. This is a one day event which draws together a variety of perspectives on men, from academic to activist, from psychosocial to social service. Its intention is to open up the full breadth of the issues for […]

Some of us are very interested to hear from anybody who is involved with the Family Court mediation pilot project mentioned below, particularly on the North Shore. A pilot project aimed at helping troubled families resolve disputes more quickly is underway in a number of family courts. The trial gives those involved in custody, access […]

Researchers have given fresh weight to the complaint of many single women – there aren’t enough men. Kiwi men in their relationship-forming years have disappeared in their thousands, says social scientist Dr Paul Callister. The result is that men are increasingly outnumbered. Since 1991, the census has shown a widening gap between the number of […]

A current affairs programme is doing a story which uses as its hook the New Plymouth case where a father was found guilty of assaulting his son, after he allegedly smacked him twice on the bottom. This opens up the wider debate as to whether smacking is the appropriate way to discipline children, and whether […]

Stephen and Diane Jelicich were a couple whose split became as acrimonious as it can get. It culminated in January with Stephen running off with their baby daughter Caitlin and hiding from police for 10 days. Diane went back to Wales not knowing where her daughter was or when she would see her again. But […]

The rather startling news that 60% of reported cases of child abuse now turn out to be completely unsubsantiated (or “incorrect” according to current jargon) gets a completely different spin in the Dominion Post story below. Presumably Stuart Birks said something meaningful to the reporter about the subject of false allegations, but it didn’t survive […]