It’s felt like a hopeful week for dads and for the stolen generation of children.

Dpex has been hard at work generating a campaign. And for the first time, I noticed the notion of equal parenting rights gaining a mention in the mainstream media, which made me feel good. This has been thanks to the work of Jim Bailey and all those who have not only been bothering some lawyers personally in their homes, but been prepared to get onto the media and talk about why.

Jim was on TV3 nightline news on Tuesday night and I heard him again on National Radio today, and thought he did a fine job of calmly and rationally presenting his case to people who seemed determined not to listen. In both cases the main thrust of argument seemed to be the lawyers telling Jim, ‘You’re disturbing our kids’, and Jim replying ‘Yes well you’ve disturbed ours’.

I emailed national radio straight after Jim’s interview with the following:

Hi National radio ‘nine – to- noon’

Re; your interview with Gary Gottlieb and Jim Bailey today on the subject of ‘father’s picketing family lawyers’ homes’;
The real story the media should be pursuing is the desperate need for reform of New Zealand family law. It’s been tinkered with in last years ‘Care of Children Act’, but real reform has not arrived.

Eva chimed in with Gary to say she was ‘open mouthed’ at Jim’s description of what goes on in the family court. Well, the media should have informed itself and been informing us about this issue. Does Eva not know of how routinely children are denied equal access with their fathers by our family law system. That so many kids are unreasonably denied contact with their fathers amounts to state sanctioned child abuse, and there needs to be accountability for this.

This week is the first time I have heard the words ‘equal parenting rights for fathers’ spoken in the mainstream media, and good on Jim’s group for achieving that.

Thanks for your efforts Jim and co. ‘Nine to noon’ ignored my email but the point is being made in many different ways and will eventually be got across. In the meantime, if any outraged lawyer wants to come around and bother me personally in my home they are quite welcome. I’d be happy to talk with them and they won’t disturb any kids here because my child doesn’t get to live with me.