In the Waikato Times: Fathers target judge’s home

An activist group that has demonstrated outside the Auckland homes of 20 legal professionals and others connected with Family Court decisions to deny fathers access to their children is bringing its protests to the Waikato.

About 15 members of the Fathers Coalition — an activist group set up two months ago — plan protests in Hamilton and Tauranga on Sunday.

This looks like it will be a great issue for the men’s movement to fight over, and for the media to focus on:

But their actions have been criticised by the Waikato Union of Fathers which also campaigns for shared parenting but advocates more co-operative tactics. A union spokesman, Rob Gardiner, said the demonstrators were “harassing and annoying” people.

“Those guys are professionals. We don’t necessarily agree with how they go about doing their jobs but their families are not part of this.

“It’s totally negative and it’s not going about it the right way. We have made too many steps forward in the last 12 to 18 months and we’re going to go backwards. We just can’t afford that.”

I’m personally not going to protest outside anyone’s home, but having heard from many of the fathers involved, I understand why they feel compelled to do so.

Some parents who aren’t allowed to see their children are prepared to do desperate acts, and it can only be expected that their numbers will increase as long as the Family Court avoids undergoing significant reform.

If the feminist inspired father-removal project continues in New Zealand, the Justice Department will just have to establish gated and guarded communities for Family Court Judges, staff, lawyers and psychologists.