Press Release
Thursday 19 November, 2009
For immediate release

Principal Family Court Judge Judge Boshier is today calling for more support for anguished families. He says, “I feel for people that use our courts who eventually cannot cope and take their own lives”.

Executive Director of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealandi said today, “the frustrating thing in the Family Court is that Parliament has, along cross party lines, agreed and legislated for a system within the Family Court that supports and empowers families, but has failed to implement its own laws”. On 2 September 2008 the Family Court Matters Bill passed into law. The Bill envisaged a supportive scheme for families including mediationii and access to counselling for children. However the new provisions for mediation and children’s access to counselling have not been implemented.

Just this month academic and Associate of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand Gaye Greenwood, AUT noted in the NZ Law Journal,iii a case where a father involved in a messy separation killed his wife and noted, “ Mediators, lawyers and counsellors know that a collaborative interdisciplinary early interventions could have helped … navigate conflict and possibly halted the downward spiral into destructive violence”.

Background The Law Commission’s 2003 report “Dispute Resolution in the Family Court” recommended non-judge led mediation be introduced into the Family Court. The pilot went ahead March 2005 – June 2006 in 4 centres and a formal evaluation was carried out.

* Overall participants were positive about the mediation process and appreciated the opportunity for mediation rather than facing a court fixture. They particularly appreciated being in a less formal, more relaxed yet secure situation. In addition, a staggering 2/3 of participants said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the outcome of the mediation.

* 59% of cases were settled totally at mediation. A further 30% were settled in part. In only 5% of cases was there no agreement reached at all.

* The average cost of the mediations was just $777.16.

* Administration costs were minimal - .2 FTE coordinator at each site.

* 75% of all mediations were completed within 4 hours.

ENDS

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