Family court complaints refuted by judge

The Principal Family Court judge has refuted criticisms of the court made by a group of women known as the Backbone Collective, set up by a domestic abuse survivor.

The women claimed they were revictimised by court process, that the court was not open to public or media scrutiny, and that their complaints had been brushed off. The Backbone Collective submitted 160 questions to the Government, demanding to know why the system was letting them down. But Family Court Judge Laurence Ryan disregarded their allegations as ‘‘premised on erroneous or flawed interpretations’’ of the court’s legal framework, or as having been dealt with by Parliament already. He said that he would not respond in the way the collective sought because ‘‘combative debate that pits the judiciary against those who rely on the court’s help’’ would not improve outcomes. He highlighted that the womens’ ‘‘anecdotal evidence’’ was a small fraction of about 60,000 applications lodged with the court each year. In response to allegations of absent independent monitoring, Ryan said that all of the court’s decisions were open to appeal. ’’This is the safety valve inherent in the New Zealand justice system,’’ he said.

The Backbone launched in March.

‘‘This [the appeals court] is the safety valve inherent in the New Zealand justice system.’’

Collective was