Drug smugglers’ baby to stay

Court

The infant son of two Southeast Asian methamphetamine importers is to stay in New Zealand after a Family Court judge decided there was too much risk for him to return.

The boy was brought here in 2014 when he was only a few months old. Both his Southeast Asian national parents were charged with importing methamphetamine and ended up being jailed for seven years and seven months.

The baby went into the care of Oranga Tamariki and was put into a foster home.

Judge Antony Mahon heard the long and complicated case in 2017 and expressed disquiet at the way Oranga Tamariki had gone about a plan to send the boy back to Southeast Asia – firstly to his grandmother and then with his mother once she was paroled and deported.

Several hearings were held and most had to be adjourned as the information before a succession of Family Court judges was not adequate. ‘‘This case should never have required nine days of hearing over an 11 month period. Responsibility for the length of the hearing lies with the ministry,’’ the judge said.

He found the assessments made and the evidence provided by Oranga Tamariki were inadequate.

The ministry’s plan had been that the boy go back to Southeast Asia to live with his maternal grandmother.

However she did not want him, could not afford to care for a young child already having care of his two siblings and said he was a child that could bring bad luck to his family.

The ministry’s next option was the return the boy with his mother when she was deported after being paroled.

However that time came and went after she told a Family Court hearing there was a risk of retribution from the drug gang

Judge Antony Mahon expressed disquiet at the way Oranga Tamariki had gone about a plan to send the boy back to Southeast Asia

and further information about the risk was ordered by the court.

The judge found there were a number of risks including that his mother intended to lie about where the child had been, a risk of retribution from the drug gang she had been smuggling for, that if her offending was discovered or the child was considered bad luck he could end up in a state orphanage and the trauma of going to another country where he knew little of the language.

There were difficulties in getting information out of Southeast Asian authorities about the level of support the family would have.

He was also concerned about how the case was managed. Initially the boy was not able to see his mother in prison, then was allowed to visit. But inquiries about whether he should be able to live with his mother in a mother-and-child unit to help them bond broke down.

Judge Mahon said the care and protection risks were too great.

‘‘X returning to [Southeast Asia] raises serious care and protection issues which have not been adequately addressed by the ministry.’’

He was not be removed from his current caregivers without further order of the court and Oranga Tamariki were to apply to Immigration to allow him to stay on humanitarian grounds.