http://www.stuff.co.nz/3989574a11.html
Judge rejects commission request to meet fathers
By ANNA CHALMERS

March 12, 2007, The Dominion Post (NZ)---Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier has rejected a request from the Families Commission to meet protesting fathers. He said the Family Court was not a political body that could negotiate. It upheld the law on behalf of all New Zealanders, and people unhappy with its decisions could seek to appeal against them.

His rebuke follows a call from chief commissioner Rajen Prasad last month for judges to meet the disgruntled fathers, who say the Family Court's rulings are biased. Dr Prasad said at the time that commission members were "really able to really understand what the men's group was saying".

The men's protests made headlines last year when megaphones and placards were used at boisterous rallies outside the homes of lawyers, judges, psychologists and Parliament's Speaker, Margaret Wilson.

After Dr Prasad's offer to broker a deal, the Fathers Coalition "suspended" a protest planned for last month outside Judge Patrick Mahony's Wellington property. The commission said it would continue to meet the fathers' group.

Judge Boshier said he had not been contacted directly by the commission about the meeting. "If people are concerned about the law or the way the system operates, the appropriate forum for change is Parliament. The Families Commission may be a channel for those views but it is not a role that the court can undertake."

He said he would continue to meet bodies like the commission "from time to time" as an opportunity to be updated on issues of public concern and improving the court's administrative efficiency.

"These meetings are a useful dialogue but they are not a means to influence how the court decides the outcome of cases."

The Fathers Coalition did not want to comment on the court's decision till it had heard from the commission.