A woman found guilty of hitting her child with a spoon will be deported back to Tonga Featured
Auckland High Court
11 September, 2016. The woman, a 34-year-old Tongan national, had confessed to the smack immediately after one of her two children dobbed her in to Child Youth and Family (CYF) in November last year.
CYF were speaking to the family on an unrelated matter when the seven-year-old boy revealed he got smacked on the hand with a large spoon if he broke rules at home.
His mother was subsequently convicted of child assault.
During the investigation it was found she and her husband had been living in New Zealand illegally since 2009. He was deported in November 2015.
The woman's appealed to the High Court on the basis the Judge had "erred when balancing the immigration consequences of a conviction against the gravity of her offence".
She claimed the conviction would thwart her chances of getting a New Zealand visa in the future, leaving her children - New Zealand citizens - unable to access the country's education and health care.
Justice Timothy Edwards dismissed her appeal because "in this case the deportation consequences do not flow from a conviction".
The fact she had been living in New Zealand for six years without a visa was the reason for her deportation - not the assault charge.
Justice Edwards explained that while the convection would be a "a further hurdle" to the woman if she tried to return to New Zealand, it would "not make that hurdle insurmountable".
He said there was no evidence it would result in future visa applications being automatically declined.
New Zealand immigration took the seriousness of former offences into account when granting visas, he explained, and her case was "at the minor end of the scale".
As for the conviction's impact on the her Kiwi children's access to New Zealand services, Justice Edwards deemed it "within the domain of immigration officials" to decide at a later date.
It would be one factor taken into account in the decision whether or not to grant the woman a New Zealand visa in the future.
"It is not up for this court to pre-empt that process... at this stage," he said.
The woman would not be allowed to apply for a new New Zealand visa within five years of her deportation date. Her two children will return to Tonga with the rest of the family.
- Stuff
8 comments
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Fie foki mai pe Fa'ee ia o hapohapo haane kii la'itutu
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Uluaki pe ka oku te hiki ki ha fonua pea fai ki he lao 'oe fonua koia.. koe fie nofo NZ kae ta e fanau ... He ta koee oku ova kae ta.. koia ai oku 'ikai tali ehe sosaieti e ta pea oku tau fakamalo kia Likiliki moe ni'ihi oku nau ngaue 'I Tonga ke taukave'i e totonu 'a e fanau ke 'oua e tautea ta kinautolu. Malo kuo tau mo'ui kitautolu he ngaahi aho ni ka ko'ete manatu'i ne lahi e ngaahi ta ia ne 'ikai fe'unga pea fepaki moe 'atamai oe fanau o hoko ai enau taonakita moe hafua .. Koia kau ova tuku e ta he'e ma'u ai hoo ova pea fakafoki koe ki 'api.. ko hoo foki pe ki api ki he tupuanga...
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Hainite V. McLean, te ke motu'a vave he lahi ho'o tafulu! Ki'i maamaalie hifo na'a ke humu ha fo'i maka.
Ne tau lau kotoa pe e 'aatikolo pea ne mahino kotoa kia te kitautolu e tu'utu'uni 'a e fakamaau moe Immigration 'a NZ. Kotoa e ngaahi tohi ni, 'oku hala ha taha 'oku ne talaatu koe fakafoki mai e fa'ee ko e tupunga he'ene taa sepuni hono foha! -
Meá taémahino moóni, óku íkai ko e ta sepuni ne tipotaí mai ai ka ko e nofo óva. Tuku a e fakapoúli, ko e maumaúi e lao á Nuú sila he nofo óva pe ne tataki atu kiai éhe Éiki heéne ta sepunií e leka. Ófa mai ko éte ta siísií pe faifai pe ó lahi. Tuku e ta he óku tapu ia í Nuu Sila, haú ó ta pe í Tonga ni heé toki mate leka pea toki ako ai, mahino e!
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I'm not sure whether CYF New Zealand fully appreciates the long term implications of what they have done to this mother and her child. They've used the words of a 7-year old son to drive a permanent wedge between him and his mother!
Did the innocent child understand the likely consequences of what he said to the CYF officers about his mother? Or was he being coerced by the CYF officers to 'report' on his mom? Or have the CYF staff developed a totally negative perception of parenting in the Pacific Island family? Don't have anything more important to do than investigating mothers' methods of disciplining their 7-year old children?
The saddest of this case is the fact the mother is to be deported to Tonga, a totally different cultural context, where she'll live for the rest of her life, and to raise her family including the son who had 'betrayed' her love.
Wish this family the best. -
kei angakovi mo leangata'a 'etau fanau koe ngaue 'a 'ofa likiliki mo 'ene ki'i timi fiepoto. Pea nau nofo nautolu 'o fiemalie honau 'api kae si'i faingata'a'ia e matu'a ia he ngaue 'ae fanau. Pea to e fanau ki he faingata'a pea hela e matu'a ia he lele holo kae siokehe a o.likiliki ia.
Ko 'etau fanau Tonga ke ako'i faka-Tonga pe ka nau ma'u ha kaha'u lelei. Tukukehe ngaahi case ia 'e ni'ihi 'oku mahino 'aupito pe ia koe ta vale moe abuse, ka koe fanga ki'i ta sepuni etc., 'oku fu'u launoa 'aupito hono faka'i'ii'i 'ehe kalasi 'o 'ofa likiliki moe 'otu. -
tuku ia mark naa fakahu pilisone moutolu e ofa likiliki hhhhh
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kapau koe anga e fanau he kuonga ni, kuo hanga 'ehe ta'u 7 'o lipooti 'ene fa'ee hono taa'i 'aki ia e sepuni, pea tau faka'uta leva ai kihe kaha'u e fanau tokolahi. Kapau 'oku 'ikai ke nau tali hono discipline mo ako'i kinautolu 'i 'api 'ehe fa'ee moe tamai, ko hai ia ha toe taha te nau toe ongo ki ai. Pea fielau 'enau anga kovi moe palopalema ko hono poupou'i kinautolu 'ehe ngaahi faka'ili 'ae sisitemi. Pea ko 'enau foki mai ena ki Tonga ni 'o toki sio ai e ki'i tamasi'i ta'u 7 koena kihe me'a 'oku ui koe mo'ui faka-Tonga. 'Ofa mai fa'ee, ko ho'omou foki mai pe ki Tonga ni pea kumi ha fu'u sepuni 'oku toe lahi ange 'o ako'i'aki e ki'i ta'u 7 ko ena.