Child and Family Policy

Ian B. Hassall, Commissioner of Children

A Commissioner of Children was appointed in 1989 to monitor and review New Zealand’s child protection and youth justice procedures and to act more generally as an advocate for children. Children have long been recognised as vulnerable in official proceedings and in the public arena in general, and it is fitting during this, the International Year of the Family, to focus on how children are, and should be, protected in public law, policy and practice.

Although public policy covers children in various areas, such as education and health, there is no children’s policy where the various areas are integrated. New Zealand needs such a policy, and this need is heightened by demographic changes that will see children increasingly becoming a minority group whose place in society must be defined and protected.

This paper argues that such policy should be informed by a set of principles relevant to children, covering advocacy, representativeness, participation, research, first call/paramountcy and non-interference. Each of these is discussed in turn, before exploring areas for special attention that need to be addressed, including child abuse, poverty and family development.