PRESS RELEASE: Fathers' Day Picnic 4 September
1995
Australasia Area Coordinator of FREE, Darryl Ward, reported today
that he was pleased with the outcome of yesterday's Fathers' Day
Picnic and public launch of FREE in New Zealand at Parliament.
"The event generated tremendous interest. I am being phoned
by disenfranchised fathers from all around the country who had
all but given up hope but are now overjoyed that they have found
a common voice. The actual numbers present at the picnic (some
20-30) totally failed to manifest the huge level of interest and
visibility created by the event", Ward said today.
"A draft list of fathers' concerns was formulated at the
picnic, which includes:
- The lack of visibility of fathers and their important role;
and their negative portrayal by the media, (eg fathers tend to
be portrayed either as being generally abusive, or as buffoons
like Homer Simpson & Al Bundy.)
- The denial of (separated) fathers' basic rights as parents,
(eg no say in the children's upbringing; extreme difficulty in
gaining information from their children's schools and doctors;
and extreme difficulty in getting access & custody orders
enforced when breached to name but a few.)
- The rampant discrimination against fathers as practiced by
the Family Courts and welfare and taxation authorities.
- The alarming number of fathers who are victims of false allegations
of abuse to deny them any meaningful contact with their children.
- The horrendous inequities with the child support system and
the prospective outcomes of the current review of matrimonial
property law.
- The urgent need for preferential joint custody; especially
considering that indisputable evidence shows how much better off
children are whose lives include their fathers than those children
whose lives do not."
"Fathers around the country should be pleased with yesterday's
achievements and can be very optimistic about their future,"
Ward concluded.
ends
[Darryl Ward, Fathers Rights & Equality Exchange (FREE)
Australasia Area , e-mail: ward_dw@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Box 9792 Te Aro Wellington NEW ZEALAND, Tel 04 - 801 9499 or
025 - 486 364]