Bill controversial

Press, 24 September 1987, Page 4

Bill controversial

Heated debate had been aroused by the Children and Young Persons legislation now before Parliament among social workers, other professionals, civil rights, Maori and general community groups, the papers said. Dr Cullen had already indicated his wish to have the bill reviewed. The department said that one of the issues was the rights of children themselves, their families and their communities to

have a say in the decisions taken about them in the care and protection matters covered by the bill. Another was the closely related issue of the cultural appropriateness of the bill’s procedures for Maoris and other ethnic groups. The papers said the bill had not been popular with many Maori groups. The cost of the bill’s provisions for mandatory reporting of child abuse, plus an elaborate struc-

ture of child protection teams and independent review panels, were leading to fears within the department that it would not have enough resources to carry out the new functions required. The papers said that the sheer complexity and size of the bill itself might obscure some of its principles and objectives. Much of the bill’s content could probably be in regulation or administrative practices rather than law.