Gil Elliott's statement on the impact of his daughter's death had entire sections crossed out at the judge's request, before it was read in court.
Mr Elliott said it was censorship and another example of the justice system treating victims poorly.
Ms Elliott, 22, was stabbed to death in her bedroom by former boyfriend Clayton Weatherston in January 2008. Weatherston was sentenced to life in prison in 2009, with a minimum non-parole period of 18 years.
Mr Elliott today welcomed moves to improve the statement process.
"I think it's a very good idea," he told Radio New Zealand.
"Some people say that courts have to be dispassionate and that sort of thing when it comes to victims, but, you could hardly say that about the way offenders are treated for instance."
He said he should have been able to read his statement in full.
"I wasn't permitted to read everything out... Everything I wanted to say was true, and there certainly no profanities attached to it, and I agree with Simon Power you should be able to say what you like."
If passed, the bill will allow photographs and children's drawings to be submitted as part of victim impact statements.
Victims of serious crime would have an automatic right to read their statement in court and also be able to attend Youth Court and submit a statement.
"A focus of this Government has been to make the justice system more responsive to the needs of victims, in particular children, who are in the system through no fault of their own," Mr Power said.
"As part of that, we recognise that children may find it easier to draw how the offending has affected them as opposed to writing it down. That's why we're proposing to allow drawings to be submitted as part of a child's victim impact statement."
New Zealand Law Society family law section chairman Antony Mahon told Radio New Zealand drawings were not necessarily a positive move.
"Pictures are fraught, there is research to say that pictures can be quite misleading and even those experts don't agree about what pictures often mean," he said.
"I don't personally think it's an advancement for children's rights to have them directly involved in victim impact statements like this.
"For adults, I think it's fantastic to have an opportunity to put their position to the court but I think it's different when children are victims of crime."
Other changes included ensuring victims got more information about offenders bail and sentences, complaint processes for victims and a Victims' Code to improve the responsiveness and accountability of justice sector agencies to victims.
The code would ensure prosecutors took reasonable steps to contact all victims of serious crime, meet family members before trial, and ensure victims were promptly informed of changes to charges.
The bill would go to a select committee for public submissions before Parliament rose in October, ahead of the general election in November.
- NZPA
