Have say on family violence laws

Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox

The Maori Party is urging whanau, hapu and iwi to have their say on the wide-ranging review of family violence laws.

"We know family violence has a devastating impact on our tamariki and whanau so it's critical that we ensure our views are heard," Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox said.

The discussion document covered areas such as protection orders, making family violence offences more visible, better information sharing across agencies and creating additional pathways to resolving family violence.

"The Maori Party would like to introduce new legislation (the Prevention and Protection from Family Violence Act) that would explicitly state that whanau violence, in all its forms, is unacceptable," she said.

While the legislative review deals with the hard end of the problem, it is part of a government-wide effort to reduce family violence.

"We're pleased to see the Government take a whanau ora approach to tackling family violence and working hard to break down the silo mentality of government agencies," said Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell "We know whanau violence is often intergenerational so we will continue to strongly support programmes like 'E Tu Whanau' and 'Pasefika Proud' that are changing people's lives for the better."

Submissions on the review of family violence laws close on September 18.