Judicial laws regarding who is allowed to attend Family Court mediating and counseling sessions do not take into consideration the Maori practice of whangai. Whangai is the cultural practice of shared childcare; it is not necessarily the parents who are the primary childcare providers. The current laws only acknowledge the parents, while the extended family members who may have a larger role and know more about the child, are excluded. The true childcare givers are denied legal access to the child, which is a hindrance to efforts to aid the child. The proposed Care of Children Bill attempts to address this slight by permitting some extended kin to attend the court sessions.
