New laws to protect children

A raft of new laws to protect children at risk of assault in their homes has been proposed in a report from the Law Commission.

The report, tabled in Parliament today, included a law that would hold adults living in a household with a child they knew to be at risk of death, serious injury or sexual assault legally liable if they did not take reasonable steps to protect them.

"We share the government's view that some of the existing offences and their maximum penalties are inadequate and do not sufficiently protect our children," Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer said.

The way the law stood, there was no legal duty for adults to intervene to protect a child in their home, no matter how outrageous or obvious the ill treatment or neglect might be, Sir Geoffrey said.

"In our view that is entirely unsatisfactory and needs to change."

The report proposed expanding the current provision requiring parents and caregivers to provide children and vulnerable dependents with "necessaries" to include a provision for them to have an additional duty to protect them from injury.

Liability for offences involving "cruelty to a child" would also be strengthened under the proposed changes, with a recommendation to increase the maximum penalty from five years' jail to 10 years, and another to remove the defence that meant a person was not guilty if an offence was done out of ignorance or thoughtlessness.

The commission also recommended specific assault offences, such as assault on a child and male assaults female be amended.

"We recommend all of these offences be simplified," Sir Geoffrey said.

"Although a few specific offences need to be retained, the majority should be repealed and replaced by three new sections containing six new offences, to cover the whole range of assaults and injuries short of death."

Sir Geoffrey said a drafted Crimes Amendment Bill had been included in the report, and was ready for introduction if the government agreed.

The government was expected to announce a response to the report today.

- NZPA