Families of victims 'miss out'

AMY GLASS

STRUGGLE: Philippa Harvey-Bromley, with a photo of her son Alistair Bromley, says the family received little financial help after he was hit and killed by a car.

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Families of road death victims are unfairly missing out on government financial help, Victim Support says.

Victim Support chief executive Tony Paine said it was unfair that families of those killed by drunk, drugged or dangerous drivers were entitled to financial support only if there was a manslaughter charge.

Police faced difficulties prosecuting for manslaughter in road crashes and often opted for dangerous driving or careless driving causing death, he said.

Such charges did not trigger government assistance, but bereaved families faced the same emotional pain and costs as those who lost loved ones to homicides.

Late last year the Government increased the assistance available to victims of serious crimes, largely funded through a $50 offender levy.

For families of homicide victims this included doubling the funeral grant to $10,000, increasing the discretionary grant to $5000 and providing a daily allowance to attend court. The travel allowance for victims of serious crime was also increased.

Paine said the increase from the Government should be praised, but the anomaly with families of road-death victims needed to be fixed.

The organisation had raised the issue with Justice Minister Simon Power."I've certainly talked to people who have been victims of this that feel pretty hard done by," he said.

"People are angry at that and understandably so, I guess."

Greymouth resident Philippa Harvey-Bromley, whose 16-year-old son died in 2008 after being hit by a car, said the family received little financial assistance.

Alistair Bromley was killed after being struck while jogging on a grass verge. The driver was convicted of careless driving causing death.

A small amount from ACC had gone towards the funeral but the family got nothing to cover time off work to attend the trial and coroner's hearing, she said.

Other costs, including doctor's visits and eating out because she could not bear cooking, had also built up.

Credit cards had been used to cover some payments and even some money their son had saved up was spent.

"Our son worked for about a month and a half at a part-time job and his savings were still sitting in his account and what did that do? That had to go towards his funeral."

She believed families like hers were getting a "raw deal" from the Government.

"You try to make the best of it but I still think it's still a bit of a joke; they (the Government) could go a lot further to help out," she said.

Emma Woods, whose son Nayan, 4, was hit and killed by a car in Christchurch in May, said further government funding would help. The driver of the car pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death.

Woods said the family had received ACC payments of $5500 for funeral costs and $900 for a memorial plaque.

Only the generosity of people who provided services free meant the money covered the funeral, but the family was having to save up for a headstone worth $4500. Other costs, such as phone calls, hospital parking and potential counselling added up.

- © Fairfax NZ News