A woman found guilty of hitting her child with a spoon will be deported back to Tonga Featured
Auckland High Court
11 September, 2016. The woman, a 34-year-old Tongan national, had confessed to the smack immediately after one of her two children dobbed her in to Child Youth and Family (CYF) in November last year.
CYF were speaking to the family on an unrelated matter when the seven-year-old boy revealed he got smacked on the hand with a large spoon if he broke rules at home.
His mother was subsequently convicted of child assault.
During the investigation it was found she and her husband had been living in New Zealand illegally since 2009. He was deported in November 2015.
The woman's appealed to the High Court on the basis the Judge had "erred when balancing the immigration consequences of a conviction against the gravity of her offence".
She claimed the conviction would thwart her chances of getting a New Zealand visa in the future, leaving her children - New Zealand citizens - unable to access the country's education and health care.
Justice Timothy Edwards dismissed her appeal because "in this case the deportation consequences do not flow from a conviction".
The fact she had been living in New Zealand for six years without a visa was the reason for her deportation - not the assault charge.
Justice Edwards explained that while the convection would be a "a further hurdle" to the woman if she tried to return to New Zealand, it would "not make that hurdle insurmountable".
He said there was no evidence it would result in future visa applications being automatically declined.
New Zealand immigration took the seriousness of former offences into account when granting visas, he explained, and her case was "at the minor end of the scale".
As for the conviction's impact on the her Kiwi children's access to New Zealand services, Justice Edwards deemed it "within the domain of immigration officials" to decide at a later date.
It would be one factor taken into account in the decision whether or not to grant the woman a New Zealand visa in the future.
"It is not up for this court to pre-empt that process... at this stage," he said.
The woman would not be allowed to apply for a new New Zealand visa within five years of her deportation date. Her two children will return to Tonga with the rest of the family.
- Stuff
