Statement from Principal Family Court Judge Jacquelyn Moran

There has understandably been a lot of public interest in Tom Phillips and his children. I acknowledge that people have followed this case for a number of years and hold well-intentioned concerns about the children.

This is an unusual case for the Family Court because the identities of the children, their parents and other family members are known to the public. People know more about them than would ever normally be the case where the Family Court is involved. People will be genuinely interested in knowing what happens next and the reasons why.

What can be said is that the children are in the guardianship of the Family Court, with Oranga Tamariki as the agent of the court. When making decisions in this case, the paramount concern of the Family Court will be the welfare and best interests of the children. For this reason, there are clear rules about confidentiality.

Given the high profile of the Phillips children and what is now widely known about them, any account, even with details removed, would still identify them and put into the public realm aspects of their lives that should remain private. This is also true for other parties. The children’s ordeal was not of their own making and they need to be supported to reintegrate into society protected from the public glare to the extent possible under these circumstances.

Statutory limitations(external link), mainly under the Family Court Act 1980, stipulate that, for Family Court cases involving children, media “can never publish details that identify persons under the age of 18, a vulnerable person, parents, others involved in the case or witnesses”. Media here includes social media and publication includes broadcasting.

These stipulations clearly prohibit publishing or broadcasting details of the Family Court cases in which the Phillips children have been involved or may be involved in the future.

I appreciate media who want to clarify the facts and avoid incorrect speculation may be frustrated by these restrictions, but the law is clear where the court’s priority should be.

There is a perception that the Family Court operates behind closed doors. This is not the case. Media can usually attend Family Court proceedings – the restrictions are around publishing or broadcasting an account of the proceedings.

Media are able to attend proceedings relating to the Phillips children, subject to the judge’s approval, even if they cannot publish or broadcast an account of them. Attending will give media valuable background information for a fuller sense of the facts of the case.