Good news must be in the news

1 July 2025: Since 1st July in New Zealand, all separating families can get qualified family mediation for free. Celebrated for the Goldson Model of child-inclusive mediation, Jill Goldson tells us how this good news must be in the news or the good won’t happen.

Child inclusion isn’t about asking children to choose sides. It’s about protecting their emotional health whilst systemically facilitating parents to resolve conflict before the dispute further hardens. Let’s move beyond vague phrases like “voice of the child”.

From her frontline, a live case shows how the positive new health-based ways can replace the old court-based ways that would harm the children.

Lawyers saw each of three young children and reported that they feared their dad. Police, child protection agency and then the court found no evidence of abuse.

After that expensive harmful detour and delay, what did the children really want and need?

Each child, knowing mum and dad were part of a child inclusive process with me, said the same thing:

𝐼 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 – 𝐼 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙.

Creating better systems for separated families and children has been a long road in New Zealand and everywhere. But progress does little good if it’s not common knowledge.

Good news must be in the news for the good to happen.

Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash