TV paternity pair face inquiry

By Keith Perry and Andrew Laxon

The parents of a 6-year-old boy who found out who his father was on primetime television face investigation by the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Agency.

As outrage mounted over the shock tactics of TV2's You Be the Judge, the agency said the youngster could have been harmed by his television appearance.

The programme culminated with host Genevieve Westcott opening an envelope in the child's presence that revealed that DNA tests had proven that Tony King, aged 29, had fathered Jacob.

The show paid for the tests to be conducted after Mr King disputed paternity with his former wife, Bella Marie Edmonds, 27.

Chief social worker Mike Doolan said the agency deplored the exposure of children in the media for adult entertainment.

"Parents have a responsibility to think carefully about acting in the best interests of their child," he said.

"We are concerned when parents take a decision that, on the face of it, is contrary to their best interests.

"Children can face difficulties because of this type of exposure."

The Minister of Social Services, Roger Sowry, accused Television New Zealand of appalling exploitation of children in the programme.

Yesterday he demanded a meeting with the TVNZ chairwoman, Rosanne Meo, and a review of the voluntary broadcasting code to see if it gave enough protection to children. "I think it's appalling what took place last night. It's part of a trend that TVNZ has started to exploit children for entertainment purposes."

Mr Sowry said Holmes recently exploited a child with attention deficit disorder, who was shown on camera against his will.

The Commissioner for Children, Roger McClay, said he was happy for adults to sort out their problems on television.

"But nobody can tell me that a 6-year-old child can give informed consent to be exposed on television in a small country and be expected to go to school the next day and face his classmates."

Mr McClay said the programme could not have been shown if the case had been before the Family Court.

The Minister of Communications, Maurice Williamson, said new rules would enable the Broadcasting Standards Authority to draw up a code covering issues such as children's rights.

Monday's heavily previewed show captured 23 per cent of all viewers over 5, compared with 43 per cent for Coronation St on TV One and 22 per cent for World's Wildest Police Videos on TV3.

The mother's on-screen advocate, Robert Harte, said the most important outcome in this case was that the boy had got across the message to his father that their future relationship was not going to be easy, and he had a lot of work ahead of him.

TVNZ spokesman Liam Jeory said the state-owned broadcaster was mindful of public feeling, but the programme had not broken any laws.