KEY POINTS:
The grandmother of Qian Xun Xue says she wants to take the child back to China and hopes the Government will make it easy for her to travel here.
Qian Xun - nick-named Pumpkin by police - is being looked after by Australian authorities after being found at
a Melbourne train station and a body, suspected to be that of her mother Anan Liu, was found in Auckland today.
National MP and associate immigration spokeswoman Pansy Wong said she had been in touch with Ms Liu's family in China and that the discovery of the body will have come as a shock.
The family wanted answers about what had been going on since the three-year-old was found in Melbourne and would now need time to absorb the latest development.
Ms Wong said Qian Xun's grandmother had been looking at coming to New Zealand but a visa application was expected to take a few days.
Ms Liu senior spoke to TV One News and said she wanted to take her grand-daughter back to China.
She said her family were not wealthy but had enough to support their grandchild, who was described as "very special, very smart and very independent".
One News reported Ms Liu senior had been told the body was that of her daughter and that she wanted the New Zealand Government to speed up any visa processes.
Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Carter said the Government would consider assistance to Qian Xun's family if they wanted to come to New Zealand.
"Pumpkin's grandparents are going through a terrible time and we would want to do what we can to help," he said.
Ms Wong said the issue of providing professional help in New Zealand for Asian immigrants facing potentially dangerous domestic situations was being addressed, but not in a high profile way.
"Domestic violence in Asian communities has been a subject at various times ... I certainly want to see the agencies increase their profile and resources," she said.
The worst thing for victims was not having the confidence to call people or agencies and feel safe in doing so.
She said she was aware that in some cases women who left their husband or partner because of domestic violence often returned for the sake of children.
"In this specific case I have no theory to offer, but I'm sure as time goes by some of those questions will come through."
Ms Wong said now was a good time to address the issue of domestic violence, get the community to accept it existed, work to ensure help was available and make it clear there would be zero tolerance.
- NZPA
