Tom Phillips case: Suppression continues as media fights to lift court restrictions

Justice Layne Harvey is hearing an application for a judicial review of a ruling made in the Family Court relating to details of the Tom Phillips case.

Media organisations are challenging strict restrictions that were made in the Family Court relating to aspects of the Tom Phillips case.

Phillips’ mother Julia sought an injunction in the High Court relating to details of the case after her son was shot dead by police and his children were found in deep Waitomo bush on September 8.

That injunction prevented several details of the case from being reported.

Then, on September 15, a Family Court judge made orders that further restricted publication.

Now, NZME and Stuff have started fighting those orders by seeking an application in the High Court at Hamilton for a judicial review.

The two-day hearing is before Justice Layne Harvey but the majority of the details can’t be reported on, only the fact that a hearing is taking place.

Family Court Judge Garry Collin previously made the following suppression orders:

• Any person involved in the Family Court proceeding, including anyone from NZ Police and Oranga Tamariki, cannot publish or communicate any information in any form that discloses “information” about the children.
• Any media organisation or publisher, including major New Zealand companies, cannot publish or communicate any information, nor can they capture or publish photos or film of the children beyond those that existed before December 9, 2021. This means images and videos of the children since their abduction are now off-limits.
• The order restrains anyone from publishing “any documentary, film, or book that refers to the children”.
• No one may film or photograph any home the children live in, any of their caregivers, or any educational or community facility that they attend.
• The order is to remain in force until further order of the Family Court or High Court, meaning it will stay in place indefinitely unless one of the judges decides to lift it.

Meanwhile, the Government recently announced it will hold an inquiry into the case to investigate whether government agencies took all practicable steps to protect the safety and welfare of the Phillips children.

Attorney-General Judith Collins said it would reflect the “significant public interest” in the case and “concern for the children’s welfare over the almost four years they were missing”.

Collins said the inquiry, to be held in private, would “establish the facts and determine whether agencies could take steps to prevent or resolve similar situations more quickly and effectively in the future”.

The terms of reference would focus on “the privacy and welfare of these especially vulnerable children in mind”.

“The inquiry will therefore be conducted in private and without public hearings. It must also respect the independence of the courts and will not include findings on judicial decisions.”

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.