Fears treaty puts lives at risk 

Women's Refuge fears an international kidnapping treaty could be putting the lives of some New Zealand children at risk.

The Hague Convention is aimed at ensuring children wrongfully taken by one parent are returned to their country of residence so custody disputes can be settled out.

But a Christchurch mother has become the latest in a string of parents forced back overseas to face an allegedly violent former partner.

"I have to return there in fear that he's going to carry out what he said, he threatened to return to New Zealand, smash me over, bury me, watch your back," the woman dubbed Sally alleges.

Sally says she is being forced to cross the Tasman with her two young children, one who has three holes in his heart, to face her ex in an Australian family court. Already she has two protection orders against him.

The pair are both Kiwis who lived in Brisbane for two years before Sally fled with her children.

Catherine Delore from Women's Refuge says the woman came to New Zealand because of her former husband's violence and is now being forced to go back to Australia.

Women's Refuge claims judges sticking to the letter of international law are putting women's and children's lives in danger.

"We find it a very intolerable situation that the two children have to be uprooted and taken back to Australia," says Delore.

Sally's husband is using the Hague Convention to get the children back so custody can be sorted out. Three courts in New Zealand all say she has to go because she cannot prove he is a serious enough risk.

"It sets a high threshold for issues around safety of children - which is the category of grave risk," says Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro.

But Sally questions how serious a threat has to be. She says her ex husband said he was going to smash her face in and kill her.

"What is not grave risk about that," she asks.

Her former husband's lawyer told ONE News the judgement of the courts shows a different picture than that being painted by the mother.

But some legal experts believe the Hague Convention needs to be looked at. Family Court barrister Simon Jefferson says like a lot of conventions it can sometimes be perceived to be a "blunt instrument".

Sally says there has got to be a time when common sense comes before justice "or what they deem to be justice".

Her last roll of the legal dice is on Tuesday when she will ask the family court to let her wait for an appointment so surgeons can see her son.