A west Auckland mother who admitted seriously abusing two of her children is appealing her minimum prison term.
The 31-year-old woman, whose name is suppressed to prevent her children being identified, was jailed for seven and a half years, with a minimum term of five years, after admitting 25 charges of abusing her nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son.
Auckland District Court sentencing judge Brooke Gibson said the woman had subjected her daughter to "sustained cruelty, amounting to torture" over a number of months in 2010, and that the injuries inflicted were "the most serious possible harm, short of death".
The mother's lawyer, Lorraine Smith, confirmed the appeal.
"She's only appealing the minimum non-parole period, not the main sentence, which we think is fair," she told NZ Newswire on Friday.
Ms Smith was unaware of any dates being set for the appeal.
At the woman's sentencing, the court heard that the girl had been kicked with steel-capped boots, had a hammer thrown at her foot, fracturing her toes, and had a toenail ripped out and hot water and salt poured over it.
Other weapons such as a broomstick and a steel pole were used to hit her.
Ms Smith argued that she was ill-equipped to deal with her daughter's dysfunctional behaviour.
During submissions, Ms Smith said the girl had admitted to trying to set fire to the family's home and trying to poison their food.
She said the behaviour of her daughter made the mother feel "mental" and she did not know how to deal with it.
The woman's husband has also admitted child abuse charges and will be sentenced on Tuesday.
NZN