"He who spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes" (Proverbs 13:24)
"Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell." (Proverbs 23:13-14)
Anti-smacking bill set to move forward
NZPA Tuesday, 20 February 2007
Legislation that would restrict parents' right to smack their children looks set to pass its second reading.
Green MP Sue Bradford's amended bill, which is expected to come up for debate tomorrow night, would remove parents' rights to hit their children for "correction".
Parents would only be allowed to use "reasonable force" to prevent harm to a child, deal with offensive behaviour, or stop a child harming others.
Prime Minister Helen Clark today voiced her support for the bill, which was amended by a select committee, especially in light of a recent Unicef report showing high levels of child mortality and abuse in New Zealand.
"There's been a lot of work done on it with the Law Commission. I just don't think it's credible in this day and age with the Unicef report showing that our children face the worst safety conditions in the world not to support (it)."
Labour senior whip Tim Barnett later confirmed the party's 49 MPs would vote to keep the bill alive.
As well as the six Green MPs, five National Party MPs are expected to support the bill at its second reading, along with Progressives leader Jim Anderton, United Future leader Peter Dunne and a clutch of New Zealand First MPs.
However, after that its passage could get more complicated.
National MP Chester Borrows is proposing an amendment that would define reasonable force as light smacking as long as it did not cause anything other than "transitory or trifling" injury such as redness or stinging.
But Ms Bradford today said if Mr Borrows' amendment was successful she would withdraw the bill ahead of its third and final reading as she did not wish to define a level of force against children as acceptable.
Such a definition would amount to "state-sanctioned violence".
Opponents of the bill today pulled out the stops to sway MPs.
Pro-smacking lobby Family First delivered MPs an open letter signed by 1200 New Zealanders, including prominent sports people and broadcasters, calling for the rejection of the bill.
Spokesman Bob McCoskrie said it would outlaw large numbers of law abiding parents.
If MPs wanted to reduce child abuse and deaths they would be better off tackling key factors such as family breakdown, substance abuse and poverty.
Ms Bradford's bill was partly sparked by cases where parents successfully defended assault charges -- some involving the use of whips and cords - using Section 59 of the Crimes Act, which allows the use of reasonable force in disciplining a child.
Mr McCoskrie said the group could only find 18 cases where the legal defence of reasonable force had been used in the past 12 years - seven of which were successful.
He said the size of the problem did not warrant outlawing thousands of parents who smacked their children in a controlled and loving way.
"What we object to is the politicians basically saying we don't trust parents to act in the best interests of their kids, so we're going to tell you how to parent your kids and we say to them get out of the home. This is the home invasion bill."
Ms Bradford said she did not believe the bill would lead to a rash of prosecutions by police.
Police were bound to follow public interest prosecution guidelines and in most cases smacking would not meet the threshold, she said.
The bill would remove discrimination against children.
Ms Bradford said she fronted up to the Family First event today but believed they had little credibility.
"I think they have whipped up this campaign of fear and hysteria among ordinary New Zealand parents and that's the basis on which they are campaigning. A lot of it simply isn't true."
Ms Bradford said if the law passed it would help change attitudes around violence.
"Really what this debate comes down to is a choice for MPs tomorrow about whether they support the right of children to grow up free from violence or the right of parents to beat their children."
Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro today reiterated her support for the bill, while For the Sake of our Children Trust director Christine Rankin said it would potentially penalise good parents.
Our future generations deserve more
As a species we can either stand still and continue with our violent ways or we can evolve past such behaviours and attempt to realise that discipline need not come from violent means
Discipline need not be taught through fear
New Zealand is home to a violent culture, we must find multiple ways to address this, starting with our children
Yes, parenting is not easy
Yes, children will push their parents to the limit
and Yes children can be taught discipline, respect and empathy without violence
Lets enact this law, but lets not leave it there. We need more community support for parents, we need better education so we become better equiped to deal with our little ones when they push and push and push their parents to the limit.
Let us move towards a day when we don't have children in our nation killed by their parents
Fad Gadget - Sleep (Mute Records) 1984
Sleep, baby, sleep
Daddy's out to earn your keep
Sleep, baby, sleep
Mama's sad, hear her weep
Watching over you tonight
I get the feeling that life's alright
You can laugh aloud at those middle-aged fakes
Well I hope you don't make the same mistakes as me
Don't you do as I do, do as I say
Sleep, baby, sleep
Mama's out to earn your keep
Sleep, baby, sleep
Daddy's mad, hear him creep
Watching over you tonight
I get the feeling that life's alright
You can laugh aloud at those middle-aged fakes
Well I hope you don't make the same mistakes as me
Don't you do as I do, do as I say
Sleep, baby, sleep
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