Key went further to say the government would be unlikely to change the law no matter what the outcome of the referendum.
Phil Goff agrees: “The question implies that if you vote ‘yes’ that you’re in favour of criminal sanctions being taken against reasonable parents actually nobody believes that.”
True enough, but that’s only one way to read the question. Tariana Turia and Russel Norman agree with us that a YES vote is the only way to indicate your clear support for the law. There is near universal agreement that the referendum is a waste of money, as the Child Discipline Law is working as intended.
Kathryn Ryan interviews Prof Anne Smith, Murray Edridge, and Bob McCoskrie on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme this morning.
Anne Smith is Professor Emeritus at Otago University’s College of Education, and discusses her research on child discipline that shows that less than 10% of parents feel that smacking is effective; she says that most of the parents involved in her study that smacked their children regretted it afterwards, and that the smacking had more to do with the parents’ state of mind, tiredness, etc than the child’s behaviour.
She also discusses parents’ reaction the current law. In her study, 47% supported the current Child Discipline Law, 27% were against it, with the rest undecided.
Prof Smith said that only a tiny minority of experts believe that smacking is effective, and that the present law is working well.
Murray Edridge (CEO Barnardos) and Bob McCoskrie (Family First) comment on the research and the referendum.
The official campaign has started to make it easy for people to take part in the Citizens Initiated Referendum on the question “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?”.
The referendum runs from Friday 31 July until Friday 21 August, but to take part people need to be correctly enrolled.
“It’s important that people know now that a referendum is being held and how to take part,” says Robert Peden, Chief Electoral Officer. “This is the first Citizens Initiated Referendum to be held by postal vote, and only those correctly enrolled will receive their voting papers.”
From today (Monday June 15) every household will receive a notice in the mail from the Electoral Enrolment Centre encouraging people to check that they are enrolled to vote and that their details are up-to-date.
“We estimate around 36,000 people have become newly eligible to enrol since last year’s general election. In addition, there are many thousands of people who have moved house or flat and need to update their enrolment details,”says Murray Wicks, National Manager, Electoral Enrolment Centre.
“People needing to enrol or update their details should fill in an enrolment form. Enrolment forms are available from the elections website, by Freetexting your name and address to 3676, from any PostShop or by calling Freephone 0800 36 76 56,” says Mr Wicks.
Voting opens on Friday 31 July and closes on Friday 21 August. Referendum voting papers will be sent to voters in the mail. People should post their voting papers back no later than Thursday 20 August to be sure they are returned on time.
Voters need to tick yes or no on the referendum voting paper in response to the referendum question, and return the voting paper in the envelope provided.
National Radio ran a story on Morning Report today on the referendum, with guest spots by Deborah Morris-Travers, Sue Bradford, Larry Baldock, and Bob McCoskrie.
I think the law as it currently stands is satisfactory and is a good piece of law for the children of New Zealand.
Dr Angus said he supported the new law because vulnerable children should get the same legal protection against assault as adults, and because smacking was not usually a consistent or effective form of discipline.
Significantly, Paula Bennett chimes in:
The Government’s position on this legislation is clear – that should good parents be convicted for a light smack, we would look at changing the law, but so far we have seen no evidence that the law is not working.
We wouldn’t want you to consider this information out of context – we encourage you to read the whole article.
The law is being used to bring people to account for child assault. Under the previous law, parents could use the defence of “reasonable force” to correct the child. Juries were often convinced that quite vicious attacks on children were reasonable force. We needed change the law to protect children from being punched in the face. We’ve done that, a jury has convicted.
The judge will now have an opportunity to consider a sentence; the judge has indicated that he’s likely to get a non-custodial sentence. He won’t be sent to prison, he’ll be sent to some kind of anger management class, and that’s exactly what this guy needs. He needs advice on parenting without using physical discipline. I think that this case is a timely reminder – it used to be acceptable to do this sort of thing, and it no longer is.
Chair Dr Hone Kaa of Te Kahui Mana Ririki said today he was shocked and saddened by a new report on child abuse published by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
“The report shows that Maori children are more likely than any other group to experience abuse, and makes for some sad reading,” Dr Kaa said in Auckland today.
Between 1991 and 2000 half of the children killed by their parents were Maori. They were killed by mothers and fathers.
Maori ethnicity increases the likelihood of abuse of boys by six times and girls by three times
“This is one of the first times I have seen a report make a direct connection between being Maori and child abuse. So our boys are six times more likely to be abused than other groups, and girls three times more likely. As a people this is the most critical issue we face. I urge every whanau in the country to become actively involved in the battle against child abuse.”
Te Kahui Mana Ririki is a member of The Yes Vote coalition, which is encouraging New Zealanders to participate in the upcoming referendum on smacking.
“The referendum question is misleading: “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?” This question links smacking with good parental correction, which it is not. I encourage all Maori to vote ‘yes’ so that the current law, which protects our young ones from physical punishment, is maintained.”
“This new report shows how important this issue is for us as Maori.”
“The report says that one child is admitted to hospital every week as a result of intentional assault and builds on previous work illustrating the need to change attitudes about violence against children.
“The vulnerability of infants and small children in homes where family violence is prevalent, parents are unsupported, there is poverty, and dysfunction, demonstrates the need for political and community action that addresses child abuse and maltreatment on a number of levels, including in law.
“While some claim these results represent an argument against having a law that removes a parental right to physically punish their children, the Yes Vote coalition sees the law as one key part of a vital social change for positive, non-violent parenting that is occurring in NZ.
“We find it baffling that opponents of the current child discipline law so strongly oppose child abuse while simultaneously working so hard for the right to be allowed to physically punish their own children. This contradiction draws little media attention, providing evidence of society’s tolerance of violence against children,” concluded Ms Morris-Travers.
If you are going to use or distribute material from our campaign in any way, eg remixed or mashed up, please ensure that your actions are compliant with the relevant legislation, as the Yes Vote Coalition cannot take responsibility for actions beyond our control or knowledge.
The bottom line is that we want to play by the rules. We appreciate your support, but please act ethically, thoughtfully, and within the law.
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