Child abuse is the scourge of New Zealand; it is like a plague on the horizon, hanging over us like a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode.

When will the next case occur and how horrific will the child’s injuries be?

Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?

That is the question Hawke’s Bay people are being asked in the referendum.

Hitting a child with a pipe or a piece of 4×2 was never allowed and the perpetrators should always feel the full force of the law _ but banning smacking hasn’t and will never stop the person who would commit such an act.

Let’s face it; the calibre of person who would do such a thing probably can’t read the law, anyway. And if they could they wouldn’t give a toss! Most of them only get a slap on the hand with a wet bus ticket, anyway. I want child abuse stopped.

But Sue Bradford’s anti-smacking law has not done that, in fact child abuse is as rampant today as it was before the legislation changed.

We should be encouraging good parents, but because a parent uses a smack to enforce a request or directive does that mean they are a bad parent? New Zealand has deteriorated from being THE safest country in the western world to now having a totally unacceptable -and escalating _ level of violent crime.

In my opinion two things have been responsible for that:

1) The politically correct nonsense that has destroyed the morals and values that made New Zealand great _ and safe.

2) Weak-kneed politicians and lawmakers who have sanctioned this disastrous politically correct experiment.

Sue Bradford’s anti-smacking law is just another nail in the coffin of good commonsense parenting.

Children who misbehave should be disciplined and taught boundaries; it should be up to that parent how they administer that discipline.

Accountability, responsibility, respect and discipline may be considered old-fashioned but countries that are returning to traditional “old-school” morals and values are the countries that are now experiencing massive reductions in violent crime.

Violent crime in New Zealand is still escalating alarmingly and banning smacking will be like all the other politically correct nonsense that has been forced upon us.

It will have the opposite effect of what the well-meaning but seriously misguided instigators expected.

The ban on smacking will ultimately lead to the building of more prisons as the impact of a totally undisciplined generation comes back to haunt us.