Family Integrity

Author: HEF Admin

  • Media-Family First

    MEDIA RELEASE

    19 February 2008

    Smacking Research Confirms Huge Opposition to Anti-Smacking Law

    Family First NZ is not surprised by the findings of a Research NZ poll which has found continued massive opposition to the anti-smacking law.

    According to the poll, 74% believe that parents should be able to smack children – an equivalent rate to 12 months ago (73%) when a similar poll was done.

    “This is consistent with all other polling which has averaged around the mid 70’s low 80’s percent opposition to this extremist law,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

    “These 74% of NZ’ers are not the ‘thrashers and bashers’ of children as suggested by the Prime Minister. They are not condoning child abuse as offensively implied by supporters of the law. They are teachers, social workers, mums and dads, grandparents, police officers, school principals, early childhood educators, doctors, counsellors, and youthworkers who simply know that a smack is not child abuse, and that good parents should not be criminalised in their efforts to raise law-abiding and responsible citizens.”

    “The so-called compromise has quite clearly given parents no confidence or certainty.”

    “Last week the government announced $800,000 to tell parents that they are valued. 74% of parents would prefer a law change to an advertising campaign,” says Mr McCoskrie.

    Family First calls on all politicians to acknowledge the voice of NZ parents and to amend the law to that proposed (and consistently supported) by MP Chester Borrows so that light smacking is not a crime in NZ.

    “It is also ironic that this poll has been released the same day as a book entitled ‘Unreasonable Force’. The huge majority of NZ’ers are rejecting the reasonableness of this anti-smacking law,” says Mr McCoskrie.

    ENDS

      

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

     Bob McCoskrie JP – National DirectorTel. 09 261 2426 | Mob. 027 55 555 42

  • Help seize the opportunity to rebuild family life in New Zealand.

    Significant progress has already been made in making the needs of our families a central issue in this year’s election with 80% of the signatures collected to hold a referendum.

    Will you help finish the task?

    Hardly anyone would dispute that our families in New Zealand at the beginning of the 21st century are under increasing stress and in danger of breakdown at a greater rate than 30 years ago. Our alarming rates of child abuse, family violence, teenage pregnancy, children growing up without the daily care of their fathers or mothers, child poverty, drug and alcohol abuse and high abortion rates present us with a daunting challenge if we want our children and grandchildren to inherit a better world.

    When I launched the petition to challenge, by way of a referendum, the ill conceived plan to deal with child abuse by repealing sec 59 of the Crimes Act, I was deeply concerned that we should not just oppose Sue Bradford’s legislation. I felt it was also imperative to move public opinion and government policy towards real solutions to address our national shame.

    I believe we cannot address child abuse without also looking at the broader subject of Family breakdown.

    In the 2006 CYFS report on ‘Children at increased risk of Death from Maltreatment and Strategies for Prevention’ statistics showed that children living in households with an adult unrelated to them were almost 50 times as likely to die of an inflicted injury compared with those living with two biological parents.

    The report identified parental factors such as poverty, low education, unemployment, being young, having poor mental health, including drug and alcohol abuse, being the victim of family violence and a history of criminal offending as the key contributing factors of child abuse. Focusing on these issues and doing all we can to strengthen adult marriage relationships will do more to address child abuse than the current legislation changes.

    A Royal Commission with broad terms of reference would be able to understand these impacts on family life in New Zealand, and then make serious recommendations to Government for changes designed to rebuild a healthy marriage and two parent family culture in NZ.

    Larry Baldock

    Petition organizer

  • Inquiry launched into infant with ‘bashed skull’

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10492046

    5:16PM Tuesday February 12, 2008

    Rotorua police are investigating the parents of an 11-month-old who is in Starship Hospital with a fractured skull.

    The baby boy has been in the Auckland hospital since January 31, The Daily Post reported today.

    Police were yet to make any arrests but have said his injuries were believed to be “non-accidental”.

    Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper of the Rotorua CIB told the paper it was initially thought the boy’s injuries would have serious consequences but it was now believed he would not suffer any long-term health effects.

    He said when the boy was released from hospital, he would be put in the care of a relative.

    Mr Loper said police were “working with the family” but would not say if the boy’s parents were co-operating.

    It was disappointing for police to be investigating another serious assault on a child only six months after the death of Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie, he said.

    In July last year the three-year-old was hospitalised, and died on August 3, after being allegedly assaulted over a period of four months.

    Reports of the trauma Nia allegedly suffered sparked angry calls throughout the country for action over violence to children.

    Two men have been charged with her murder and three others, including her mother, have been charged with manslaughter.

    – NZPA

    Also read these blogs:

    http://halfdone.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/another-child-bashed/

    http://big-news.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-maori-child-bashed-in-head-by.html

    Also

    Some child abuse cases in NZ – since Section 59 amended

    https://familyintegrity.org.nz/2007/some-child-abuse-cases-in-nz-since-section-59-amended-2/

  • Demographic Winter

       

    T H E W O R L D C O N G R E S S of F A M I L I E S

    		  
         

    PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release: 11 February 2008, Rockford, Illinois

    CONTACT: Larry Jacobs at 815-964-5819 or (cell) 513-515-3685 or larry@worldcongress.org

    WEBSITES: www.profam.org, www.worldcongress.org, www.worldcongress.pl or www.familymanifesto.net

     

    HELP PREVENT DEMOGRAPHIC WINTER AND SUPPORT THE NATURAL FAMILY!http://www.profam.org/THC/xthc_join.htm .

     

    Dear World Congress of Families Friends,

    You are invited to be part of two exciting events involving the World Congress of Families taking place in Washington, DC tomorrow at 1pm at the National Press Club and 5pm at The Heritage Foundation.

    The theme of World Congress of Families IV in Warsaw 2007 has been made into a documentary movie. World Congress of Families was actively involved and was the inspiration for a new documentary movie, “Demographic Winter: Decline of the Human Family,” scheduled to be released in early February. The documentary produced by our friends at the Family First Foundation (Berry McLerran, executive director and Steven Smoot, the president and founder) discusses and analyzes one of the most portentous trends of the 21st century – the dramatic, worldwide decline in fertility rates. The hour-long documentary examines the economic and social consequences of below-replacement birthrates and rapidly aging populations. Initial interviews for the documentary took place in Warsaw at World Congress of Families IV. Those interviewed for the documentary included WCF leaders and speakers at past Congresses, among them Dr. Allan Carlson, WCF Global Coordinator Larry Jacobs, WCF Communications Director Don Feder, Austin Ruse (Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute), Christine Vollmer (Latin American Alliance for the Family) and Phillip Longman (author of “The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity”). A portion of the proceeds from DVD orders will be donated to The World Congress of Families. Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity”).

    To view a trailer for”Demographic Winter: Decline of the Human Family”, or to order a DVD of the documentary, click here.: www.demographicwinter.com

    (more…)

  • Commissioner supports early health screening

    This is a concern:

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0802/S00090.htm
    Press Release: Office of the Children’s Commissioner

    Friday 8 February 2008

    Children’s Commissioner supports early health screening

    Children’s Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro said today early health screening programmes, such as B4 School Checks, are vital to the wellbeing of children in New Zealand.

    “Cases such as a young boy at Favona Primary School (in Mangere, Auckland) who had a hearing issue picked up in the B4 School Check pilot programme highlight this,” Dr Kiro said.

    “The earlier in a child’s life we can identify any concerns that will affect their good health, education, safety and economic wellbeing, the better our chances are of seeing our children grow up to be happy and healthy adults.

    “The B4 School Checks programme fits well with my proposal for the establishment of a plan for every child that integrates and builds on existing health, education and social development services.

    “For most children, their needs will be met within universal education and health services. But we also must be able to identify children who have additional needs.

    “Investments early in the life of the child and early in the life of the problem are most likely to bring good returns to society as a whole, both socially and economically. An ageing population with increasing economic dependency means the future productivity of every child and young person is important.”

    For further information:

    Please note: A summary of the Children’s Commissioner’s plan for an integrated framework for children and their families ­ Te Ara Tukutuku Nga Whanaungatanga o Nga Tamariki is attached.

    *****
    Te Ara Tukutuku Nga Whanaungatanga o Nga Tamariki: Weaving Pathways to Wellbeing ­ an Integrated Framework for Children and Their FamiliesOverviewTe Ara Tukutuku Nga Whanaungatanga o Nga Tamariki provides a systematic approach to monitoring development of every child and young person in New Zealand, and supporting families to make sure children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

    The vision underpinning Te Ara Tukutuku Nga Whanaungatanga o Nga Tamariki is that every child in New Zealand is safe, nurtured, educated, healthy, and has hope for the future.

    In practical terms the framework aims to ensure that families are supported within their communities to help children thrive in each of the four domains of physical, emotional, cognitive and social development.

    Assessments at key transition or change points will lead to development of individual plans to guide progress through universal services, and to access any additional services that are required.

    Rationale

    (more…)

  • Anti-smack minister smacked own kids

     http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23179051-421,00.html

    By Clare Masters and Simon Benson

    February 08, 2008 01:46am

    Article from: The Daily Telegraph

    THE minister whose disgraced department broke up a family because a grandmother smacked her grandson has admitted he smacks his own children.

    The startling admission by embattled Community Services Minister Kevin Greene also puts the father of six in direct conflict with his own department’s rule, which is that children should never be smacked.

    The child protection sector is in an uproar following yesterday’s revelation by The Daily Telegraph that children had been removed from their grandparents’ home because the grandmother smacked her six-year-old grandson for playing in a stormwater drain.

    They were official DOCS carers and had looked after the three brothers and sister several times in the past six years.

    Despite DOCS listing smacking as a “risk of harm” offence that must be reported, Mr Greene said spanking could have its place.

    “My wife and I have raised six children together. Three are now adults, two are in their late teens and our youngest is 12,” he said.

    “There were times when our judgment has been that it was appropriate to smack the children. But we’ve moved past those days of toddler tantrums and disobedient kids.”

    Mr Greene also said he supported the law in NSW that allows smacking but outlaws excessive physical punishment.

    “While discipline is a personal judgement for parents, one thing is paramount – the child’s health and safety should never be threatened by the course of action parents take.”

    Foster care workers yesterday were asking how DOCS can punish foster carers for doing something their own minister has condoned.

    “It puts a lot of confusion in carers’ minds when he is saying, ‘Do as I say, not as I do’,” Foster Care Association president Mary-Jane Beach said.

    “Some carers would agree that an occasional smack on the bottom doesn’t hurt and they find the department’s no smacking stipulation difficult. Why would you give a mixed message like that?”

    The woman whose grandchildren have been taken away from her was furious at the apparent contradiction.

    “It is like the rich and the poor; you have one set of rules for one and one for another,” Catherine (not her real name) said.

    “It was just to teach our grandson about getting down the drain.

    “If it’s good for him (Greene) why isn’t it good enough for the other parents and grandparents who only do it when a child mucks up?”

    The fresh controversy comes amid calls to elevate the Community Services – currently a junior portfolio – to a senior Cabinet position.

    Mr Greene is a first-time minister accused of being out of his depth in his handling of recent child death cases.

    Andrew McCallum, from the Association of Children Welfare Agencies, said DOCS was not given enough importance by the Government.

  • From Family First-CIR Petition

    3 weeks to go

    95% of the signatures required already collected

    Only 15,000 to go

    Let’s not fail at the last hurdle!

    The organisers of the two petitions demanding a Referendum on both the anti-smacking law and the need to target the real causes of child abuse need to deliver 300,000 signatures on BOTH petitions to Parliament by Feb 29 (last day of Feb).

    Family First wants to help them achieve that target, and to make this issue not only the political issue of 2007 but also of 2008!

    Would you consider :

    1. Printing off the petition form containing the 2 petitions http://www.unityforliberty.net.nz/documents/CirPetition.pdf

    2. Getting as many signatures as you can on both petitions

    3. Sending them in to the address at the bottom of the petition form as soon as possible – but at the latest by Feb 22 . (Even forms only half filled should still be sent in as soon as)

    We believe the politicians need to listen to the voice of the NZ public on this issue.

    Thanks for your support. It has been a phenomenal effort.

    Kind regards

    Bob McCoskrie
    National Director

    http://www.familyfirst.org.nz