Family Integrity

Category: CIR Petition

  • Key calls for smacking referendum

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/10790/key-calls-smacking-referendum?page=0%2C1

    National leader John Key says if campaigners get enough support to force a referendum on so-called smacking laws, the referendum should be held at this year’s election.

    Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday indicated a referendum was unlikely to be held at this year’s election, even if campaigners had enough signatures on their petition, because of the organisation it would take to stage a referendum.

    Campaigners yesterday handed in their second attempt at a petition to force a referendum on the issue.

    Kiwi Party leader Larry Baldock handed over more than 390,000 signatures backing the call for a referendum on the question: “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand.” The Office of the Clerk in Parliament has two months to check the petition is signed by 10 percent of registered voters or around 290,000 valid signatures.

    If the threshold is met, the Government would have one month to name a date for a referendum.

    Mr Baldock is hoping it would coincide with this year’s election, but the Government can delay any vote on the issue for up to a year.

    Asked yesterday why it could not be held alongside the election, which must be held by November 15, Miss Clark replied: “Just in terms of sheer organisation, I do not think that is possible.” But Mr Key today told reporters that if the campaigners have the numbers, it should be held at the election this year.

    “Well, the referendum should take place at the general election in 2008 and quite frankly the behaviour of the prime minister smacks of arrogance and wasteful behaviour,” he said.

    The legislation, which was drafted by Green MP Sue Bradford, amended section 59 of the Crimes Act to remove the defence of reasonable force for parents who physically discipline their children.

    National supported the legislation after an amendment gave police discretion to judge whether a reported offence warranted prosecution.

    Mr Key said his position on the child discipline legislation was clear.

    “But this is about democracy, the right of people to be heard and it’s the absolute height of arrogance that the prime minister is going to use a technicality within the law to circumvent people’s rights to express their views on the issue.” It could take up to two months to check off the signatures on the petition but “ultimately it’s about putting on the ballot paper at election time a pretty straightforward question”.

  • 390,000+ signatures

    Re-Presentation to Parliament of Petition against the ‘anti-smacking/anti-correction law’. June 23rd, 2008.

    390,000+ signatures

  • FI407-PM Desparate to Shut Down Smacking Referendum

    24 June 2008 – Family Integrity #407 — PM wants to shut down referendum

    The PM has said she reckons there’s not enough time to organise a referendum to occur at the same time as the next general election. What rot. Why is she afraid of the referendum results? Because she knows she’ll be drowned and overwhelmed by opposition to this so-called “anti-smacking” law which in fact makes it a crime for parents to correct their own children.

    TAKE ACTION: Email the Prime Minister and John Key demanding that a Referendum be held at the upcoming Election

    pm@ministers.govt.nz john.key@parliament.govt.nz

    MEDIA RELEASE

    23 June 2008

    Family First NZ is shocked and angry that the Prime Minister is willing to consider spending over $10 million of taxpayers’ money on the anti-smacking Referendum to be held separately from the upcoming election rather than holding it during the upcoming election, which is the most natural timing for it.

    “Helen Clark says that Parliament had spoken on the issue with a near “unanimous mind”. What she fails to say is that both the major parties were ‘whipped’ to vote for the bill, which is highly ironic considering it is the anti-smacking bill,” says Mr McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “The bill would have been dead and buried otherwise, as NZ’ers wanted.”

    “She also fails to hear the voice of over 390,000 signatories who oppose the law change and are demanding a Referendum, and the 80%-plus who want the law changed according to latest polls.”

    “Unless the PM is holding the election before 23 September, the perfect and most economical time to hold the Referendum is Election day in October or November, and any later timing is simply a cynical attempt to try and prevent the voice of NZ’ers being heard.”

    “It would be a sad day for democracy and fairness if that happened.”

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie JP – National Director

    Tel. 09 261 2426 | Mob. 027 55 555 42

    TAKE ACTION: Email the Prime Minister and John Key demanding that a Referendum be held at the upcoming Election
    pm@ministers.govt.nz john.key@parliament.govt.nz

  • New report shows police are wasting their time

    Kiwi Party Leader and organiser of the petition for a referendum on the Anti-smacking law said the new law is simply wasting the police’s time.

    The Prime Minister has claimed that the police report proves nothing much has changed. “In part I agree with her,” said Mr Baldock.

    The police report does not reveal any improvement in the prosecution of real child abusers. The category of other child assaults for the past three months has remained at about the same level as it was for the three months prior to the new law.

    What has changed though, and this very dramatically, is the number of police call outs to smacking and minor acts of physical discipline. In the three months prior to the law their were a combined total of 13 for these two categories. In the last 3 months this has risen to 41.

    The report confirms this when it states, “The current review period volume of 13 child assault events involving “smacking” and 65 of the total 69 “minor acts of physical discipline” events were determined to be “inconsequential” by either the attending and/or investigating Police Officer, and therefore not in the public interest to prosecute.”

    That means 82 call outs for only 3 pending prosecutions and one dealt with by diversion.

    No wonder the police don’t have time to attend call outs on real crime.

    “The police should not be required to monitor parental activity. They should be monitoring the crime syndicates operating through gangs that are dealing in drugs, prostitution and violent assaults on innocent shop keepers and home invasion victims,” said Mr Baldock.

    “When the Prime Minister claims that the law is working and not affecting good parents, she of course does not have any understanding of the traumatic experience good parents are experiencing when the police turn up at their door to investigate what their own report says ‘are inconsequential minor acts of discipline.’

    “The anti-smacking law was not needed and the sooner it is repealed the better,” said the Kiwi Party leader.

    Ends
    Contact

    Larry Baldock
    Party Leader
    Phone: 021 86 4833
    Email: l.baldock@xtra.co.nz

  • Govt creating renegade generation

    THE FAMILY PARTY

    http://www.thefamilyparty.org.nz

    Govt creating renegade generation

    24 June 2008. The Family Party is calling on the Prime Minister to acknowledge the concerns of the majority of New Zealanders by holding the smacking referendum at the General Election.

    In today’s NZ Herald Prime Minister Helen Clark has virtually ruled out a referendum on smacking at this year’s election, saying there will not be time to organise one.

    Family Party leader Richard Lewis says the smacking law remain a serious concern in South Auckland communities, where the Family Party has continued to collect petition signatures.

    “The Prime Minister continues to manipulate New Zealand’s democratic process by denying New Zealanders the opportunity to have their say on this very important issue at the most cost-effective and expedient opportunity, which is this coming General Election. It is this kind of disregard towards the concerns of New Zealanders that has rendered Labour irrelevant and out of touch with the realities of everyday family life,” said Mr Lewis.

    Mr Lewis says the Government has failed to make the connection between Law and Order and parental authority in the home.

    “Not a day goes by without a parent raising the issue of parental correction and establishing boundaries in the home. Government still fails to realise that Law and Order begins in the home. By undermining parents in the home they’re setting up a generation of kids to be renegades in community. So don’t be surprised when more children and young people emerge into community with a bad attitude and a complete disregard for others and authority,” he added.

    ENDS

    Richard Lewis

    0275 398730

    Family Party online advertisement

  • Plenty of time to organise a referendum

    Hi Everyone,

    Kiwi Party leader and organiser of the petition for a referendum on the anti-smacking law Larry Baldock says there is plenty of time to hold the referendum at this years election.

    “Claims by the Prime Minister reported in the Herald today that there is not enough time to get things organised are ridiculous,” said Mr Baldock.

    The confirmation of the success of the petition must be given by the Clerk of the House no later than August 23rd.
    “You can’t tell me that it will take more than 2 months to organise one simple question to be added to the ballot paper,” said Mr Baldock.

    “If the Labour party’s fortunes were to suddenly improve in the polls the Prime Minister would have no qualms whatsoever in calling an early election and she would have everyone pulling out all the stops to get this organised on time,” he said.

    Ends

    Larry Baldock
    Party Leader
    Phone: 021 86 4833
    Email: l.baldock@xtra.co.nz

  • CIR Petition dates

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4593757a10.html

    “The Office of the Clerk will check the petition over the next two months and if the threshold was met the Government would have one month to name a date.”

    23 June – 23 Aug – Clerk will check the petition

    23 Aug – 23 Sept – Government would have one month to name a date for the CIR (preferably the same time as the election to save the tax payer millions of $$$$).

  • FI406-We got the numbers on the Petition!

    24 June 2008 – Family Integrity #406 — We got the numbers!

    The Kiwi Party

    They will not drown out the voice of the people!

    Kiwi Party Leader and Tauranga electorate candidate Larry Baldock will today resubmit to the Clerk of the House the petition calling for a referendum on the Anti-smacking law that was passed by Parliament in May 2007.
    The petition was first presented on Feb 29 this year with 324,511 signatures but was deemed to have insufficient valid signatures after the audit process had been carried out. The required number to force a referendum is 285,027 and the petition fell short by approx 18,000.


    The CIR Petition Act 1993 allows for an extension period of up to 2 months for the petition sponsor to gather further signatures and then resubmit all the signatures again. The Clerk of The House then conducts a completely new audit process on a new 1 in 11 sample to determine if a referendum is to be held.

    Mr Baldock said he was very confident that they now had sufficient signatures to ensure a referendum goes ahead.
    “Over the past 15 months we have collected more than 390,000 signatures all over this country. That means we are now handing in 100,000 more than required and more than 60,000 new signatures since we first handed the petition in just over 3 and half months ago.

    “Quite frankly I do not know who Sue Bradford, Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro, and Barnardos Chief executive Murray Edridge are trying to kid when they claim that attitudes have changed. I would like to see the supporters of this crazy ill-conceived law try and collect even 100,000 signatures in support of it, let alone the nearly 400,000 we have collected, the Kiwi Party leader said.

    “Why are these people so afraid of democracy?

    In Tauranga last week National Party leader John Key said he was not going to change the law if he became Prime Minister. In response to a question from the floor, he said that he would only make changes if he saw good parents being prosecuted.

    “Personally I find that most disturbing,” said Mr Baldock. “John Key seems to be catching Parliamentary flu, that sickness which afflicts so many of our political leaders and causes them to believe they know better than the people who elected them to their positions of responsibility.


    “The only acceptable response to the referendum is for John Key, Helen Clark, Peter Dunne, and Jim Anderton to promise the people of New Zealand that they will lay aside their personal opinions on the subject of how good parents should correct their children, and give their solemn commitment to abide by and implement the majority view of the people of New Zealand.

    “Winston Peters, who has held the balance of power for the past three years could have stopped the Bradford Bill in its tracks. Once again he has showed everyone that he was more interested in enjoying the baubles of office around the world, than representing good families in need of a voice here at home.


    “Our success in collecting these signatures has in part been helped by the fact that many voters have had enough of being ignored by arrogant politicians. This Bradford anti-smacking law has been the latest example of a blatant disregard for our democracy as parliament has passed a long line of laws against the will of the majority of New Zealanders. I am determined not to let them get away with this one,” said Mr Baldock.

    Ends

    Larry Baldock
    Party Leader
    Phone: 021 86 4833
    Email: l.baldock@xtra.co.nz