Family Integrity

Category: News Media/Press Releases

  • Children’s Commissioner afraid of small minority

    Tuesday, 5 February 2008, 1:28 pm
    Press Release: The Kiwi Party

    “Children’s Commissioner afraid of small minority also”

    In her article in the Dom Post Feb 4th, Children’s Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro called supporters of the petition for a referendum on the Anti Smacking Law “a very vocal minority”.

    Once again, like the Prime Minister and Sue Bradford, she has opened her mouth and revealed her ignorance of democracy, said Larry Baldock, organiser of the Citizens Initiated Referendum on the question “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence?” “If we represent only a small minority they of course have nothing to fear from a referendum,” he said.

    “Arguing that the government must interfere in how good parents raise their children in this country because NZ must obey the United Nations is only another example of her ignorance.

    New Zealand is a sovereign nation and what the majority of our citizens decide should take precedence over any United Nations convention signed by a government appointed diplomat on instructions from the Prime Minister. It is hypocritical to claim we must obey United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCROC) while the NZ Government disassociated from the United Nations Doha Declaration on the Family, and passed the Prostitution Reform Act in 1993 in the face of severe criticism from the United Nations.

    New Zealanders did not vote for the UN, we voted for our Members of Parliament and when 113 refuse to listen to the views of 84% of the population we have no option but to call for a referendum to settle the matter,” said Mr Baldock.

    ENDS

  • ACT Pushes Anti-Smacking Referendum

    Rodney Hide & Heather Roy

    http://www.act.org.nz/act_pushes_anti-smacking_referendum

    Crime & Justice

    ACT New Zealand Leader Rodney Hide and Deputy Leader Heather Roy have taken out a half page advertisement in tomorrow’s ‘Sunday Star Times’, urging New Zealanders to sign a petition calling for a Citizen’s Initiated referendum on the anti-smacking law passed by both National and Labour last year.

    “We believe that New Zealanders should have their say on this controversial law, not just politicians,” Mr Hide and Mrs Roy said.

    “A Citizen’s Initiated Referendum will enable New Zealanders to tell politicians what they think. The organisers of the petition have done a great job getting signatures, and people are keen to sign – 280,000 signatures have been collected so far, but the organisers need 300,000 by the end of February to ensure a referendum.

    “That’s why we have pitched in; it’s vital that New Zealanders get to have a say. ACT was the only Party that voted against the anti-smacking law – which equates good parents who smack their children with child abusers and criminalises them.

    “That’s wrong; ACT believes that parents should be able to choose the best method of raising their children and teaching them right from wrong.

    “National and Labour passed the anti-smacking Bill against the wishes of 80 percent of New Zealanders. We believe it should be up to New Zealanders to choose whether they want to make smacking a criminal offence. It’s time they had a say.

    “We urge New Zealanders to sign the petition, which calls for a referendum on this law. Copy the petition and get your friends and colleagues to sign it too – that way we can ensure that the voices of the people of New Zealand can be heard,” Mr Hide and Mrs Roy said.

    ENDS

  • No U turn – no matter what public opinion says

    http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/NoUturnnomatterwhatpublicopinionsays/tabid/209/articleID/44606/cat/41/Default.aspxWed, 30 Jan 2008 05:25a.m.

       

    The MP behind the law that banned smacking of children doesn’t believe a petition and referendum has any chance of succeeding.

    The Family First lobby group is just 27-thousand signatures short of the 300-thousand needed for its petition to force referendum on the issue.

    Green MP Sue Bradford says, even if the majority of the public want a change in the law, parliament won’t necessarily go along with it.

  • Unprecedented State Control of New Zealand Youth

     

    PRESS RELEASE
    Youth

    Libertarianz education spokesman Phil Howison today slammed Helen Clark and John Key’s mirror-image plans to nationalise New Zealand teenagers.

    “Forcing students to stay at school until they are 18 will cause unruly classrooms, bored students, stressed teachers and an increased burden for taxpayers” says Libertarianz education spokesman Phil Howison. “It is essentially an admission of defeat for state education. If eleven years in state schools leaves most students unemployable, what difference can adding two years make?” Howison asks. “Clark and Key have come up with plans combining the worst excesses of Nanny State. Add to it the plans to screen toddlers for ‘anti-social behaviour’, schools such as Westlake Boys High School which hold back even academically gifted students for a year if they have a ‘bad attitude’, and the threat of boot camp for students who refuse to comply, and you have the blueprints for unprecedented state control of New Zealand youth.”In her attempt to cram reluctant learners back in the classroom, Clark also condemns those who actually want to be there to disruptive and unruly classrooms. “Students who are hostile towards their compulsory schooling usually end up being disruptive and lowering the quality of the learning environment,” Howison says, pointing to Hutt Valley High School as a particularly grim example. He also laments the unnecessary stress that will burden teachers as they struggle with classroom discipline, becoming babysitters rather than educators. “Forget about Key’s boot camps – schools these days seem to be just as rife with violence, bullying and substance abuse as the prisons. But all teenagers, not just youth offenders, are forced to attend!”

    The extra $150 million of taxpayer loot that Clark is prepared to spend on turning schools into prisons will hit the taxpayer where it hurts again. “Clark’s scheme will take many young people out of the workforce where they are learning to be self-sufficient and productive, leaving them with no choice but to accept government handouts” says Howison. “And Key’s plan is no better. By supplying government funding to even more tertiary courses, he would extend government control of higher education, leaving a mere facade of private ownership while leaving the door open for waste and abuse.”

    “The first step of the Libertarianz transitional education policy will be to lower the compulsory school leaving age to zero. In a free society, all interactions including the decision to stay at school must be voluntary. To help young people gain meaningful employment and encourage private apprenticeships, Libertarianz will remove minimum wage laws and make the first $10,000 of income tax free,” Howison says. “Libertarianz believe in the separation of school and state, allowing new methods, subjects and ideas to evolve in a free market system.”

    “It’s enough to make you vote Libertarianz!”

    ENDS

    For more information, please contact:

    Phil Howison
    Libertarianz Spokesman for the Deregulation of Education
    Phone: 027 437 0308
    Email: phil.howison@libertarianz.org.nz

    Libertarianz: More Freedom – Less Government
    http://www.libertarianz.org.nz

  • Bradford keeps careful watch on parties’ anti-smacking positions

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10489168 Monday January 28, 2008
    By Claire Trevett

    Sue Bradford

    Sue Bradford

    Green MP Sue Bradford says she is watching other political parties to make sure their stance on the anti-smacking law does not waver despite attempts by lobby groups to force a referendum on the issue.

    The law – which repealed the defence of reasonable force that parents had for disciplining their children – passed last year with wide cross-party support despite intense lobbying.

    However, the issue is set to rear its head again – Family First requires just 30,000 more signatures by March 1 to get a referendum on it included in this year’s election. Family First yesterday took out full page advertisements in Sunday newspapers to get support.

    A referendum will depend on the organisers getting 300,000 signatures and further scrutiny of the petition to ensure signatures are valid. If it happens, it will not be binding but if there is strong support for repealing the law it will have a strong moral force.

    The law’s original promoter Sue Bradford said she was watching for signs that parties such as National which initially opposed the law, were wavering to try and get the Christian vote.

    “There are a lot more steps to go through to overturn the legislation. In the end it’s up to Parliament to define the law and who knows what shape the next Parliament will be.”

    The bill passed into law by 113 votes to 8 in May last year after a compromise clause negotiated between National’s John Key and Prime Minister Helen Clark meant police would not prosecute for “inconsequential” breaches.

    Yesterday, National leader John Key said until he saw evidence that the compromise was not enough to stop minor incidents being prosecuted, he was happy with the law.

    “We’ve been consistent since the day we signed [the compromise]. But if we start to see good parents being criminalised for lightly smacking then we will change the law.”

    One man has been prosecuted under the new laws – in November last year a 33-year-old Masterton man was sentenced to nine months’ supervision including counselling after pleading guilty to assaulting a boy by grabbing him by the shoulder and smacking him three times.

    Others have been warned, including include musician Jimmy Mason who flicked his 3-year-old son on the ear and was given a caution after a member of the public dobbed him in.

  • Flick gets father charged with assault

    http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1562476

     

    Flick gets father charged with assault

    Jan 29, 2008 6:19 PM

    Controversy over the new anti-smacking legislation has been revived with police deciding to charge a Christchurch father with assault for flicking his son’s ear.

    Jimmy Mason claims he acted to stop his son riding his bike dangerously but police say he will have to argue that in court. 
     
    “This is how I describe it, hard enough to stop what he was doing, not hard enough to drop him,” says Mason.

    But the incident was seen by several people, including a teacher and an off-duty policeman.

    When they reported it, Mason was given a warning and now police want him in court.

    He will face two charges of assault, police have revealed. Those charges involve two children.

    They are not giving more detail and will not say what convinced them to go ahead with a prosecution. 
     
    But it is bringing back all the arguments over the anti-smacking legislation which came into effect in June last year.

    “People have just somehow got to begin to learn that it is no longer legal in any way in New Zealand to discipline our children with assault, beating and whacking,” says Sue Bradford, Green MP.

    But father of four and anti-bill campaigner Simon Barnett says parents will now fear disciplining their children.

    He is calling for a referendum at the next election.

    “You know the referendum for me would be a brilliant thing. The government will then hear clearly where the country sits and it’s around 80% of parents – normal average everyday reasonable parents – think it’s ok to lightly smack a child for disobedience,” says Barnett.

    Police say anti-smacking legislation or not, Jimmy Mason would still have been charged.

    He will appear in court next month.

  • Signing on to change smacking law

    Signing on to change smacking law26.01.2008

    By JOEL FORD MARGUERITE Keir is all for smacking – and she says it is different to hitting.

    The Ohauti woman is among those who have signed a petition seeking a referendum on the controversial law.

    A mother herself, she said she had smacked her own children and that it played an important role in child discipline.

    “You can’t reason with a small child, but a quick sharp smack on the hand says it all. Smacking and hitting are two different things,” she said.

    Maria Calnan, a mother of two from Cherrywood, shared her view, saying she had also used smacking to discipline her children, but only rarely.
     

     
     
    She signed the petition because she felt smacking shouldn’t be treated as a crime.”Abuse is a crime, smacking isn’t. Smacking should be a part of an overall discipline structure,” she said.

    Others said they had signed the petition not because they were totally in support of smacking but because they thought the bill was misguided.

    Dale Jessop, of Omokoroa, said he thought the law needed to be changed.

    “It’s not all bad, but it has to be reformed and seriously looked at,” she said. “Children need discipline but, more importantly, I think they need a stay-at-home mother.”

  • Police seek six after ‘cowardly’ attack

    http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3762124&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection= WANGANUI Police yesterday described an attack by a group of youths on a 20-year-old man as cowardly……..One father who has been a gang member for years said that since Sue Bradford’s anti-smacking law, young people have been the perpetrators of serious bashings. The Chronicle spoke to another parent of a teenager who also did not want to be identified about what appears to be an alarming trend of growing youth violence in New Zealand.

    She said she shared wine with her daughter at home to show her how to drink responsibly.

    “When we were young the alcohol content was about three percent, but now it’s gone from five to eight to 12 (percent).

    “Young people cant handle alcohol, have no idea how to drink in moderation, and when you add P (methamphetamine) you’ve got a lethal cocktail that fuels uncontrollable rage,” she said.

    The gang member continued that parents had no power to give their kids a kick in the backside and that the youth saw this eroding of power as (them) being able to do what they wanted without consequences.

    He also said that the six youths who attacked the young man on Sunday morning had “serious problems if they attacked a young fella who was not looking for trouble”.

  • Dad charged with assault for flicking son’s ear

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4379352a10.html

    The Press |

    Tuesday, 29 January 2008

    Professional musician Jimmy Mason has been charged with two counts of assaulting a child after an incident on the Bridge of Remembrance in central Christchurch last month.

    The 49-year-old Christchurch man admitted to flicking his son’s ear to reprimand him for riding dangerously near a busy street on December 19 when he spoke to The Press in an article on January 14, in which he complained about the way the incident was handled by the police.

    Inspector Gary Knowles, the central city area commander, said that charges arose as a result of a review of the evidence after speaking to a number of witnesses.

    Knowles said now the matter is before the court, no further comment would be made.

    Mason has been summonsed to appear in the Christchurch District Court on 12 February 2008.

  • Anti-smacking petition close to forcing citizen’s referendum

    http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/Story/tabid/209/articleID/44473/cat/41/Default.aspx Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:58p.m.

    Green Party MP Sue Bradford Green Party MP Sue Bradford

    video

    		  

    A petition to hold a citizen’s referendum about parents having the right to smack children is gaining momentum along with thousands of signatures.

    The government is not worried, but there are signs it could cause friction between political parties as the issue reignites in election year.

    The petition now has 280,000 signatures – another 20,000 will mean a citizen’s referendum.

    Bob McCoskrie of Family First is confident it will happen, saying: “I’m confident because most sensible New Zealanders know that a smack is not child abuse.”

    Prime Minister Helen Clark does not believe the petition will reach the required 300,000 signatures saying: “It’s really a question for Kiwis – do we keep trying to make our homes a safer place for children or do we abandon the effort? I’m not for abandoning the effort.”

    Green Party MP Sue Bradford says many people have signed the referendum in a climate of hysteria, whipped up by an out of touch lobby group.

    “Family First is increasingly out of step with public opinion and in fact some of the people who signed this petition for the referendum back before my bill went through may have even changed their minds in the intervening period,” says Bradford.

    Bradford’s law outlawing smacking passed by a majority of 113 to 8 votes last May and she is now wary of political parties changing sides in the face of popular opinion.

    The National Party’s John Key, who brokered a compromise on the bill with Labour appears to be positioning himself to change his tune if necessary. He says: “If the law ends up being in a position where good parents end up being criminalised for lightly smacking their children, we think that is wrong and we would change the law. But I’m still quite confident the law as it was drafted will actually work.”

    If the petition succeeds and a referendum is to be held, it would not be binding. The government would still have the final say.

    The government would also pick when the referendum would take place and it is unlikely to choose any time before election day as it is a reminder of Labour pushing through an unpopular law.

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