Family Integrity

Tag: Good Parents

  • Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse Essential

    MEDIA RELEASE

    29 October 2009

    Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse Essential

    ‘How many more children have to die before we do something?’

    Family First NZ is repeating its call for a Commission of Enquiry into the unacceptable levels of child abuse and deaths in NZ.

    The call comes following the suspected child abuse death of Wanganui toddler Karl Perigo-Check Junior which is the 18th case since the passing of the anti-smacking law.

    “We must take pro-active action and tackle head-on the difficult issues of family breakdown, drug and alcohol abuse, violence in our media, mental illness, low maternal age, and other key factors identified by UNICEF, CYF and Children’s Commissioner reports,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First.

    “Over the past 30 years we have allowed a succession of policies to diminish the importance of family structure and marriage. We have watched as politicians have given adults the right to silence, bail and parole while the rights of children to be safe have been ignored. We have allowed children to be raised in homes with an unacceptable level of drug abuse, family dysfunction and physical and emotional harm. And we’ve allowed the media to fill our minds with increasing levels of sexual and violent images in the name of entertainment and freedom of speech.”

    “The 88% of voters who oppose the anti-smacking law are not people who are demanding the right to ‘assault’ and ‘beat’ children. They are simply kiwis who are exasperated with the fact that politicians and supposed family welfare groups are more interested in targeting good parents than tackling these much tougher issues.”

    “Since the passing of the anti-smacking law, there has been a continual stream of child abuse cases and the rate of child abuse deaths has continued at the same rate as before the new law with at least 18 deaths since the law was passed,” says Mr McCoskrie. “Sue Bradford was right when she said that her law was never intended to deal with the problem of child abuse.”

    “These latest cases are yet another wake-up call that children will never be safe until we are honest enough as a country to identify and tackle the real causes of child abuse.”

    “An independent Inquiry free of political correctness and agendas would be an important first step,” says Mr McCoskrie. www.stoptheabuse.org.nz

    HALL OF SHAME

    Since Anti-smacking law was passed

    1. 16 month old Sachin Dhani June 2007

    2. 28-year-old woman charged with murdering a newborn baby found dead in the backyard of a Te Mome Road property in Alicetown – June 2007

    3. 22-month-old Tyla-Maree Darryl Flynn June 2007

    4. 3 year old Nia Glassie July 2007

    5. Ten-month-old Jyniah Mary Te Awa September 2007 Manurewa

    6. Two-month-old Tahani Mahomed December 2007 Otahuhu

    7. 3 year old Dylan Hohepa Tonga Rimoni April 2008 Drury

    8. A 27-year-old Dunedin mother of five admitted infanticide. On May 26 she lost control, banged the baby’s head repeatedly against the couch, choked her, then threw her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. May 2008

    9. 7-year-old Duwayne Toetu Taote Pailegutu. July 2008

    10.  16-month old Riley Justin Osborne (Kerikeri) boy Dec 2008

    11. Three-year-old Cherish Tahuri-Wright (Marton) Feb 2009

    12. Five-week-old Jayrhis Ian Te Koha Lock-Tata (Taupo) Mar 2009

    13. One-year-old Trent James Matthews – aka Michael Matthews Jun 2009

    14. Two-year-old Jacqui Peterson-Davis Kaitaia Aug 09

    15. Three-year-old Kash McKinnon Palmerston North Aug 09

    16. Baby death arrest Green Bay 26 Aug 2009

    17. 22 month old Hail-Sage McClutchie Morrinsville 27 Sep 2009 

    18. Karl Perigo-Check Junior Wanganui 25 Oct 2009

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie JP – National Director

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



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  • Family First Welcomes Bill to Fix Smacking Law

    MEDIA RELEASE

    19 March 2009

    Family First Welcomes Bill to Fix Smacking Law

    Family First NZ is ‘stoked’ that ACT List MP John Boscawen has announced his intention to introduce a Private Members Bill to amend the anti-smacking law.

    “Our polling along with every other poll done over the past 3 years shows that approximately 80% of NZ’ers oppose this law – and for good reason,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

    “This flawed law has attempted to link a smack on the bottom with child abuse of the worst kind, and has put good parents raising law-abiding and responsible citizens in the same category as rotten parents who are a danger to their kids and to society in general.”

    “Not surprisingly, the child abuse rate has continued unabated with 12 child abuse deaths in the 21 months since the law was passed – the same rate as before the law was passed.”

    “Family First research has also shown that parents are hugely confused over the legal effect of the law. Parents have a right to know whether they are parenting within the law or not.”

    The 2007 UNICEF report on child wellbeing said “the likelihood of a child being injured or killed is associated with poverty, single-parenthood, low maternal education, low maternal age at birth, poor housing, weak family ties, and parental drug or alcohol abuse.”

    Family First is calling on National to adopt this bill as a government bill, to acknowledge the important and valued role of good parents, and to then target resources and effort at the real causes of child abuse.

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie – National Director

    Mob. 027 55 555 42

  • Family First: CAN YOU HELP US?

    17 Jul 2008

    CAN YOU HELP US

    ‘SLEDGEHAMMER’

    A FEW MYTHS

    Myth #1 : There have been no prosecutions under the new anti-smacking law


    FALSE

    Myth #2 : The anti-smacking law has not resulted in good parents being investigated and interrogated by the police or CYF


    FALSE

    We have evidence of a number of examples that expose these myths, including:

    * a father separated from his 2 kids for 6 months by CYF because of malicious claims by mother that he had smacked them – CYF eventually reallowed access but only due to a strong supporter who knew the system
    * a father prosecuted and convicted because of pushing the upper arm of his daughter 2-3 times and demanding she listen to her mother
    * a grandfather prosecuted and convicted because of tipping his defiant grandson out of a bean bag-type chair to get him moving
    * a father dragged through the court process only to turn up to the court case and the police to admit they had no evidence
    * a stepfather who physically restrained the arms of his stepdaughter being interrogated for 2 hours almost 7 months after the incident, and 6 months later still not knowing the outcome
    * a CYFs Community Panel Board member telling Family First “I can say without a doubt, that in my time I have seen a small but a definite increase in ‘good’ parents being investigated by our CYFs case workers – up to 5% of our cases. Any child who mentions to a school teacher that they have been smacked or touched in any physical way is brought under investigation and their names are indelibly logged onto our data base as a potential ‘abuser’ . I really feel sorry for these ‘good parents’ because of the fear that we as an organisation now engendering upon their parenting practise. Sadly good parents are being lumped in together with the really bad ones.”

    NZ’ers deserve to be told

    the truth.

    WOULD YOU CONSIDER HELPING FUND FULL PAGE

    ADS IN SUNDAY STAR TIMES and NZ HERALD

    (giving nationwide coverage)

    We need to raise $13-14,000 by the beginning of next week to achieve this.

    If you would like to invest in helping us ‘SLEDGEHAMMER THE MYTHS’

    CLICK HERE

    Every little bit helps . (All donations qualify for the 33% tax donation rebate.)

    Thanks for your support and consideration. We must do all we can to defend the role of parents and the well-being of our children and families in NZ.

    Bob McCoskrie
    National Director

    www.familyfirst.org.nz