Family Integrity

Tag: Neighbours

  • Police called to house before boy’s injuries

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4800519a11.html

    Police called to house before boy’s injuries

    Monday, 22 December 2008

    Police have previously been called out to the Northland home of a 15-month-old boy who remains in a serious condition in hospital today with head injuries.

    Neighbours said police were often called after all-night parties at the Kerikeri house where the boy lived with his 21-year-old mother, her partner and at least one other person, The New Zealand Herald reported today.

    The boy’s birth father was “not in the picture”, police said.

    The house is on Cobham Rd, the same road where murdered teenager Liberty Templeman’s body was found last month.

    Kerikeri police began a criminal inquiry at the weekend into the boy’s injuries, which are expected to leave him blind and with permanent brain damage.

    The boy was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa and then flown to Auckland’s Starship Hospital on Friday night, where he underwent urgent surgery.

    The child is now in the custody of Child, Youth and Family Services.

    Far North area commander Inspector Chris Scahill said police had not been called out in relation to the boy in the past.

    He did not know at this stage if the boy’s parents were known to police and establishing that would be part of the inquiry.

    Police yesterday conducted a detailed scene examination at the house to try to establish if that was where the boy sustained his injuries.

    They also spoke to the mother and other relatives at the boy’s bedside at Starship.

    Mr Scahill said police were continuing their inquiries with the boy’s family and other people relevant to the investigation.

    They appealed for anybody with knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the boy’s injuries to contact Kerikeri police.

  • Persecution of Parents To Be Investigated by National

    MEDIA RELEASE

    5 November 2008

    Persecution of Parents To Be Investigated by National

    Family First NZ is welcoming comments by senior National MP Judith Collins that if elected, National will check whether the anti-smacking law has resulted in needless prosecutions and persecution of parents.

    “We have stacks of evidence and testimony that good families have been targeted by this flawed law and that it has failed to deal with actual child abuse,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “Families have been referred to CYF by schools, neighbours, members of the public, their children, and even their children’s friends for non-abusive smacking. And some families have also undergone police investigation.”

    “This has caused huge stress and anxiety to families who are simply trying to raise good law-abiding kids in an appropriate way.”

    “All the records show that police and CYF notifications have sky-rocketed yet there has been no corresponding increase in actual child abuse being discovered or prevented.”

    “For people like Sue Bradford and Helen Clark to try and argue that it is not an anti-smacking law is to deny the reality of how it is being treated by the authorities, and what their intention was from day one.”

    Family First NZ has already sent a large file of cases to National leader John Key highlighting good families being persecuted and prosecuted as a result of the flawed law, and will continue to collate evidence of the harmful effects of this law.

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie – National Director

    Mob. 027 55 555 42

  • Bradford Encourages Parents to Carry On Smacking

    From:

    http://christiannews.co.nz/2008/bradford-encourages-parents-to-carry-on-smacking/

    Bradford Encourages Parents to

    Carry On Smacking

    In a stunning turnaround, Green MP Sue Bradford has told parents that smacking is not a criminal offence and implied that groups like Barnardos, Plunket, Every Child Counts and politicians who have said that the aim of the law was to ban parents physically punishing their children are misleading the public.

    In a media release from the Green party today, Bradford says ‘smacking has never been a criminal offence, and still isn’t.’

    Yet only last year, she told Newstalk ZB ‘it is already illegal to smack children but her bill removes a defence of reasonable force for the purpose of correction.’

    And in the original 2003 media release from the Green party launching her amendment to section 59, it is entitled “Greens draw up their own anti-smacking bill” http://www.greens.org.nz/node/12844

    “Sue Bradford is confused by her own law,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ, “and is misrepresenting the real effect and purpose of the anti-smacking law. She believes smacking is assault, yet more than 80% of NZ’ers continue to disagree.”

    “Otherwise, we can only conclude that she is telling parents to carry on smacking and if investigated by police or CYF, parents should tell them that they don’t understand the law and to get lost. Yet parents are getting referred to CYF and the police by schools, neighbours, social workers, even their own kids, for light smacking.”

    “If the politicians who designed the law are confused, where does that put parents who are simply trying to raise good kids without breaking the law,” says Mr McCoskrie.

    Family First NZ continues to call on the politicians to change the law so that it clearly states that non-abusive smacking is not a crime (as wanted by 86% of NZ’ers according to today’s NZ Herald poll), and to then tackle the real causes of child abuse.

    To comment go to: http://christiannews.co.nz/2008/bradford-encourages-parents-to-carry-on-smacking/